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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/13/2004CITY COUNCIL 13 DECEMBER 2004 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Monday, 13 December 2004, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: J. Condos, Chair; T. Sheahan, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also Present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hinds, Director of Planning & Zoning; B. Hoar, Director of Public Works; Rep. A. Audette; L. Kupferman, R. Farley, M. Kupersmith, Development Review Board; J. Fay, CWD; J. Spinelli, City Attorney; A. Reese, G. Forbes, L. Llewellyn, J. Jaeger, B. Wessel, L. Bresee, J. Canning, F. & M.A. Murray, J. Greser, T. Brooks 1. Presentation of Proposed Storm Water Utility: Mr. Hafter said this has been a great project to work on, especially as it offers the opportunity to really make a difference. South Burlington has the opportunity to clean up its streams and make the community "water smart," thus solving a long-standing public need. The cost to do this will be $4.50 per month for a single-family homeowner. Mr. Hafter then recognized the people who have worked on this project, including: Councilman O'Rourke, Bruce Hoar, Juli-Beth Hinds, and consultants/specialists Gene Forbes, Mike Schram, Andy Reese, Pat Hefernan, and Scott Johnston. There are 13 square miles of water in South Burlington and 16.6 square miles of land. 2.3 miles of the land is shoreline. Six of the city's waterways are on the State's list of impaired waterways with some of the impaired brooks draining right into Shelburne Bay/Lake Champlain. Ms. Hinds then identified "storm water" as that water which runs off impervious surfaces (roofs, pavements, parking lots, etc.). All properties generate storm water runoff. This runoff carries an enormous amount of sediment with surface pollutants such as petroleum products, trash, etc. This is all washed down storm drains. It is treated before it empties into surface waters. Ms. Hinds then showed a picture of what this sediment can look like as it runs into the Lake. She reminded people that the Lake is the city's drinking water. The issues that arouse concern with storm water and the sediments it carries include the compromising of public resources, economic costs to residents, negative impacts on public health, and the loss of species and diversity. The erosive force of storm water is enormous. Ms. Hinds showed a map of the area's watersheds. A lot of water from South Burlington drains into the Winooski River, Potash Brook and its tributaries, Bartlett Brook, Monroe Brook and Shelburne Pond. There is a particular concern with the problems in the Bartlett Brook watershed. Unmanaged storm water is causing water pollution, erosion, flooding, etc. Ms. Hinds then reviewed the composition of the stormwater drainage system. There are about 50 miles of pipes and drains, 4,000 catch basins, all of which need to be cleaned out. Until now, there has been no calculation of the cost to maintain these storm water systems. There are areas that need significant maintenance, particularly private systems that haven't been maintained due to cost. Even now, the inventory of the system is not complete. Ms. Hinds then identified specific problem areas including: 1. Overlook at Spear 2. Kennedy Drive condos 3. Twin Oaks (which has a grossly failing system) 4. Centennial Brook (significant pollution) 5. Joy Drive condos (unstable streambank) 6. Bartlett Brook (highly eroded) 7. Red Rocks (pollution problems Ms. Hinds showed photos of trash carried by streams with storm water. South Burlington has a history of good value for tax money. Not dealing with the storm water issue could jeopardize that. In addition, not dealing with the issue is making it almost impossible to get valid storm water permits which, in turn, is hindering property transfers. Mr. Reese then explained the nature of a storm water utility. He noted that storm water systems work perfectly when it is not raining. It is when storm water comes into the system that problems occur. Mr. Reese said if the city keeps doing what it has been doing, the problems will never be solved. In order to address this, revenue is needed to manage the storm water system. Unfortunately, operations and management of this kind of system is not very amenable to government grants, so it comes down to the imposition of a user fee. A storm water utility is a funding method for managing storm water systems. It is a public program concept, an organized entity that focuses only on stormwater. There are about 500 such utilities in the country. Mr. Reese showed a slide of indicating the stability of a user fee system as opposed to a tax funding method. A utility also allows a community to plan a 4-year program so that a system can grow as the city grows. The proposed South Burlington system would cost a single-family home $4.50 a month. There can also be credits to reward good performance. Mr. Reese explained how the fee is calculated, simply: "The more you pave, the more you pay." He also showed possible costs for commercial properties and reviewed the Typical cost for a commercial building. He stressed that everyone pays for this, churches, businesses, etc., according to how much pavement they have. Mr. Hafter then explained why South Burlington needs such a public utility: to clean up streams and improve water quality, to manage stormwater problems, and to provide a stable and adequate source of revenue to allow the city to continue to manage the system. There is enabling legislation to establish such a utility. The city is hoping to begin operating the utility on 1 April 2005. The proposed utility would manage all public stormwater systems and some private stormwater infrastructure. The utility will manage and maintain all residential stormwater systems in the city after they are brought up to standard by homeowners' associations. The utility will serve the entire city including city-owned and state-owned lands. There will be a full-time staff dedicated to storm water management. Mr. Hafter stressed that a valid stormwater permit is part of the value of a home. The proposed utility will help South Burlington property owners who don't have clear title to their homes because of storm water issues by managing the storm water infrastructure. The utility will manage and maintain permitting for residential storm water systems after the systems are brought up to standard by residents and homeowners' associations. Experts will be available to provide needs assessments to homeowners associations. They can also offer technical assistance, engineering, etc. About 15 homeowners associations have already been escrowing funds to upgrade their storm water systems. For those that haven't the utility can establish a special assessment district. If a person lives in a neighborhood that never had a storm water permit, needed improvements can