9-20-12 ww committeeSeptember 20, 2012
A meeting of the Scandia Wastewater Advisory Committee was held on the above date. The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Jim Schneider at 7:07 p.m. In attendance were: Daniel
Cartier, Holly Kaufhold, Brad Bergo, Council member Jim Schneider, Staff Kristina Handt, Tim Keiffer, Colleen Firkus, Engineer Phil Gravel. Members absent were James Malmquist, Wayne
Schmidt, Mike Peterson, Doug Salmela, Councilmember/Chair Chris Ness, and Planning Commissioner Steven Philippi, which resulted in no quorum. A discussion of issues followed.
Council member Schneider reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting, asking for additions or corrections. There were none.
“201” Community Wastewater System
Draft Budget – The proposed 2013 budget was presented by Treasurer Firkus as well as cash balance projections for 2012 and 2013. Cartier questioned the need to have $5,500.00 as depreciation.
It was explained that the $5,500.00 was actually to build up the replacement fund. A replacement fund is required as a condition of the “201” grant used to build the system. The city
has also been warned by the State Auditor’s office about the insufficiency of its replacement fund. Cartier suggested changing the wording from “Depreciation” to “Contingency Replacement”
for the $5,500 line item as the auditors already depreciate the system by $30,000 annually.
Staff also recommended a rate increase of 5%, or $32.04. The new total rate would be $690.76 annually or $172.69 quarterly. Rates have been level since 2009. The cash balance of the
“201” fund is projected to decrease this year due to the engineering study and upgrades to the system. A rate increase is necessary to recover those costs and continue to add to the
contingency/replacement fund. Committee members were in agreement with recommending a 5% rate increase, except for Cartier who strongly objected, stating that the $5,500 “Contingency
Replacement” expense was sufficient being 9% of expenditures.
Anderson-Erickson Collector System
Engineer Gravel presented the monitoring report for this system. His recommendation was to continue testing before allowing any new connections. The two samples taken were so different
(nitrates high in March and low in July); further testing is needed to see if the March reading was an anomaly. Mr. Christensen, attorney for Continenzas, asked what happens if additional
testing shows high nitrates. Gravel said we would have to pre-treat to get the levels down. Gravel also stated that even if the system could handle additional flow with new connections,
extra nitrates could push the system over its limit. Another sample will be done in October and then another round next year. Gravel said a policy needs to be developed to deal with
requests for connections. Those present had a consensus to
accept the engineer’s recommendation for more testing before allowing new connections and to work on a policy at the next committee meeting.
Bliss Collector System
There were no questions about the Operating Agreement with EcoCheck/Natural System Utilities. EcoCheck will take over as operator effective December 1, 2012 for two years, and the city’s
contract with Washington County will terminate at the end of the year. Cost is $6,660.00 per year, subject to adjustments for inflation.
Uptown Wastewater System
The City Council awarded the bid for the Uptown Wastewater Improvement Project to Septic Check in the amount of $138,683.25 at their August 21, 2012 meeting. Engineer Brian Malm reported
at that meeting that he hopes to reduce the cost by approximately $13,750 by making some changes to the plan. The work is to be coordinated with Washington County’s curb and gutter
work on Olinda Trail.
Future Meeting Date / Agenda
The next meeting is scheduled for November 1, at 7:00 p.m. Items to be discussed will be: 1) adequacy of current connection fee of $4,250.00, 2) identify the number of potential connections
for Bliss & A-E systems, 3) policy to handle connection requests, and 4) the Uptown Sewer ordinance and rates.
Meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Colleen Firkus
Treasurer