Laserfiche WebLink
Proposal for the Establishment of a Stormwater Utility <br />6/19/2019 <br />Page: 3 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />needs of Little Canada, its residents and its businesses. <br /> <br />Task 2.0 – List Activities to be Funded <br />Based on the discussions at the Kickoff meeting and past utility set-up experience, Bolton & Menk <br />will prepare a listing of potential activities to be funded by the proposed utility and the associated <br />costs. This information will be assembled in an annual spreadsheet and GIS database spanning the <br />next ten years and used to help the team determine the annual collection needs. <br /> <br />Task 3.0 – Calculate Impervious Areas <br />The Bolton & Menk GIS staff will begin determining the impervious area of the representative <br />sample residential area and begin analyzing the impervious area of the non-residential areas. <br /> <br />In April 2016 the Metropolitan Council collected high-resolution digital orthoimagery of the 7-county <br />Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. This imagery was collected to provide Generalized Land Use data <br />and is scheduled to be collected again in 2020, which will provide another opportunity to update <br />impervious surface layers. This dataset has three characteristics that made it ideal for mapping <br />impervious surfaces. <br /> <br />1. High resolution - 6 in (15cm). Provides the ability to detect small Impervious features. <br />2. Collected during leaf-off conditions - Reduces classification error under deciduous <br />canopies. <br />3. Near-infrared (NIR) band - Green vegetation reflects large amounts of NIR light, while <br />impervious surfaces and water absorb more NIR light, making it easier to spectrally <br />distinguish these land-cover types. <br /> <br />Processing the imagery will include image enhancement techniques and the creation of image <br />derivatives from the raw data using different spectral analyses and statistical tools to better <br />differentiate impervious surfaces from other landcover types. Bolton & Menk will run tests to <br />classify imagery using both pixel and object-based approaches paired with multiple classification <br />algorithms. This multiple-method approach will help best match appropriate methodologies to the <br />characteristics of the imagery and ensures that high-accuracy results are being incorporated into the <br />final city-wide impervious surface layer. This task will also include the use of ancillary datasets and <br />running QA/QC scripts to ensure operational utility and quality of the deliverable datasets. <br /> <br />When the impervious area analysis is completed, the GIS impervious area information will be <br />intersected with GIS Parcel data from the City of Little Canada. We will then provide this <br />information to our Utility Fee Designer in a database which contains all impervious area, total parcel <br />area, and taxpayers’ information that can be used to test at least two alternative fee schedules. Other <br />data including existing zoning designations and utility billing information can also be added if <br />provided by the City in a GIS ready format. <br /> <br />Task 4.0 – Present Spreadsheet Calculations and Pricing Options <br />Once the spreadsheet and GIS databases are complete, programmed to manipulate data on the fly and <br />evaluate fees, it will be presented to the City Staff. Because the spreadsheet will be designed with <br />equations that can calculate alternative pricing options, it can be used in a brainstorming session to <br />test the impacts of various fee scenarios and sorted to determine which parcels have the largest fees.