Minutes - Council - 10/13/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The public hearing was closed at 8:08 p.m. Council Business City Engineer Westby referenced the issue of soils and quality of the project raised. He stated that the City of Elk River stated that there was one soft spot which they were letting heal before paving the final wear coarse, noting that he would follow up to identify the location and obtain more information. He explained that the City has in the past found soft areas that have not healed over time and required additional follow-up, noting that if that is found in this case the City would work with Elk River as there is a warranty on the project and those costs would be of the contractor and would not be paid by the City of Ramsey. He referenced the assessment policy and explained that the City this year chose to include the properties, which access their property from the improved street, noting that the assessed properties are the only properties that have direct access to their property from Jarvis Street. He explained that this policy ensures that a property owner is not charged for many different projects over the course of a few years. Councilmember Riley stated that this project was reviewed by the Public Works Committee and explained that curb and gutter provide a better project that has a longer lifespan. He stated that the assessment policy was discussed 1.5 years ago when the Council considered the use of franchise fees. He stated that in this case the City is only assessing 13 percent of the cost, compared to the 25 percent specified under the policy. He stated that other residents will have assessments on their properties in the future when their roadway is improved. He asked if this would create bad policy by not assessing the 25 percent. City Engineer Westby stated that staff is feeling their way through the assessments with the first round of projects in terms of applying the 25 percent rate. He explained that this project does not include utilities and therefore staff felt that this assessment should be lower than the Garnet Street project. He stated that staff will look into the assessment policy in the future and will most likely recommend higher assessment rates for future projects. Councilmember Riley referenced the issue of interest and explained that the City pays the bill right away and as a convenience allows residents to pay their assessment over the course of ten years and therefore charges a low interest rate. He stated that the City does have interest free rates and suggested possibly not charging interest for three years in this instance. City Engineer Westby stated that the City is still using bonds to pay for part of the project and those have interest. Finance Director Lund explained that a redistribution would need to occur as the County cannot change the rate of interest throughout the ten-year period. She provided further clarification noting that the three years of interest would be subtracted from the total interest amount and then redistributed over the ten-year period. City Council / October 13, 2015 Page 8 of 13