Minutes - Council - 02/27/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Public Works Director Olson suggested obtaining input and support from the DNR as part ofthis study. Councilmember Strommen suggested part of Phase 1 include working with the DNR to define how a regional resource might work and how those costs may be spread equitably across the region, and that this information come back to the City Council prior to proceeding with Phase 2. Councilmember Dehen stated he has an issue with going forward on something that will cost $17,500, although he understands this cost will be split. He expressed concern with the description of the pre-phase kick off meeting being too vague in identifying necessary information and identifying potential solutions. He stated they are trying to decide this important issue for the future, but getting the money ahead of time is putting the cart ahead of the horse. He partially agrees with Councilmember Strommen's comments about working some of these details in after they get this going, but he does not like the idea of not knowing what he is agreeing to. He would like to see the bigger picture and who the players are before they start giving out money, especially given the fact that there have been issues with the City's consultant fees. He cannot tell if this is reasonable or not by looking at the statements in the letter about the kick off meeting. Public Works Director Olson stated he understands the concerns Councilmember Dehen has raised about consultant fees. However, this will be a not-to-exceed amount and Bolton & Menk has not gone over in any projects he has had them working on. This is a big report with a lot of questions to answer. He understands it is vague, but it almost has to be vague to start with. These are excellent points about identifying the region and getting financial help from the DNR, not only for future grant writing, but even for this study. He noted there are 7-lh miles between the Ramsey and St. Francis systems, which is a long way for a pipe to go. There are questions regarding the number of booster stations, the cost of a booster station, the size of the pipe, the disposition of the pipe between the limits of Ramsey and the limits of St. Francis, and if there will be a loop somewhere. There are a lot of questions to answer. He needs to know whether the Council is interested in moving forward with this study; there will be a lot more engineering involved in the future. Councilmember Dehen stated he is not saying that this is not a worthy project, but in his mind it is ill defined as to what they are paying for. Secondly is whether there is the ability to get the DNR involved in the process so they are not doing all this for naught. In his view this should be flushed out first. Mayor Gamec indicated Councilmember Strommen's proposal would include involving the DNR in the study. Councilmember Dehen questioned whether $18,000 needs to be spent between the two cities to determine if there is an interest from the DNR in going forward with this. He would think they could make a phone call to determine this, rather than spending this amount of money. Councilmember Strommen stated the DNR has told the City they need to look at a surface water plant. The question is whether the plant will be built just for Ramsey, or whether the DNR will City Council / February 27, 2007 Page 15 of21