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Councilmember Heineman asked if Ramsey were to match the average rate the difference would <br />be able to pay for the treatment facility. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund said that increasing the rates to the average rate would be a lot more than a <br />10% increase. <br /> <br />Councilmember Heineman asked if the 10% was needed to fund the project. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund said she used the 10% to see what it would look like using the 15 year debt <br />using a $14,000,000 bond; however with the new total more would need to be bonded for. The <br />debt could be pushed out to a 20 year debt, increasing interest while decreasing the debt service <br />payments annually, or increasing the rates the residents pay. She added there are only 4500-5000 <br />people paying for the water so it would not be that big of an increase collected to offset the major <br />increase in cost. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley asked if the increases are a continued increase not just a one-time increase. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund said yes. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff asked if the calculations account for new households. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund shared she based it off of prior year revenues and doing an 8% increase <br />across for usage. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff commented that there have been 1,000 houses previously approved <br />in the City, so the number of users will go up. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund stated the numbers reflect what has been collected and water usage went <br />down this year. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht reiterated there is no way of knowing what costs will do in the future and <br />that safe water is most important. He mentioned that he had discussed with Councilmember <br />Woestehoff that breweries and other businesses are attracted to cities who treat their water and this <br />could help Ramsey attract those businesses. He added he does not see it as a huge rush, but with <br />more users he wants to make sure the water is safe for all residents. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley discussed the recent spike in lumber costs and even though the costs are high <br />now, they have come down. He stated safe water is vital; however, he thinks by using the safer <br />wells the City has been able to provide safe water. He would like to see a pause put on this while <br />continually monitoring the situation regarding costs. <br /> <br />City Engineer/Interim Public Works Director Westby added that other cities are dealing with this <br />same situation and Ramsey is farther along in the process than these cities. He noted that the spikes <br />in manganese coincide with peak usage. He mentioned that Lino Lakes did a watering restriction <br />for all residents throughout the summer so they did not have to use the higher manganese wells. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / September 13, 2022 <br />Page 15 of 16 <br /> <br />