01-11-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council FROM: Bill Dircks, Public Works Director DATE: January 11, 2023 RE: Stormwater Utility Fund ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: Motion to approve entering into a contract with Bolton & Menk to assist in establishing a stormwater utility in the City at a not-to-exceed cost of $29,200. BACKGROUND: The City of Little Canada has never established a stormwater utility fund to pay for stormwater repairs and maintenance in the City. There are 198 cities in Minnesota that have stormwater utilities including almost all metro-area cities except Little Canada. The need for a stormwater utility has been magnified in the past few years as water levels grew to never before seen elevations around the City. Twin Lake flooded, a hillside washed out due to a broken stormwater pipe, new ponds were formed where there hadn’t been ponds before, and MPCA permit requirements continue to get more costly. Establishing a stormwater utility would allow funds to be dedicated to stormwater maintenance throughout the City rather than using funds from the operating budget as well as the 400 and 450 CIP funds as is the current practice. In 2023 alone, the City has budgeted over $330,000 for stormwater maintenance and another $111,000 as part of the 2023 street improvement projects on Twin Lake Boulevard, Sunset Court, Sunrise Drive, and Spruce Street. Those dollars are a big burden on the CIP that is already strained in the coming years by the additional maintenance required at City Hall and the Fire Station in the coming years. Nearly all street improvement projects have some stormwater costs associated with them. It is safe to assume that there will be an average of $50,000+ needed for stormwater improvements on street projects each year. Staff also would like to continue with its pond maintenance program and catch up on deferred maintenance of ditches, outlets, pipes, and other infrastructure. Those costs could approach $100,000 per year over the coming years. Emergencies can also appear out of nowhere such as the Twin Lake flooding incident and the broken storm pipe on County Road B2 in 2019. A stormwater utility would collect money from each property in the City based on a formula established by the study performed by Bolton & Menk for stormwater-related maintenance. The fee would be collected quarterly as part of the regular utility billing process. Bolton & Menk has assisted numerous cities over the years with establishing a stormwater utility and they will use