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8.f Administrator's reportSCANDILA Staff Report Date of Meeting: October 18, 2016 To: City Council From: Neil Soltis, Administrator Re: Administrator's report Log House Landing Boat ramp —Jim Shaver and I will be working with DNR and Watershed engineers on revising the design for the ramp, including the use of concrete planking for the whole project. Based on the erosions on the ramp and complaints from residents, minor repairs will be made to the ramp. The National Park Service has delivered the sign to be placed at Log House Landing. That will be installed as time permits. IT Cabling — Web electric is scheduled to extend electrical service to the location that will be used for the telephone and cable demarcation along with the IT equipment. After that is completed Midco will come in and move the cable that provides the internet and telephone service to the building. Following that an IT cabling company will relocate the existing connections from the mechanical room to the new location. Oakhill Storm shelters —The work on the Oakhill Storm shelters is substantially complete. Connexus Energy — We received a notice the Connexus will be replacing and upgrading all of their members' meters with in the next 2 years. Notices will be sent to members in advance of the installation. Sewer Inflow and Infiltration — With the rain events in September the records of pump run times indicate that the sewer systems have a significant issue with inflow and infiltration. For example the flows at one of the lift stations in the Bliss system were roughly 3x the average on 3 days in September. A discussion of the issue will be on the agenda for the upcoming wastewater Advisory Committee meeting. Watershed Districts — Following this report is a letter that was submitted by John Waller the Director of the Rice Creek Watershed district to the Washington County Board of Commissioners addressing the lack of accountability for expenditures where the taxing districts do not align with watershed boundaries. Veterans Memorial — Chuck Priesler has issued the building permit for the construction of the Veterans Memorial. PUBLIC WORKS ACTIVITIES Safety—The monthly safety inspection of buildings and equipment was completed Roads and rights-of-way: • The 2nd round of ditch mowing that was started on August 29tH was completed on September 30tH • Adding material to the deteriorated road shoulders that was started in August 29 at the northwest corner of the City has continued with most of the roads north of Scandia Trail (97) completed. • The effort to improve sign visibility through minor trimming that was started in late August starting in the northeast corner of the City is nearly complete • Fallen trees were removed from the road rights-of-way after the rain event on September 23. • Trees interfering with the use of the road were removed on 195th and Layton • Log House landing was reshaped and some progress has been made to place rock checks to slow the flow of storm water runoff on the north side of the road. • The bicycle rack that was donated by the St. Croix River Association was installed in advance of their Pedal and Paddle event on September 25. • Fahrner Asphalt looked at options to repair the areas where the 2013-2014 seal coating material is delaminating. They are recommending a spray seal, but the equipment is booked for the remainder of the year and the cost for the work would be $5,000 / day. The deteriorated areas will be patched by the crew in October. • The updated street name signs for the roads that were sealcoated this year have been ordered. • The crew cut out and paved deteriorated portions of the road on Oakhill, 228th, 195th, and Odell • Potholes reported by residents were filled on Pomroy and Meadowridge Trail • A faded stop sign was replaced at 197th & Oxboro. Additional replacement signs have been ordered for 2 locations. Parks and Grounds • The south ballfield was mowed 1 time • The lighted ballfield was mowed 1 time • The t -ball field was mowed 1 time • The rain garden at Lilleskogen Park was weeded and the invasive grasses sprayed • The Public Works / Fire building was mowed 1 time • The annex building was mowed 1 time • Hay Lake Park and the Settlers monument were mowed 1 time • The Community building was mowed 1 time • Christine Mazucco, the seasonal parks and grounds worker, completed her 67 days of work at the end of September. Continuing her employment beyond that number of days would have required her to be a member of the union. • The skating rink has been inspected for broken dasher boards and kick plates. The replacement materials have been ordered and a portion of those have been delivered. • Washouts at the Goose Lake boat ramp have been filled. • Sentence to Serve worker will be used for 2 days in late October or early November to continue the invasive species removal at Lilleskogen Park Sewers: • The August and September DMR reports for the Bliss drain field were submitted • The September and October sewer inspections and testing have been completed. • Smiley Sewer is scheduled to pump the tanks with levels of sludge or scum in excess of the maintenance plan in the Anderson Erickson system 99 locations) Uptown drainfield, the former fire station, and the Community building. • One issue that still needs to be addressed is the City will need a permit from the MPCA for a location to land spread the septage from the Bliss addition. Previously there were discussion with the City of Marine on the St. Croix regarding using the same field to land spread the septage. I will be working with the City and the MPCA on the permit. • The meters for the Uptown sewer system were read and billing for the 3rd quarter sent out. Projects for the next moth include: • Regrading gravel roads • Continued minor road patching • Continue adding material to road shoulders • Dasher board and kick plate replacement at ice rink. • Prepping snow removal equipment • Street name sign replacement CONNEXUS"' ENERGY Your Community Energy Partner September 19, 2016 Mr. Neil Soltis, City Administrator S[P L 1 Z6 City of Scandia 14727 209th St N CITY OF SCANDIA Scandia, MN 55073 Dear Mr. Soltis: 14601 Ramsey Boulevard Ramsey, Minnesota 55303 763.323.2600 Fax: 763.323.2603 www connexusenergy.com info@connexusenergy.com As one of our valued community partners, we want to make sure you are informed