Laserfiche WebLink
_,ty of <br /> <br />River <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />Mayor and <br /> City Council <br /> <br />Pat Klaers, City Admini <br /> <br />November 24, 1997 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Surface Water Management Impact Fee <br /> <br />Ever since the City established the Surface Water Management Impact Fee <br />with the adoption of Resolution 94-110 on October 24, 1994, staff has <br />expressed concerns over this fee being too low. <br /> <br />When a subdivision is approved, a SWM Impact Fee is collected from the <br />developers, but this is a very small amount of money compared to the total <br />cost of trunk SWM improvements that are typically necessary and compared <br />to the benefit the development receives. The SWM tax levy pays the balance <br />of the improvement expenses and this is acceptable as there are city-wide <br />benefits for trunk improvements that are located in development projects. <br /> <br />One concern expressed by staff relates to how low the City SWM Impact Fee <br />is as compared to other developing communities. The balance between city- <br />wide benefits and expenses and developer benefits and expenses is the <br />concern. The attached material from the City Engineer in 1994, the City of <br />Ramsey from 1997, and the City of Otsego from 1995 all show that the Elk <br />River impact fee is significantly less than what other communities collect. It <br />is understood that our City fee could be somewhat less based on additional <br />funds being available through the city-wide SWM levy, but the current level <br />is still believed to be too low. <br /> <br />Another concern relates to having sufficient funds available to construct the <br />necessary trunk SWM projects that are dictated by developments. As the <br />Council knows, the SWM fund started off approximately 2 million dollars in <br />the hole due to the major projects that were approved in the early 1990s. <br />These projects included the Highway 10/101/169 interceptor, Deerfield III, <br />Westwood, County Road 12/13, Western Area Phase II, and the Main and <br />Evans area (Ditch 10). Financially, the SWM fund in 1997 has just <br />completed repayment of all the internal loans due to other City funds, <br />however, the fund still has only a very small amount of money available <br />annually for new projects due to the annual debt payments on past projects. <br />All but approximately $55,000 of the SWM levy annually goes toward the <br /> <br />13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425 <br /> <br /> <br />