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City Council Minutes May 13, 2013 Page 3 Council consensus was for staff to continue moving forward with exploration of the possible acquisition of the Houlton property and to work on development of a park concept plan. 6.2. Sewer and Availability Charge Discussion Mr. Barnhart presented his staff report. He explained that the water access charge (WAC) is not addressed as it is set by Elk River Municipal Utilities and adopted as part of the city's fee schedule. Ile indicated that staff is not recommending a reduction in sewer access charges (SAC) at this point; however, flexibility in receiving payments could be considered. Councilmember Motin questioned how the Laundromat in town was charged. Mr. Barnhart indicated he believes they were assigned 23 units at 8 turns. Councilmember Motin also questioned if using energy efficient appliances would affect the amount. Mr. Barnhart explained that information supplied by the manufacturer is used in the calculations. Councilmember Westgaard stated that the addition of laundry increases the SAC fees and questioned if the original request to relocate the dry cleaners included laundry. Mr. Barnhart explained that the plan for Nature's Dry Cleaners was reviewed three tunes and laundry was not included in the first two plans. Mark Leadens, owner of Nature's Dry Cleaners, explained that he is not asking for the city to waive the SAC and WAC fees, he is just trying to get an explanation of how the fees are calculated. He indicated that he does not believe that all of the washing machines will do eight turns of laundry every day and believes two and a half turns per machine, per day, may be more appropriate. Mr. Barnhart mentioned that the City of Otsego has a program where the initial fee is based on an estimation of water usage. The total usage is reviewed after three years and if the actual usage is consistently less than what was estimated, the difference is refunded to the applicant. Mayor Dietz questioned if the city could implement a rebate program strictly for coin operated laundry facilities. Mr. Beck indicated that the program could be written that way. Discussion was held on various options for collecting SAC fees. Mr. Leadens noted that he is not asking the city to review the entire free structure, just to reduce the number of turns. He distributed a letter from the Coin Laundry Association as well as some fee information from other cities. Consensus of the Council was for staff to research programs similar to Otsego's and other rebate -type programs and report back. Mayor Dietz questioned how quickly staff can gather that information. Mr. Barnhart indicated it will take some time to conduct research. Councilmember Motin noted that Mr. Leadens could pay for the eight turns now and if the program is changed, Mr. Leadens could receive a rebate if appropriate. Mr. Portner indicated that there is a low interest loan program that is utilized by restaurants to pay SAC fees and this could be an option. Mayor Dietz questioned if Mr. Leadens is allowed to finance if that opens it up to everyone. Ml. Beck stated that staff could review