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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 4 1 Councilmember Gray clarified that this law was changed in 1970. Mr. Hubmer agreed. 2 Councilmember Gray asked if records have been kept with which houses have been checked. 3 Mr. Humber said there is a file for each parcel, and there is information on each parcel that has 4 been checked. He said as they proceed, they will want to show Met Council how many 5 inspections have been done, and show that progress is being made. He said at some point, the 6 Met Council will see that St. Anthony has done all it can do. 8 Councilmember Gray suggested that those homes that are seen to be at a higher risk for 9 noncompliance be offered more education and a date for compliance. Mr. Hubmer said there has 10 been a good response in the education meetings. 11 12 Councilmember Horst commented that this could be somewhat self - correcting if the inspections 13 are handled during the water meter installations. Mr. Hubmer stated it is a suggestion to 14 combine the activities, at this point, since the decision to replace water meters hasn't been made 15 as yet. 16 17 Mayor Faust stated that this decision would need to be made in November or December. The 18 Met Council will have made decisions on further guidelines and timeframes by this time. He 19 noted this is information that is being kept in front of people and the public information is 20 ongoing so everyone is aware of the program. He said that a grant program had been mentioned 21 and he said he was unsure if anything like that had been done in the past. He asked if something 22 like this could be done for street improvement charges. 23 24 Mr. Hubmer stated that through the flood process, he has been in approximately 200 homes in 25 the area. He said people have asked for the grant program. He explained that eligibility 26 guidelines must be created. Every one is paying for the illegal connections in St. Anthony 27 because everyone is paying for a higher connection through the fees. He said there is some 28 responsibility to try to reduce that on everyone's part. 29 30 Mayor Faust stated he is in the position that the City should be proactive rather than have the 31 Met Council incorporate the city into their program. He said he does not want to hold off, but 32 also does not want to reward someone who hasn't taken the steps compared to someone who has. 33 34 Councilmember Stille noted the Housing Resource Center has grants for income eligible persons, 35 and suggested this could be an avenue for people that have financial issues. Mr. Hubmer agreed. 36 37 3. Update on Automatic Water Meter Reading System. 38 Mr. Hubmer noted the city's water meters are around 20 to 30 years old, which is the life span of 39 the meters. They eventually slow down and keep less accurate records. He stated he has had 40 meetings with two suppliers. He supplied the information of the cost of updating the current 41 system versus installing a wireless system. The installation of the wireless system is much more 42 expensive, though it has many benefits. It has the potential to reduce billing errors, it reduces 43 paper and postage costs, and increases meter reading productivity. This alsp sets up a database 44 that depicts how much water is being used. 45 46 Councilmember Thuesen inquired whether there is a need for ongoing accuracy or calibration.