and aware of what Connexus Energy has planned for all members throughout our service area. As part of our commitment to continuously improve service and reliability, Connexus plans to replace and upgrade all our members' meters within the next two years. Our current metering system is 22 years old and will be replaced with Advanced Meter Infrastructure or AMI. This new technology will pinpoint outages, allowing us to respond faster and improve reliability. It will also serve as the platform to deliver improved programs and services that empower our members with information to make informed decisions on their electricity use. Installing 100,000+ new meters will take time. Starting in October 2016, we will begin installing the meters in phases, going from neighborhood to neighborhood. We will be sending notices to all our members a few weeks prior to the installation of the new meters. We expect to have all advanced meters installed by sometime in 2018. Some people have asked about the potential health effects from exposure to the radio frequency emitted by advanced meters. The meters we are installing meet all Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines and safety standards. Members who choose to keep their current meters can opt out of the transition to advanced meters and pay a monthly service fee. While other utilities have been installing the Advanced Meter Infrastructure for years, we wanted to make sure the time was right, the technology was proven, and that costs came down before we invested money and resources toward this effort. We are convinced the time is right to take the next step. In doing so, we promise you three things: we've done our homework, the technology is safe, and we will protect our members' data. We are excited about this next step in providing affordable, reliable, safe electricity to the communities we serve. If you'd like more information about our AMI project, please visit us at connexusenergy.com. Sincerely, Greg Ridderbusch Chief Executive Officer Connexus Energy October 4, 2016 LVED U(;i 1 "l 2U.ici Washington County Board of Commissioners L CITY OF SCANDIA Washington County Government Center 1494962 d Street North P.0_ Box fi Stillwater, Minnesota 55082-0006 Dear Commissioners - I am John Waller. My address is 14010 Homestead Ave. N., Hugo, Minnesota 55038. I am the sole Washington County manager on the Rice Creek Watershed District Board of Managers. I was a member of the work group which produced: The Report for Water Governance Study Washington County, Minnesota, dated May, 1999. On page four of the study the Work Group suggested that during the second decade of the new millennium, the structures and systems that manage surface and ground water be formally evaluated by the County Board to determine whether the systems and structures for establishment and exercise of political and administrative powers which determine, direct, and control surface and ground water, are meeting the county goals for water governance. It is now the second decade of the millennium and I am asking the County Board to conduct a formal evaluation of water governance. I believe, since beginning in 1972, the Rice Creek Watershed District has treated the cities and residence of within the districts portion of Washington County very, very badly. The structure of Board of Managers inherently prejudices the cities and taxpayers of Washington County. This inherent structural prejudice has caused the loss of the local control of water governance and local control of water governance needs to be restored. The Board of Managers structural prejudice has been manifested in their adversarial actions to providing the service needs of cities and taxpayers of Washington County. I could recite a long list of adversarial actions take by the Rice Creek Watershed District, but these details are better left for a future workshop. It is easy for a Washington County city or taxpayer to follow the tax revenue paid into the watershed district. Three documents provide disclosure. First, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Rice Creek Watershed District 038 Certification of Apportioned Levies Payable 2017 lists for that portion of Rice Creek Watershed District within Washington County as 19.7761% of the watershed district property tax levy. Second, the Washington County Pay 2015 Watershed District Tax by Municipality (only includes that part of the watershed district within Washington County) lists taxes for Rice Creek Watershed District as $842, 065. The Washington County taxpayers in the Rice Creek Watershed District have paid approximately $8 million in the last ten years. Third, the Washington County Department of Property Records and Taxpayer Services, Tax Statement 2016, item 10: Special Taxing Districts (c) Rice Creek Watershed District reveals for a property the watershed district tax bill. These documents provide transparency, accountability, objectivity, and impartiality of taxes inbound to the Rice Creek Watershed District from the cities and taxpayers of Washington County. However, the Rice Creek Watershed District budget does not provide the same easy transparent, accountable, objective and impartial disclosure of taxes spent for services needed by Washington County cities and taxpayers. The budget does not break out spending by county or city. A Washington County city or taxpayer is unable to find out how much of the $8 million paid in the last ten years was spent in Washington County. Further study and evaluation water governance structures and systems are needed. Currently cities are mandated to adopt watershed district rules into local storm water plans. Implementation of this mandate brings opportunity for greater meshing and coordination of the watershed budget with cities storm water budgets. I, again, respectfully request the County Board to authorize a formal study to determine whether the systems and structures that manage surface and ground water be formally evaluated by the County Board to determine, whether the systems and structures for establishment and exercise of political and administrative powers which determine, direct, and control surface and ground water, are meeting the county goals for water governance. Thank you for your help. Respectfully yours; John Waller Cc: Washington County Administrator Molly O'Rourke Washington County Health and Environment Director Lowell Johnson