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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, March 24, 2014 Page 33 on whether or not they have provided feedback to staff on their status. Mr. Schwartz noted that 27 of those freeze-ups had been thawed by staff using the hot water method, and 40 known to be thawed by private contractors, primarily through the electric method, with at least 10 of those unsuccessful, and 5 known to be hooked up to neighbors outside hose bib. Mr. Schwartz advised that some of the "snowbirds" experiencing ongoing freeze- ups planned to stay south longer until lines thawed naturally. Mr. Schwartz esti- mated that staff had expended over $50,000 in staff time and equipment to-date, with costs per line ranging from $300 to well over$1,000. Mr. Schwartz reported that there had been a significant reduction in reported freeze-ups over the past week, even though spring weather moderation had been slow to come, the last re- ported freeze-up was taken by staff last Friday. Mr. Schwartz requested feedback and identified several discussion points for Council consideration. Water Credits Mr. Schwartz estimated the average cost per household at $20 per month for run- ning a continuous stream of water, upon notification of the City to receive any credit on their utility bills. For those using neighbor to neighbor water connec- tions during this time, Mr. Schwartz advised that credits would be based on the historical averages for those homes; and that homes having experienced freeze- ups this winter would be placed on a supplemental "extreme weather conditions freeze-up list" and staff would recommend installation of devices to monitor wa- ter temperatures and avoid future freeze-ups. Mr. Schwartz advised that staff recommended retaining the historical freeze-up account list, while also preparing a list of those extreme weather freeze-ups, and monitor weather conditions and only ask those services be notified once signifi- cant extreme weather conditions are experienced. Mr. Schwartz suggested that, at this point, everyone step back and consider that this particular winter season is not the new norm based on historical averages, and advised that staff did not expect to return to this number of freeze-ups on a regular basis, even though trends would support or not support that theory. Mayor Roe summarized staff's recommendation for Council consideration: that a $20 credit per household be available for those households notifying the City of their status in running water; whether a similar credit would be applied for neigh- bor to neighbor connections; and whether to support to support financial assis- tance for installation of water devices. At the request of Councilmember Laliberte, Mr. Schwartz advised that the neigh- bor to neighbor connection would receive a combined credit, depending on