Board of Water Commissioners

City Hall and Courthouse City of Saint Paul 15 West Kellogg Boulevard Room 330 Steve Schneider, General Minutes - Final Manager 651-266-6274 or Board of Water Commissioners steve.schneider@ci.stpaul. mn.us Mollie Gagnelius, Recording Secretary, 651-266-6275 or mollie.gagnelius@ci.stpaul. mn.us Tuesday, September 2, 2014 5:00 PM Saint Paul Regional Water Services - 1900 Rice Street Roll Call Present 3 - Matt Anfang;Chris Tolbert and John Zanmiller Absent 3 - Amy Brendmoen;Kathy Lantry and Will Rossbach Public Hearing City of Saint Paul Page 1 Board of Water Commissioners Minutes - Final September 2, 2014 1 PH 14-12 Public Hearing on 2015 water charges. Speakers: 1. Scott Olson 1897 Wordsmith Ave 55116 It’s been implied that conservation can keep water bills low, but the shift from volume to base charges makes that less doable. Adding those puts the Board in the company of Comcast, the Affordable Care Act, the airline industry and banks, which promise one thing and do another and charge fees that the customer have no say about. This proposed increase would result in an annual increase of 10.5% over the last four years; on par with health care. Please explain why the 33% increase in base fee is necessary, when he thought the usage fee was supposed to fund capital projects. Please explain the $2M increase in claims and judgments in the budget. 2. William Robins 2277 Stillwater Ave E 55119-3621 Mn Statute 103.291 requires a rate structure that encourages reduced water use by January 1, 2015. Where is that? Would have liked to see the budget on the web site. 3. Gene Schuldt 150 Montrose 55104 Long-time employee of SPRWS who retired eight years ago. 18% increase in one year is too much at one time. Please raise fees/changes more slowly. 4. John Wykoff 2345 Maryland Avenue Self-employed in the sign business; doesn’t have a government job, so increases are tougher to absorb; tired of paying high wages to government salaries while his wages go down. Tired of paying higher and higher taxes and fees. 5. Linda Sullivan 1654 Edmund Avenue Should have had a microphone for the speakers. Tired of public meetings being at 5pm so working people have a hard time attending; day after Labor Day; it seems to be planned this way. Assessments in general and increases like these are forcing her 89-year old mother out of her home; she to refinance to pay taxes; it’s not fair. Where are your customers going to get the money for these increases? Had to move out of the house because of mold and paying $22.59 for not using any water. City of Saint Paul Page 2 Board of Water Commissioners Minutes - Final September 2, 2014 Have yet to hear how much an average person’s charge will go up. Tired of the way the City works. 6. Greg Copeland 612 E Cook Avenue 55130 The mailed meeting notice is wholly inadequate; it should contain specifics. Would have liked to see an Executive Summary on the web site. An increase of 33% increase in the base fee is absurd; it’s 10-12 times the rate of inflation. The rates do not encourage conservation. The $18/yr. fee to reimburse St Paul for ROW maintenance is the same amount as the requested water main replacement surcharge; you could eliminate that today and skip the surcharge. Doesn’t want to pay to send water to White Bear Lake. $45 increase to $291 per year is crazy; we can do better. Taxes are going through the roof; sustainable living needs to start right here. 7. Kathy Soderberg 1300 W Maynard Drive (for Sibley Manor) The proposed increase will cost about $3,500 per month for Sibley Manor, which is affordable housing. She will have to raise the rents $20/month to cover the increase. Sibley Manor property taxes have gone up a couple hundred thousand dollars over the last 6 years. Written Correspondence: 1. Stephen Maas 2065 James Avenue 2. Nina Potter 2012 Mesabi Avenue 3. Susan Shetka 1285 Osceola Avenue Consent Agenda Note: Items listed under the Consent Agenda will be enacted by one motion with no separate discussion. If discussion on an item is desired, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. 2 Min 14-39 Approving the minutes of the August 12, 2014 meeting. Attachments: August 12, 2014 Board Minutes Laid Over City of Saint Paul Page 3 Board of Water Commissioners Minutes - Final September 2, 2014 3 RES 14-1516 Approving the Financial Statements for the month of July 2014. Attachments: July 2014 Financial Statements Laid Over Action Items 4 RES 14-1519 Pertaining to recommending a 2015 budget to Saint Paul City Council for approval. Attachments: Staff Report Resolution 14-1519 Proposed 2015 budget information Public Hearing Speakers Laid Over 5 RES 14-1520 Pertaining to recommending 2015 water charges to Saint Paul City Council for approval. Attachments: Staff Report Resolution 14-1520 Laid Over 6 RES 14-1522 Pertaining to a lease agreement with Verizon Wireless (VAW) LLC d/b/a Verizon Wireless allowing the installation of telecommunications equipment at the Sterling Street Water Tower site located at 645 South Sterling Street in Maplewood. Attachments: Staff Report Location Map Rent Schedule Site Plan Resolution 14-1522 Site Lease Agreement Laid Over Discussion Item 7 CO 14-37 East Metro Water Supply - draft report (Met Council invited to present) Informational Item City of Saint Paul Page 4 Board of Water Commissioners Minutes - Final September 2, 2014 8 CO 14-38 General Manager's Report 1. Met Council will present draft report regarding East Metro Water Supply in November 2. Lead Testing - Required by EPA every three years; received full compliance. 3. City of Mendota Heights agreement expires in 2015. SPRWS is working with City of Mendota Heights on acquisition agreement; should have something for the Board to vote on in June or July. Adjournment City of Saint Paul Page 5