2015 Vol. 9 Issue 3 May - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 The next step was to authorize a feasibility study of the whole idea. Supplying municipal water to the Gem Lake business district turned out to be not only feasible, it is necessary to the area's long-term growth and public safety, according to the recent feasibility study completed by Short Elliott Hendrickson (SEH) for the City of Gem Lake. The study was authorized by the city council on November 18 of last year, and was meant to be a first step in the process of deciding if, and how, a municipal water project would get off the ground. Most municipalities contemplating an expansion of municipal services, such as water, begin the process with a feasibility study. SEH began by looking at Gem Lake's previous Water Study, which was done in 2006. This earlier study identified three options for where water would be piped in from the City of White Bear, but recommended the best site as County Road E, at the railroad crossing. The County Road E option was the recommended option in the 2006 study due to its proximity to the initial anticipated service area, Hoffman's Corner and the city's desire to use White Bear's city water, due to its chemistry and make up. Another recommendation in the current feasibility study is to create an additional emergency connection to the Gem Lake water system. This is due to the fact that the initial system would be a dead end main, supplying a limited area, rather than a more conventional "looped" system. The connection of water on County Road E presents challenges in engineering, due primarily to the railroad bed that would have to be crossed. The cost of the connection would be approximately $274,000. (This is much less than originally estimated.) The drop in price happened because of the railroad has agreed to consider a less expensive way for the work to be done. This would involve temporarily suspending rail traffic while the tracks are taken up, the pipe is laid and the tracks put back in place. Gem Lake Water Project: Time Line Discussed (continued from page 1) The estimated cost of the emergency loop would be about $160,000, bringing the total project cost to about $434,000. Timeline Explained at Meeting on May 14 At the neighborhood meeting on May 14, a more detailed time-line for the project will be handed out and explained. Many of the steps involve frequent opportunities for public input and comment. For instance, it will be proposed that an Improvement Hearing is held in mid-June, so interested persons can voice questions and concerns about proposed assessments that would be made of property owners in the affected area. In June or July the council could ask that formal plans and specifications for the project are drawn up. Following this, another neighborhood meeting would probably be held to present final detailed plans and final projected costs. If all goes as planned, the council would approve the project plans and advertise for bids for the construction project. It is thought that the bids would be accepted and late August, then an assessment hearing would be held, probably in September. Assessment amounts would take into account the percentage of the serviced area that each property owner has and independent appraisals done by a third party as to how much the improvement would add to the value of that property. If all is still a go, construction would take place in the October and November and would possibly go into next Spring. There are many steps involved in bringing additional municipal services to property owner, and a number of these steps are required by state law. Your input will be vital.