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444 <br />• Based on information received from the City's Finance Director, if the City <br />445 <br />implemented an extension of ownership by the City of laterals, the existing <br />446 <br />base rates would need to increase by $17.20 per month for water, $11.80 per <br />447 <br />month for sewer, or a total of 29.00 per month added to the existing base rate <br />448 <br />for all utility payers. By the City needing to absorb that new lateral liability, <br />449 <br />the total base rate for a customer would be $36.12 per month for water, $20.06 <br />450 <br />per month or sewer; for a total of $56.18 per month total, nearly double the <br />451 <br />current rate to absorb that additional risk. <br />452 <br />453 At the request of Member Seigler, Mr. Schwartz advised that the City's liability in <br />454 taking over laterals from the property line to the main would be very significant, <br />455 with the overall estimated liability over $72 million over the next fifty years, <br />456 whether borne by the City or by individual property oners as part of that overall <br />457 amount. <br />458 AW <br />459 Mr. Schwartz further reported that findings were that each property owner was <br />460 spending from $4,000 to $10,000 to repair individual laterals as indicated from <br />461 those 45 properties identified in 2014. Mr. Schwartz noted that those repairs were <br />462 variable due to the time of year (e.g. winter) when repairs were needed, pavement <br />463 restoration types and costs. Mr. Schwartz advised that part of the $72 million <br />464 could be addressed for both water and sewer projects if and when economies of <br />465 scale were available for multiple projects or timing of lateral repairs as part of <br />466 larger projects. In additional to other liability issues for the City, Mr. Schwartz <br />467 advised that there were other unforeseen property damages that could be <br />468 encountered, further adding to those liabilities, making it more difficult to clearly <br />469 identify the actual costs. <br />470 <br />471 Discussion included how to calculate annual assumptions if the City took over <br />472 lateral liability; building of the water sewer funds to incorporated any added <br />473 liability if ity assumed liability; city versus private property ownership costs <br />474 of lateral line replacements/repairs; new construction versus repairs/replacement <br />475 of older existing systems; and variables for costs in private yards from the <br />476 property to the home depending on landscaping (e.g. retaining walls, vegetation, <br />477 etc.). <br />478 <br />479 Member acek suggested an annual utility fee to build the funds over time, <br />480 eventually revising the City's current policy to take over the lateral lines once <br />481 funds were allotted. <br />R:R <br />483 <br />Chair Stenlund stated his issue was in being responsible for the laterals up to the <br />484 <br />property line, when he was not the owner of the line up to the main when located <br />485 <br />in the City's right-of-way, yet still having to pay for any problems, whether due to <br />486 <br />age, poor connections/construction, or compaction of soils. Chair Stenlund noted <br />487 <br />the difficulty in a private property owner being able to control or address that <br />488 <br />maintenance until a system failure, since he was not the property owner of a <br />489 <br />segment of the line from the property line to the main, in addition to the variables <br />Page 11 of 17 <br />