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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-1991-04-29-1991CITY COUNCIL April 29, 1991 A SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council was held on Monday, April 29, 1991, at 7:38 P.M. in the Council Chamber pursuant to the Mayor's call of April 22, 1991. ROLL CALL - PRESENT: A quorum being present. ABSENT: Alderman Rainey Alderman Newman Alderman Paden Alderman Drummer Alderman Davis Alderman Brady Alderman Esch Alderman Heydemann Alderman Washington PRESIDING: Mayor Joan W. Barr MAYOR ANNOUNCEMENTS: Alderman Kent Alderman Moran Alderman Nelson Alderman Wollin Alderman Engleman Alderman Lanyon Alderman Feldman Alderman Warshaw Mayor Joan W. Barr introduced the name of Jonathan Fiske to serve as Alderman of 1st Ward in the seat vacated by the untimely death of John T. Rudy, Jr. She said that she would ask for Council confirmation of the appointment at the beginning of the May 6 meeting. Mayor Barr also announced there would be a CLOSED SESSION following the meeting to deal with pending litigation and land acquisition. Public Works Director David Barber called Council's attention to the memorandum containing the schedule for the delivery of the remaining roll -out refuse carts. He pointed out that the memo also contained. information about yard waste containers. CITY MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS: Acting Manager Judith Aiello called Council's attention to the memorandum concerning a letter that was being sent out to Evanston residents who have not yet purchased their 1991 vehicle stickers. The letter will allow these residents a chance to purchase vehicle stickers before the Police Department conducts another sweep of the City and owners of unstickered vehicles will be subject to a citation as well as a late charge. Alderman Feldman moved that the Council resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole for the purpose of consideration of the financing plan for the proposed new sewer system. Seconded by Alderman Brady. Motion carried. No nays. The Council so met at 1:41 P.K. Alderman Warshaw, Chair of Flood & Pollution Control Commission, said that the City of Evanston had lived with an inadequate sewer system for a number of years, which is a negative legacy of our forebearers. She pointed out that a new sewer plan had been considered off and on for the last 20 years. She said that the Commission had worked long and hard to develop a plan that would be the most economical of all possible choices. She then turned the meeting over to Public Works Director David Barber to explain the plan and financing in detail. -2- April 29, 1991 Mr. Barber explained that the plan was a hybrid of three or four plans that had been considered over the last 15 or 20 years and had been prepared by -staff in conjunction with a consultant, the Storm Water Inundation Mitigation Team (S.W.I.M.) and the Flood & Pollution Control Comission. He reminded Council that a Public Hearing on the plan was held in early December and the Council had approved the plan in mid -December. He explained that the main problem with the existing system is that it is a system which combines both storm water and sanitary waste. During a period of heavy rainfall the existing sewers fill up quickly, and the water has nowhere to go but into streets and basements. He pointed out that a combination of sewer and storm water backing up into basements is a health hazard and,denies use of that space. He said that the most cost-effective plan is one that reduces the incidence of basement back-up, thus eliminating a health hazard throughout the City, which can be implemented at the lowest cost. In this case, the most cost-effective plan will call for partial sewer separation. When completely implemented, the frequency of basement back-ups will be reduced throughout the City to less than once in a 100 years. Also the current annual combined sewage load to the North Shore Channel from Evanston will be reduced. The plan for partial sewer separation involves limiting flows to the existing combined sewer system and building additional sewers to handle stormwater. Excess flows would be carried in streets and roadside drains until they are intercepted by large capacity inlets in the proposed new relief sewer system. Intercepted flows will be conveyed through the new system and discharged into the TARP deep Tunnel and the North Shore Channel. The four elements of the plan are: 1) Street inlet flow restrictors to the existing combined sewer system; 2) Overflow structures; 3) High capacity street inlets to the new relief sewers to intercept overland flow and 4) A new relief storm sewer system with drop shafts to the TARP deep tunnel and overflows to the North Shore Channel. This plan also includes restricted use of the existing combined sewer system. He explained that construction would begin at the low end of the drainage basin and would work back to the higher end. He said there would be a minimum of construction in the downtown area because of conditions existing there, which would