Laserfiche WebLink
City of <br />El <br />R�,..iver <br />REQUEST FOR ACTION <br />TO <br />ITEM NUMBER <br />Mayor and City Council <br />6.2 <br />AGENDA SECTION <br />MEETING DATE <br />PREPARED BY <br />Work Session <br />May 13, 2013 <br />Jeremy Barnhart, Deputy Director, <br />CODD <br />ITEM DESCRIPTION <br />REVIEWED By <br />Sewer and Availability Charge Discussion <br />Cal Portner, City Administrator <br />REVIEWED BY <br />Tim Simon, Finance Director <br />ACTION REQUESTED <br />Receive information, direct staff to proceed. <br />BACKGROUND /DISCUSSION <br />At Open Forum during the May 6, 2013, Council meeting, Mark Leadens, owner of the Natures Dry <br />Cleaning and Laundromat, addressed the Council with his concern with the amount of calculated Sanitary <br />Sewer and Water Availability Charges (SAC and WAC). <br />SAC and WAC costs are often raised collectively as they are calculated the same way. For the purpose of <br />this discussion, staff's research focused exclusively on SAC rates and units. <br />Mr. Leadens raised three primary issues. <br />1. The SAC rate per unit was too high. The city charges $4,370 per unit. <br />2. An unreasonable number of SAC units were applied to his business. The city applied 16.09 units, <br />which reflects the three uses of the building, and the credit due to previous owner's payments. <br />3. Elk River Municipal Utilities has electrical utilities on his property without an easement. He <br />would like to trade an easement for a reduction or elimination of the SAC fee. <br />Responses <br />The purpose of the SAC program is to collect funds from new connections using capacity in the existing <br />sanitary sewer system. A reduction in capacity requires a volume expansion of the Waste Water <br />Treatment Plant. Since 2003, the city has collected $6,472,002 in SAC fees, and in 2009 a $4,412,000 <br />plant expansion was completed. Some required expansions are not based on additional connections. <br />State and federal mandates require modifications to the plant, ahead of volume capacity needs. The 2013 <br />Wastewater Treatment Plant Facilities Plan projects another $12 -22 million in necessary improvements, <br />due to state and federal mandates and capacity growth over the next 20 years. <br />SAC funds are not used for ongoing operating expenses. User fees are intended to pay operating costs, as <br />shown on the attached estimated sanitary sewer invoice. <br />SAC Rate Comparison <br />In 2007, Ehlers and Associates completed a Sanitary Sewer Rate Study on our behalf that included <br />assumptions for required plant expansion and a rate comparison with other communities. <br />It's a challenge to compare SAC rates between cities because each city funds installation of sewer <br />POWERED By <br />N:APublic Bodies \Agenda Packets \05 -13- 2013 \Final \6.2 sr SAC.docx INAMIRE1 <br />