November 6th 2007 Council Meeting

I wanted to highlight five of the items from tonight’s Council meeting. The first is the water and sewer rate study. The study was commissioned to evaluate our current rate structure and make sure we are in line with where we need to be. Another main reason for the study is to determine how we would pay for the water treatment facility.

Tonight the Council will start the process by discussing the methodology for paying for the facility. Should everyone pay or should it fall mostly on new developments? I think since the treatment facility will benefit the whole city, the cost should be shared by new and current residents alike.

One of the hard facts we face is the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the Council’s actions several years ago to lower sewer and water rates without understanding the impact. Then in 2005, my first year on the council, we were informed that the sewer and water funds were losing money. The money lost can not be replaced and caused the Council in 2005 to raise rates to start breaking even once again on operations. The other issue was the low fees charged to new developments for infrastructure improvements. The low developer fees hurt our ability to build needed infrastructure. We have rectified this situation but still suffer from the ill effects.

Now we are looking at a rate increase to fund the treatment plant. The rate would be inline with what Cambridge pays to fund their water treatment facility. East Bethel to the south is also building a water treatment facility. The hard facts are not only do we have hard and at times foul smelling water, it also contains cancer causing radium. Even if the Council green lights a project this year it will be roughly 3 years before it is up and running and producing healthy drinkable water. There is no easy way to pay for the facility, especially with the missteps of the past, but we must protect the health and safety of our citizens.

The next item is a proposed moratorium on residential subdivisions. The moratorium is needed to take effect after the new comp plan is approved to allow for City ordinances to be updated. This does not affect the already approved plats with the 5 to 10 years of housing stock.

The third item is the Sub-committee for residential ordinances. The Council members will be asked to make two appointments each to the sub-committee. The sub-committee will help shape the new residential ordinances. I asked that each member be allowed to make their appointments independently so all views are represented. I did not want a majority of three to make all the appointments.

The fourth item is placing a street light at Riverside Park. For some reason this was not done when it was built and we need to fix this problem ASAP. It is a child safety issue and would be paid for out of park and recreation dedication fees.

The last item is Union negotiations. Currently the personnel committee, on which I serve, is negotiating with the Police and Public Works unions. I believe we will be able to come to a sensible contract with each union. I only mention it here so the public is aware of the work that is being done. The negotiations are time intensive and set the wage scale for the entire city. It will not be easy but both sides are working in good faith. I hope to have resolution to both contracts soon so our employees can continue their good work with the knowledge of a contract that ensures they are treated fairly. This of course does not happen in a vacuum. The City has financial restraints which I have written and spoken about often.