Agenda Packets - 1997/04/07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No. i i Staff Report No.qi'ZOZS Ws Meeting Date: April 7, 1997 III Type of Business: WK WK.• Work Session;PH:Public Hearing; CA:Consent Agenda;CB:Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Michael Ulrich, Director of Public Works Item Title/Subject: Discussion and Consideration of Revisions to the Assessment Policy Date of Report: April 3, 1997 In reviewing and formulating the mock assessment roll for the Old Highway 8 project, staff identified some possible inequities in the method of various assessment formulas. Staff also received objectionable comments from the business owners involved in the Old 8 project. It is staff's recommendation that Council consider revising the policy. The revisions provided below (from a staff report presented to Council on 2-24-97, with additions), would create a document that would attempt to equalize primarily the storm sewer assessment method. In conversations with the City Attorney and Engineer, it was noted that storm sewer assessments can be particularly difficult to establish and prove benefit to the properties. III Staff rpt. 2-24-97 The storm sewer assessment method utilized on the Bronson Drive project was to formulate the total expenses for the storm sewer construction and divide that amount by the acres within the drainage districts served by the project. For Bronson Drive the assessable amount was 112 acres at $1,198.15 /acre. For the Old 8 project that amount is 12.66 acres at $4,871.39/acre. This obviously was an enormous concern on the affected property owners and highly susceptible to objection and possible litigation. In conversations with other City staff, engineers and the City attorney about this subject, two methods were discussed. Option No. 1 The first option being that the property owners in drainage districts that would receive benefit from a trunk storm sewer, only be assessed an amount (by lot or acre) determined and adjusted annually by resolution using the Engineering News Record (ENR). Trunk sewers are generally larger in diameter and require deeper bury which is why these sewers are more expensive to construct. These truck lines would in all likelihood be constructed on the City's major streets, such as MSA routes. Should a project be initiated on a particular street that requires storm sewer laterals which would be connected to the trunk lines, the Surface Water Utility would fund these expenses. The residential storm sewer assessment for Bronson Drive went from a low of$131.00 • to $647.00, the average being $389.00. Staff would recommend a flat $400.00 assessment which would cover a 1/3 acre residential lot. Multifamily housing that exceeded the 1/3 lot would be assessed based on the number of acres, divided by the unit cost ($400.00 per 1/3 acre).