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C, <br />ENGINEERS ARCHITECTS PLANNERS <br />September 18, 1990 <br />Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />Lake Elmo, Minnesota <br />Re: Fire Protection <br />SW - 1 Water System <br />Lake Elmo, Minnesota <br />Cornmission No. 9150-000 <br />Dear Mayor and Council: <br />.- ' \ . �c�Ih C� titi <br />TOLTZ, KING, DUVALL, ANDERSON <br />AND ASSOCIATES. INCORPORATED <br />2500 AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK BUILDING <br />SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA 55101-1003 <br />612M2.4400 <br />FA%OW92-0083 <br />At the August 14, 1990 public hearing to consider fire protection along the route of the SW-1 <br />watermain system, the general consensus was that fire protection was too expensive as proposed. <br />Some suggestions were to install the larger pipes now so that hydrants could be added it the <br />future, increase the spacing of the hydrants, or increase the assessable area. The following are <br />our comments on each suggestion. <br />1. Install Larger Pipes at This Time so That Hydrants Could be Added at a Later <br />Date: <br />Attached is the estimated cost for fire protection and the assessment method presented at <br />the public hearing. One can see that the hydrants themselves represent 70% of the total <br />estimated $100,000 cost, therefore it seems logical to defer the higher cost hydrants and <br />install the larger mains now. <br />We support the idea of installing the larger maims now because they would be extremely <br />expensive to upgrade at a future date. However, assessing the value of the larger mains <br />only without hydrants may be difficult because it is difficult to show the benefit (that is, <br />increase to property value) of larger mains when there is no access to them. The <br />estimated cost of the larger mauls, larger meter, contingencies and engineering is <br />$27,500. <br />2. Increase the Spacing of the Hydrants: <br />The fire protection system presented at the public hearing had a hydrant spacing of 500 <br />feet, which we consider normal for residential areas. By increasing the spacing to 1000 <br />feet, the number of hydrants is cut in half-, therefore the hydrant cost is cut hi half, We. <br />are sure the Fire Department would prefer closer hydrant spacing but the 1.000 feet <br />spacing is workable and the Fire Department would agree that the larger trains and some <br />fire hydrants is much better than no fire fighting capability at all. The estimated cost of <br />this system of the larger mains, hydrants, larger meter, contingencies and engineering is <br />$66,000. <br />