02-24-2021 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 24, 2021 PRESENTATION — DONATION FROM LITTLE CANADA FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Chief Don Smiley explained that the Little Canada Fire Department has been doing charitable gambling since 1945, and they have donated almost $1.5 million back to the City into the fire equipment fund. Assistant Chief Tim Boss, Fire Department gambling manager, explained that they do charitable gambling at Gordie's and the Hoggsbreath. He thanked the owners and staff at the Hoggsbreath and Gordie's for all of the work they do to help with the gambling services. Fire Chief Smiley and Assistant Chief Boss presented a donation of $24,322 to the City that will be put into the fire equipment fund. PRESENTATION — ST. PAUL REGIONAL WATER SERVICES $160 MILLION UPGRADE TO MCCARRON'S WATER TREATMENT PLANT Steve Schneider, General Manager of St. Paul Regional Water Services. He explained that they are planning a large project to replace and upgrade the McCarron's Water Treatment Plant on Rice Street in Maplewood. He reviewed the history of the McCarron's Water Treatment Plant. He stated construction began in the mid- 1910's and the backbone of the facility was built by 1925. He noted that much of the infrastructure is nearing 100 years old now. Will Menkhaus Project Manager for the McCarron's improvement project, explained that the facility is still producing excellent water quality, but there are several reasons why the upgrade is being considered. He stated that they want to take a proactive approach rather than waiting for systems to fail, and they want to improve the reliability of the facility and improve capacity to handle contaminants of emerging concern. He noted they also want .to improve future flexibility of the site, along with the interest rates to borrow money are very favorable right now. Mr. Menkhaus stated they plan to replace approximately 2/3 of the treatment process, and are able to do that with a smaller site footprint due to new technology. Mr. Schneider reviewed the financial impacts of this large project. He noted that project is expensive, but much of the facility is nearing 100 years old. He explained that their retail customers will experience an average rate increase of about $6.00 per month. He noted that their water is less than one cent per gallon. Mr. Menkhaus stated that they just started the design process which should take about 18 months, and the bulk of the construction will take place in late 2022 through fall 2025. Fischer asked how long the debt would be for this project. Mr. Schneider stated it would be a 20-year debt service. Mr. Schneider explained that this site currently has no space to add any additional treatment systems, but the new equipment uses 1/3 of the space, so it will free up a significant amount of real estate if they ever need to add a new process or equipment. 2