10-12-11 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 12, 2011 City only has the ability to require the undergrounding as part of a road reconstruction. The Administrator also pointed out that when utilities are undergrounded, adjacent property owners must upgrade their services and that can be an expensive undertaking. If services are not upgraded, there would be a utility pole in front of the house or business, with utilities run from the pole to the structure. Keis stated that he was not sure the cost could be justified given the economic times. The Administrator noted that undergrounding the utilities will clean up the appearance of the area, but the cost is substantial. The Council discussed whether or not the City should request the full estimate from Xcel for an additional $15,000. The City Administrator stated that he doubted the figures would drop dramatically. IIe noted that City staff has a meeting with Xcel next week, and could discuss their estimate with them in more detail. The Administrator noted that the issue is at what point (cost) the undergrounding makes sense. McGraw stated that he agreed, the higher the cost, the less likely the undergrounding will occur. McGraw noted, however, that Little Canada Road is the City's main street, and was concerned that if utilities are not undergrounded at this time, the City would lose the opportunity to move forward with the project in the near future. The Administrator noted that the last time Little Canada Road was recycled was about 21 years ago, so it may be another 20 years before the City has this opportunity again. The Administrator suggested that he discuss the quote further with Xcel as well as discuss funding options such as the undergrounding surcharge that Roseville put in place. McGraw asked if another entity could be hired to do the undergrounding. The Administrator indicated that while Xcel will allow contractors to change out street lights, he did not believe they would allow contractors to do utility undergrounding. Blesener stated that he would like to see the utilities buried, but did not know where the breaking point was. Blesener felt that, at a minimum, utilities along Rice Street should be buried. The Administrator reported that the City of Roseville has ordered the cost study for the remainder of Rice Street, and that study should be ready within the next 30 to 60 days. The Administrator indicated that he would report further to the Council after staffs meeting with Xcel next week. 4