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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/07/2009 04A Draft Minutes 06-09-2009 Study SessionYAKIMA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION JUKE 9, 2009 — 8:00 — 9:30 A.I. COUNCIL CHAMBERS — YAiKIMA CITY HALL 1. Roll Call Present: Council: Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley, presiding, Council Members Maureen Adkison, Kathy Coffey, Rick Ensey, Bill Lover, and Sonia Rodriguez Staff: City Manager Zais and City Clerk Moore. Assistant City Manager Dave Zabell., Stormwater Utility Manager Shelley Willson, and Wastewater Manager Scott Schafer Absent: Mayor Dave Edler (Excusedj 2. Stormwater Program Update and Discussion Shelley Willson, Stormwater Utility Manager, reviewed the material provided to Council using a powerpoint presentation. The Stormwater Utility operates under three programs: ® NPDES — National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System UIC - Underground Injection Control Program ® " Capital /Safety The cities of Union Gap, Sunnyside, Yakima,. and Yakima County operate under the Regional Stormwater Policy Group (RSPG). The RSPG is doing a large amount of the administrative work. The powerpoint presentation listed the RSPG activities, and local activities taking place. Capital /Safety.and Liability Needs are identified as pedestrian, vehicle and bicycle hazards, localized flooding, property damage, and infrastructure failure. NPDES Operations relate to pollution prevention measures, good housekeeping practices, adopting and enforcing the illicit discharge ordinance, inventory and mapping of the system, and outflow monitoring UIC, referred to as a drywell, is a box in the curb line with a protruding pipe that is perforated like a French drain and allows infiltration into the soil. There is a distinction between this and stormwater (surface water). UICs are potential point sources to ground water. They are difficult to find in the field and require identification and mapping. It is estimated that there are 5,000 UICs in the City. Each one has to have an assessment ADJOURNED MEETING - STORilATER PROGRAM JUNE 9,2W9 done to determine what its pollutant potential is. They also have to have a plan for addressing them. This is a very heavily regulated area. Mrs. Willson reviewed Council activity to date. In 2007, the City Council established rates to fund activities necessary to: • Meet minimum requirements of NPDES permit for years 1 and 2 ® Meet the minimum requirements of UIC regulations • Address immediate safety needs through system rehabilitation and minor expansion • Repay the Wastewater Utility and Street Fund for previous expenditures The 2010 and 2011 Rate Proposal: • Includes transfer of $215,000 to the Street Fund for "good housekeeping measures" - $215,000. • This is a bare -bones budget; there are no funds for construction or a reserve for a contingency or emergency. • Focuses on next two years with no moderate or long range funding consideration. • Each $1 in the rate equates to approximately $48,000 in revenue City Manager Zais explained that this phase was one of the steps with respect to obtaining the permit. They contemplated a phase -in of activity, e.g. data collection, record keeping and projects, over a period of time. As new requirements arise, we have to anticipate the activity accordingly. We originally set up the program to meet minimum requirements. Mrs. Willson reviewed Table 1 (in the packet supplied) that depicted the adopted budget and the proposed 2010 -2011 budgets. The major increase is the $208,000 addition to the Street Division. With regard to the professional services item for $35,000, they suggest if that money is not used for legal counsel or a special need, that it be set aside for updating the 1993 Comprehensive Plan that deals with infrastructure in the system. It needs to be updated to cover annexations and new regulations. City Manager Zais commented that the good news is we are nowhere near the original projected numbers; but the bad news is, there will be an increase to what we are charging of approximately $0.42 a month for the average resident. The average rate for eastern Washington cities is $3.80 per month per ERU. The proposed rate for the City of Yakima will be $3.33 per month in 2010 and $3.58 for 2011. Because of the efforts we have put into the program and regional system, we are considered one of the model programs in the state by the Department of Ecology. We have been given high marks with regard to our efforts for the regional approach, and have received some grants. We have also avoided lengthy and costly 2 ADJOURNED MEETING - STORMWATER PROGRAM JUNE 9, 2009 litigation. A number of entities are challenging the state on the legalities of the permit and are not making much headway. 3. Audience Comments Clarence Barnett, representing the Central Washington Homebuilder's Association, emphasized that, when working on the illicit discharge ordinance, it is important to not add strict penalties for violators at the beginning. Many of the people who have illicit connections, don't know they are in violation. It would be helpful to place emphasis on giving a notice of violation with a time period for them to correct the problem before applying heavy penalties. Scott Shafer, Wastewater Manager, agreed. We want to mirror the pretreatment program where there are escalating steps. There would first be a warning letter that would escalate to a notice of violation and then escalate to fines. We do need something in place to work as a deterrent to keep violations from continuing. The illicit discharge ordinance will be brought before Council on or before July 16th so it will be effective August 16th ,as required. 4. Adjournment ADKISON MOVED AND RODRIGUEZ SECONDED TO ADJOURN The motion carried by unanimous voice vote; Edler absent. The meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY ATTEST:. COUNCIL MEMBER DATE COUNCIL MEMBER DATE CITY CLERK Assistant Mayor, Micah Cawley Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD and bVD of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office 3