Agenda - Council - 09/24/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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some cities have a flat fee for assessment per lot for residents and do not base the assessment on the actual project cost. Councilmember Riley commented that a franchise fee would have a cost of $168 per year. He asked for additional information on the construction numbers for this project. City Engineer Westby stated that the contractors have no idea of the City's assessment policy and it was just happenstance that the line items were received in this manner He noted that the higher line items were skewed towards assessable costs. Councilmember Riley stated that is why he is proposing an average increase in the assessment of 32 percent, as the overall project cost increased by that amount. Councilmember Menth stated that earlier on the agenda there was a contaminated site, where the first developer walked away. He stated that this is the same situation where you cannot predict the conditions under the roadway. He stated that while it is no one's fault; some exception could be made for the subsoil under the road, as residents were not aware of the conditions when they purchased the homes and therefore would support the motion by Councilmember Riley. Mayor LeTourneau echoed the comments that the road conditions are very inconsistent throughout the community, which continues to be a large issue for the community. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she would not agree that road reconstruction is similar to the correction of contaminated soils. She stated that in these instances the increase was related to the bidding environment. She believed that the homeowners will recover the cost with the resale of their homes. She stated that this is a unique situation and could support the motion proposed by Councilmember Riley. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor LeTourneau, Councilmembers Riley, Musgrove, Heinrich, and Menth. Voting No: Councilmember Kuzma. 7.06: Adopt Resolution #19-218 Ordering Assessment Roll and Calling Assessment Hearing for Improvement Project #19-03, Chestnut Ridge and Wood Pond Hills Street Reconstructions City Engineer Westby reviewed the staff report and recommendation to adopt Resolution #19- 218 ordering preparation of a final assessment roll and calling for an assessment hearing at 7:00 p.m. on October 8 for Improvement Project #19-03, Wood Pond Hills and Chestnut Ridge Street Reconstructions. Councilmember Kuzma stated that this case proposes to assess 25 percent, which he felt should have been the action on the last case. He stated that the policy should be followed. Councilmember Menth referenced the thickness of the average aggregate and bituminous and asked the City standard. City Engineer Westby replied that typically a residential street would have four inches of aggregate base and 3.5 inches of bituminous. He stated that Ramsey has a large variability and new projects attempt to achieve that consistent standard. Councilmember Musgrove asked if there has been feedback from residents in this area related to the project. City Council / September 10, 2019 Page 14 of 16