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I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I I 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 23 , 2013 Page 3 committed to sending out the crime prevention message and the officers are constantly in the City's neighborhoods getting to know residents and business owners. Councilmember Jenson expressed thanks and appreciation to Sergeant Mangseth and the Police Department for all their work in initiating programs that improve the quality of life for everyone. B. Resolution 13-056; a Resolution Petitioning Rice Creek Watershed District for a Basic Waters Management Project to Address Storm Water Management and Flooding within the Cities of New Brighton and Saint Anthony, Minnesota. Todd Hubmer, City Engineer, presenting . City Engineer Hubmer presented the petition to Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) to prepare a basic waters management project to address storm water management and flooding issues in SI. Anthony and New Brighton and explained that following the 20 II storm events, SI. Anthony and New Brighton approached RCWD after preparing a feasibility report looking at drainage issues resulting from the storm events and RCWD indicated it currently did not have available funding and that this would require a petition to authorize funding. He explained the City Council is being asked to authorize Phase I that includes scoping of the project , review of regulatory issues and potential solutions, and coming back to SI. Anthony and New Brighton with a phased approach on implementing projects in the future. He noted the cities of SI. Anthony and New Brighton expressed a strong desire for input and participation throughout the process. He stated the cities of SI. Anthony and New Brighton also expressed concern about expenses and explained that the State rules governing the petition indicate if no improvements are made as part of the petition then a community is responsible for expenses incurred to date, however, staff feels this risk is minimal because even if one improvement is made as part of this process, those expenses do not revert to cities and staff believes this is the correct method for moving forward to address the flooding issues. He explained that the Ramsey County ditch system is under capacity and does not have the capacity to carry water away from the communities to prevent flood damage and RCWD is the appropriate authority to take charge on this matter. He indicated reports will be provided in the future and representatives from RCWD may be asked to speak to the City Councils as the project moves forward, adding there will be a large public component to make sure residents are kept informed of the projecl. Councilmember Stille asked if the City could receive reimbursement for the backflow preventer. He also asked if RCWD has the funding capacity to handle this project. City Engineer Hubmer stated the City is not eligible to receive reimbursement for the back flow preventer because any expenses incurred prior to the petition are not refundable to a community. He also stated RCWD has sufficient funding capacity for this project and the petition will allow RCWD to avail itself of a number of financing mechanisms and all financing decisions will be made through a public process. Councilmember Jenson asked if WSB & Associates is representing New Brighton. He also asked about the timeline for review of the petition by RCWD. City Engineer Hubmer replied that WSB completed the flood damage study for SI. Anthony and New Brighton and that report is the basis for the petition. He noted if the system capacity is