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APPROVED MARCH 20, 2012 LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 20, 2012 COUNCIL – STAFF GOAL SETTING RETREAT - Administrator Zuleger outlined the upcoming Council- Staff Planning Retreat to be held on April 20-21, 2012 at the Wildwood Lodge in Lake Elmo. The retreat hours will be from 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM Friday evening and from 8:30 AM to Noon on Saturday. Don Salverda & Associates will conduct the retreat and provide an after action plan. Staff Members required to attend are: City Administrator, City Clerk, Finance Director, City Planning Direct or, DPW, City Engineer (s), Fire Chief and the City Attorney if he is so inclined. The Wildwood Lodge has arranged for a special rate for those wishing to spend the evening. MOTION: Council Member Smith moved to affirm the Lake Elmo Council-Staff Retreat be held on April 20-21, 2012 at the Wildwood Lodge in Lake Elmo at an expense not to exceed $3200. Council Member Pearson seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0. SURFACE WATER UTILITY FEE APPEAL / CREDIT POLICY – Administrator Zuleger brought the Council up-to-date on surface water appeals reconciliation process. He has come to an agreement with 7 out of the first 10 appellants – some of the appeals were four years old. However, the process has been difficult because the Surface Water Ordinance has no defined appeal process or credit standards to use for reconciliation. Zuleger handed out the current Lake Elmo Surface Water Ordinance for review. Zuleger outlined a five criteria appeal / credit policy that focused on a residents “intentional” effort to retain surface water. The policy focused on defining “intentional retention”, rain barrels, rain gardens, engineered surface water retention ponds, swales, and other facilities, and an economic hardship policy. Zuleger noted that he may have to add an additional policy point that took into account “intentional plantings of riparian buffers to prevent suspended solids from reaching surface waters. Acting Mayor Emmons noted that he liked the use of the word “intentional” as a means of establishing a policy, but was interested in whether adopting a more technical formula that evaluated impervious surfaces as a method of assessing the fee. City Engineer Griffin said that this calculation was a possibility and perhaps that the City could use the County’s resources to look at it, but the process might be cost prohibitive. Zuleger noted that the current fee structure is based on the ability to cash flow the operational activity of the City’s surface water utility. Emmons would like staff to look into the impervio us surface calculation process. Zuleger reported that it was the staff’s desire to have a revision to Chapter 53 of the Municipal Code by June 1st to allow ample time before next year’s fee assessment process. Zuleger also noted that the upcoming newsletter will have a four-page insert explaining the purpose of the utility and ways that residents can help in the process. Council Member Smith said that resident’s concerns may be calmed if we could split the payment up into quarters similar to the water bill. City Engineer Griffin gave a brief explanation of the federal, state and water shed district mandates that have to be complied with as part of the surface water utility obligations. Finance Director Bendel predicted that after the appeal reconciliation p rocess was complete she could foresee only 2 – 3 appeals per year with minimal fiscal impact. MOTION: Council Member Smith moved to have staff develop a surface water appeal process / credit policy to be added to Chapter 53 of the Municipal Code by June 1, 2012. Further, staff is directed to use their best judgment in negotiating and collecting past due receivables using the five point policy structure outline in the March 20, 2012 Council Summary. Council Member Park seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-0. METROPOLITAN COUNCIL WASTEWATER INEFFICIENCY FEE – At the request of Acting Mayor Emmons, the Council reviewed a March 5, 2012 memo from the Metropolitan Council to Lake Elmo Administrator Zuleger detailing the City’s obligation to meet a Residential Equivalent Connection (REC) level of 515 by December 31, 2015. Emmons felt that it may be appropriate for the Council to respond to the memo to clarify the understanding between both parties and to express the Council’s thoughts on the calculation of the te n- year rolling average. Council Member Smith stated that she felt that the 515 REC unit obligation was not unreasonable if Lake Elmo was serious about growth plans. Attorney Snyder noted that the Metropolitan Council and Lake Elmo have made great strides and in-roads in understanding and that the Metropolitan Council would probably welcome an interaction. Zuleger noted that he and Planning Director Klatt would be meeting with Metropolitan Council staff on Monday, March 26th to discuss the current MOU and that he would directly supply that information to the City Council. Council Member Pearson asked about the possibility of