07-29-2019 Council Packet (Budget)

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2020 BUDGET ‐ VEHICLE/EQUIPMENT NEW REQUEST VACJET TRAILER MOUNTED JETTER ($110,000 ‐ UTILITIES FUND) The purchase of this jeƩer will allow the city to more efficiently and effecƟvely maintain the aging gravity sewer lines, culverts, and storm sewer secƟons. We currently do not have a way to unplug and/or clean these city assets (other than hiring a contractor). In the past, it has been the city’s pracƟce to contract these services. While the work is necessary, it does come at a high cost. Right now, the going rate for gravity sewer cleaning is 68 cents per foot. A recent cleaning event of one day’s worth of work cost $10,000. Lino Lakes has about 90 miles of sewer lines. The League of Minnesota CiƟes recommends that all sanitary sewer lines to be cleaned every 3‐5 years. This is equates to approximately $325,000 dollars to clean the enƟre sanitary system. This amounts to $65,000 ‐ $108,000 annually. During the spring thaw, frozen culverts are a common occurrence and typically cost $2,000‐$3,000 each to hire a contractor to unplug a culvert. In addiƟon, having our own jeƩer would allow staff the ability to perform preventaƟve maintenance on parƟally clogged culverts, avoiding emergency situaƟons. To obtain a jeƩer in emergency situaƟons, Lino Lakes relies 100% on other municipaliƟes and contractors. This is not an ideal situaƟon. Emergency situaƟons are intensified when staff is spending valuable Ɵme aƩempƟng to borrow a jeƩer from a neighboring city or seeking a contractor with available equipment (especially in the middle of the night and weekends). With the purchase of this VacJet Trailer, we would be able to respond directly to these emergency situaƟons without delay. During sewer backups, every mi‐ nute that goes by can potenƟally lead to thousands of dollars in damage to homes, businesses, and city infrastructure. 119