allow that area to have the benefits of the new sewer system without the disruption. He reported that, after much deliberation, that the Flood & Pollution Control Commission had decided to construct the system in several phases extending over 10 years. He said that Phase I would encompass basins S03, S06 and S13 in various parts of the City and used charts to illustrate the locations of those basins and how construction would proceed. It will cost $125 million dollars to construct the new system and another $18 million dollars will be required to keep the existing sewer system working. Video surveys have been conducted through 55% to 65% of the existing sewers and problems have been identified that will require spot repairs or entire line repairs, which will bring the total cost of upgrading the sewer system to $143.1 million dollars in 1990 dollars, He pointed out that inflation will take a toll on the numbers but was pleased to report that the bids for Phase I came in two to three million dollars lower than anticipated. Mr. Barber then turned to a discussion of how the sewer system improvements would be financed. He pointed out that there was no way to finance these improvements without generating additional revenue. Part of this revenue will be generated by a new sewer charge concept, developed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (I.E.P.A.). The reason the City is using their formula is because improvements to the sewer system will be financed in part by loans from the I.E.P.A. Revolving Loan Fund. This program offers loans with rates of approximately one half the current market rate which are adjusted annually. As part of the City's commitment to accept the loan funds, it is required to establish a system of user charges. This sytem of user charges must reflect the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of sewers in the Evanston area. Another I.E.P.A. requirement is that all users of the system must be charged equitably based on the proportionate use of the system. User charges must be reviewed once a year when rates are to be revised to reflect the actual costs of operating the system. Mr. Barber explained that the proposed user charge system is formula -based rather than a fixed-rate system for determining the charges for sewer use. All user charges are based on metered water sales which are estimated to be approximately 4.86 million units (of 100-cubic feet). He outlined the three components of the user charge to cover the operations of the Sewer Department, capital costs and debt service costs. He further explained that, based on the sum of all three components, the FY1991-92 total user charge would be 47¢ per 100-cubic feet and would reach a maximum in FY"02-03 of $2.30 per 100-cubic feet. He also pointed out that the formula would be reviewed as part of the budget review process and the user charge for the following fiscal years would be adopted in conjunction with the budget process. This method for determining user charges would enable the financing plan adopted each year to be factored in when determining the actual charges required to fund the Sewer Department /D,g -3- April 29, 1991 In response to several questions from Alderman Drummer, Mr. Barber clarified that any users of City sewers would be charged for that use. He also explained that the Public Works Department had looked into constructing the new storm water sewers in alleys but determined that there are only three or four alleys in the City that can be used properly as part of this system and the construction of the new sewers has to be done in the streets. He said that the City would continue to fund the replacement of 25 to 30 catch basins a year with CDBG funds. He also assured Alderman Drummer that the City would follow I.E.P.A. guidelines for engaging minority contractors and pledged to exceed the goals that are set. In response to questions from Aldermen Wollin, Nelson and Brady, Barber clarified several provisions of the I.E.P.A. loan requirements. Alderman Brady said she felt it was important to stress in any educational literature the City puts out that by obtaining I.E.P.A. loan funds, the City is paying half the interest it would normally pay. Mr. Barber then discussed several technical provisions in the sewer finance charge ordinance and responded to questions about the sewer user charge formula from Aldermen Brady, Heydemann, Drummer, Nelson and Washington. Aldermen Lanyon and Warshaw added clarifying comments. Alderman Brady requested sample computations of how much it will cost multi -family and commercial/industrial properties to finance this system at its high point or ten years down the line. In response to a question from Alderman Feldman, Mr. Barber explained that the average homeowner can figure out how his sewer charge will increase for the next number of years by pulling out the "sewer charge" and increasing it by a certain percentage as years go on. Mr. Barber explained that his department had done a cost/benefit analysis on what the present worth is for sewer construction versus the cost of flooding. Alderman