be done through the Utility. For commercial properties, Mr. Hafter noted they would be asked to maintain their own systems. Technical assistance will be available from the Utility. Those properties will be given a credit for managing their systems. Mr. Hafter then explained that to calculate the rates, a satellite flew over the city and calculated the non-pervious lands. He showed an example of these images. The single-family fee of $4.50 per month will be billed quarterly with the water and sewer bill. This will be listed as a separate cost on the bill. There will be additional funding from state and federal grants. The city already has $2,000,000 in federal funds for this use. Ms. Hinds then reviewed a model project that has already been done. She noted that in order to get the federal $2,000,000, the city had to provide matching funds of $900,000. Eleven different grants were involved in the model Bartlett Brook Wetland Pond Project. Ms. Hinds showed "before and after" slides of the project as it moved from an eroded stream channel to a constructed wetland with a naturalized stream channel. This project is doing an outstanding job of removing sediment and bacteria from storm waters. Other projects that are in process at this time include: Butler Farms/Oak Creek; Williston Road/Air Guard Drive/Kennedy Drive; Market Street; Dorset Street/Williston Road/I-89; Swift/Farrell Streets; and Shelburne Road I-189 Interchange (Kmart, Price Chopper, Shaws and the residential areas behind the Key Bank). In the spring of 2005, the culvert under Dorset St. will be cleaned and banks will be replaced at Potash Brook where it crosses Dorset St. The city is also working with the Army Corps of Engineers on Tributary #3 of Potash Brook which runs through the City Center. Ms. Hinds then explained the community outreach program, which will be put into place to explain this process to homeowners groups, etc. Mr. Hafter then reviewed the time-line including outreach, hiring of staff, meetings with ratepayers, etc., until the first bill goes out in April 2005. A question and answer session followed the presentation: Mr. Magowan asked how credits will be calculated and whether there will be an appeals process. Mr. Forbes said they would generally follow the state storm water manual. He explained the five areas, each of which can give a 5%, 10% or 15% credit. Mr. Magowan asked if there would be an annual review process to be sure that maintenance work is being done. Mr. Forbes said their will. Mr. Murray asked why a user fee instead of a tax. Mr. Hafter explained there are properties in the city that don't pay taxes, so the fee is more equitable because everyone pays. The intention is that the utility will be self-supporting as are the city's other utilities. Mr. Magowan asked what is the outcome that will be measured. Mr. Forbes said it would include the number of catch basins cleaned each year, the number of bugs/bacteria in streams, and the removal of streams from the impaired list by maintaining water quality standards. Mr. Canning of Winding Brook thanked everyone for his or her work on this and for educating the public. He asked if the $4.50 would be prorated or adjusted for the size of a property. Mr. Hafter said it would be a uniform $4.50 to keep it simple. Mr. Canning then asked what standard they have to bring their systems to in order to participate. He noted at Winding Brook there is a limit to what they can do because they don't have enough property. He asked if there could be "offsets." Mr. Hafter said he didn't know if there are still offsets. The Winding Brook Treasurer said no one would tell them what this would cost so they don't know what to ask people for. Ms. Hinds said the best guess is to do the best you can do to fix up the property. Mr. Hafter noted the same struggle is existing on city-owned property. Mr. Condos suggested meeting the 2002 standard as close as possible. Mr. Greser said one of the main impediments is the lack of information. He added that utilities offer an ideal opportunity to give information to the public for people seeking offsetting opportunities. Mr. Harfter said the budget includes at 20-hour GIS position specifically to address those questions. Mr. Bresee said the city would have to provide a great deal of education. He noted the number of days each year that Red Rocks is shut down because of pollution issues. Ms. Murray, Treasurer of Ridgewood, asked what standard they have to get back to. Mr. Hafter said probably the 2002 standard. Ms. Murray asked what the city would accept. Mr. O'Rourke said the problem is the standard of what the state would want in order for them to issue a permit. Ms. Hinds said the best guess is to meet the TMDL, which is to bring the systems as close to the 2002 standard as possible. Mr. Magowan noted condo associations have to come up with money before the city will take over their systems and they don't have a clue how much money will be needed. Mr. Wessel raised the question of a project for 4 single-family homes that meets all standards but might put in a bigger system to help a larger area. He asked if the utility would provide some reimbursement for this. Mr. Brooks applauded the city for working on this issue and noted many municipalities are looking to South Burlington's lead. He asked if the city envisions bringing in construction general permits. Mr. Reese said there is a local "doesn't make sense issue" and possibly a liability issue as well as funding issues. Ms. Hinds added that some construction sites are major pollutants. With or without a utility, this has to be addressed. Rep. Audette noted the state is appealing the decision of the Water Resources Board. He said there were supposed to have been rules written after the Legislature was out of Session. This wasn't done. Mr. Canning asked when they should begin to do the work. Mr. Hafter said he couldn't answer that at this time. Mr. Kupferman asked about homeowners associations that are not yet formed because developers still have control. Mr. O'Rourke thanked all of those who worked on the committee and as consultants for this project. Mr. Magowan said he wasn't sure of the outcomes of this and whether the quality of the lake can be improved if all other communities don't do what South Burlington is doing. Mr. O'Rourke said that is what leadership is all about. South Burlington can be the "first clean drop in the bucket." He felt there will be visible impacts when these projects are up and running. Mr. Hafter stressed there will be measurable goals. Shelburne, Winooski, and Burlington will have to address these issues as well. The only real choice is how to pay for the work, not whether to do it or not. Mr. Reese also said there will be visible results. He cited the solving of similar problems in Tulsa, OK, and Charlotte, N.C. Members gave the City Manager their consent to proceed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.