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To participate, City staff will need to complete the application process which is a straight <br />forward process. There is an equity component that the City can choose to create and implement <br />on its own, but since this is a "pilot" and with very limited funding spread out over many Cities <br />along with the short timeline to apply, staff recommends skipping that portion until a future <br />program opportunity. Community outreach and communication will also be a required and a <br />necessary component that staff will need to create and implement. A resolution from Council <br />confirming the Public Works Director has authority and certification that they have read the <br />program guidelines and support participation in the program must be submitted. <br />Staff has reviewed historical sewer repair permits over the past 3 years and there is an average of <br />20 repairs per year. Recent data from MCES suggests an average lining cost per sewer service is <br />$8,000. City staff recommends applying for $80,000 based off of that information but Council <br />should keep in mind that if, for example 40 cities apply for funds, that would be $37,500 per <br />City. So, the requested amount is limited to funding availability between all of the eligible cities. <br />The award amount will be sent out by December 29, 2023 which then would be followed by a <br />Grant Agreement approved by City Council to receive the funds from Met Council. Once the <br />agreement is finalized, communications would go out to the Arden Hills' residents and <br />administering the funds would be facilitated through the Sewer Permitting process. The permit <br />applicant will have to provide documentation to verify a need for I & I repair/improvement. This <br />could be a video or televising report from a contractor that indicates the issue. Staff would <br />review the documentation provided then determine the award amount based off the total project <br />cost. Met Council has a spreadsheet that's required to track each project which is then submitted <br />quarterly. <br />Discussion <br />If the City Council wishes to participate in the MCES I & I Grant Program, staff will bring <br />forward a resolution for adoption at the next available regular Council meeting and apply for the <br />program by December 151n <br />Staff had initially reported to Council that they believed this would be difficult to implement <br />with the City's current staffing. Staff still believes this is true as this is a new program, so the <br />initial start up and creation of standard procedures will take some time before it becomes routine. <br />With the relatively small amount of funds available from Met Council, the number of private <br />properties that would be able to take advantage of the program will be low which will help make <br />this manageable. There is significant demand for this type of program, Staff believes after this <br />"pilot" year, Met Council will push to get a much larger amount of funds for future years and <br />that will in turn create more work load for staff but that can be discussed when and if that time <br />comes. <br />Budget Impact <br />This program is funded through Metropolitan Council, so there is no direct budget impact. <br />Attachments <br />Attachment A — MCES Private I & I Program Guidelines <br />Page 2 of 2 <br />