Feldman expressed concern about the impact of the cost on economic development as well as on senior citizens. He questioned whether some sort of deferred loan program could be instituted for seniors. Alderman Drummer also expressed concern about the size and cost of the project. Mr. Barber said that community meetings would be scheduled to explain the project as well as updating a Water Department flyer which will be distributed to the entire community. Alderman Nelson expressed his support for the project and said that when he was first elected in 1977, the estimated cost to improve the sewers was $120 million dollars and the current plan was now estimated to cost $143 million, a cost which has increased well below the rate of inflation for this period. He said he did not agree with Mr. Barber's cost/benefit analysis, however, he said the cost is worth it and it is appropriate to promote the health of the community. Alderman Davis pointed out that money spent on repairing damage to basements is also a real cost. Mr. Barber continued his presentation by explaining a new concept that has been developed in the past several years for generating revenue to help finance new sewer systems. It is currrently in use in Denver, Colorado; Bellvue, Washington and two Ohio communities. Since new sewers are designed based on storm water design criteria, this runoff -based system would help to more equitably distribute the cost of the improvements. A storm water contribution charge would levy higher charges on pieces of property which contain greater impervious surfaces such as asphalt, concrete or roof area. A system of equivalent units would be determined based on the amount of impervious surface, using an average of residential lots as a base equivalent unit. Pieces of land with larger amounts of impervious surface would be charged based on multiples of that base equivalent unit. The charge per unit would be based on the amount of revenue to be generated each year, divided by the total number of equivalent units. He said the average residential lot would have 3500 to 3600 square feet of impervious area with the average patio, driveway and roof; an average commercial parcel would have approximately 26,000 square feet of impervious area and a school would have approximately 91,000 square feet of impervious area. Excluded from the calculations would be park land, streets and alleys. He responded to questions from Aldermen Feldman, Nelson, Davis," Drummer, Heydemann, Brady, Wollin, Esch, Kent and Engelman concerning applications of the formula to various users and institutions. Several Aldermen expressed concern about the impact on economic development, low income households and small churches. In the course of the discussion, Mr. Barber also clarified that the new sewer system design is based on a storm event, in this case a ten-year storm, and*on the amount of water the sewers can handle during a specific time period, not on the annual rainfall. , Correction' Alderman Davis question: "whether the $75,000 consultant fee to develop a stormwater contribution charge for the City of Evanston could be pared down to a lesser amount for a preliminary study." Director Barber's response; "that the study needed to be -done city-wide, but could be implemented in phases." (0q -4- April 29, 1991 Alderman Newman requested that staff provide a calculation of how we compare to other communities in water user charges both before we begin this project and after we implement the new charges. He also asked how our charges to commercial/industrial users compare to other communities. Alderman Warshaw moved that the committee recess out of the Committee of the Whole. Seconded by Alderman Wollin. Motion carried. No nays. Alderman Heydemann moved that the City recess into CLOSED SESSION to discuss pending litigation and land acquisition. Seconded by Alderman Drummer. Roll call. Voting aye - Aldermen Newman, Paden, Drummer, Davis,•Brady, Esch, Heydemann, Washington, Kent, Moran, Nelson, Wollin, Engelman, Lanyon, Feldman, Warshaw. Voting nay.- none. Motion carried. (16-0). The Council so recessed at 9:53 P.M. and reconvened at 10:30 P.M. Alderman Drummer moved Council approval of a Condemnation Settlement Order to settle the suit against the owners of the 820 Davis building, owners of the parking lot at 950 Davis Street, in which the City will pay the owners of the parking lot $950,000 for the land; allow them to lease 100 parking spaces for a $40,000 annual payment for four years and market rates for the next 46 years; and release the owners from the zoning conditions which require them to hold the parking lot in the 820 Davis building in common ownership. Seconded by Alderman Warshaw. Roll call. Voting aye - Aldermen Drummer, Davis, Brady, Esch, Heydemann, Moran, Nelson, Wollin, Engelman, Lanyon, Feldman, Warshaw. Voting nay - Aldermen Newman, Paden, Washington, Kent. Motion carried. (12-4). There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Barr asked for a motion to adjourn. The Council so moved and adjourned at 10:32 P.M. KIRSTEN F. DAVIS CITY CLERK 1