2016-09-27_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Member Wozniak suggested the educational efforts involve all homes in a particular area being lined by the city for residents to be aware of what was happening and why, including the approximate age of their laterals, what the city was doing and why, and opportunities available for residents to consider for their laterals to determine if there was any damage before it became an emergency situation. Mr. Culver reviewed the information provided by the city toward those efforts to- date; with Member Seigler stating the City of St. Paul incorporated such an educational effort as suggested by Member Wozniak. Mr. Culver noted part of that educational information included alerting residents to smoke testing and rationale in the city doing this to find illicit connections to the sanitary sewer system as well. Mr. Culver stated that,in general, he felt the city could do a better job of educating residents in reconstruction areas. When considering offering a service to residents as part of a sewer lining project, Member Wozniak questioned if the city had made sufficient efforts to explain the broad picture of ownership for infrastructure, including service life expectancy, typical age of service laterals in their area, and potential cost liabilities if they were to experience a problem. Mr. Sandstrom noted city staff sent out letters to residents when televising mains if they found areas with roots, especially if those pipes were of clay the material from the 1960's and ramifications of that root issue for homeowners. If the city is performing a pavement project at that time, Mr. Sandstrom advised that the city offered to facilitate the homeowner's replacement of their laterals at that time at a significant cost savings for them when the street would be open anyway by the city. As an example, Mr. Sandstrom noted last spring he sent out 45 such letters and had 6 responses of interest, while some were just seeking additional information. Mr. Sandstrom agreed the city could include more language to provide residents with additional information and explain that the city can only see a small portion of their laterals and not all the way to the home with potential issues elsewhere on that route, and recommending they seek assistance from a private contractor. In conclusion, it was noted that all commissioners were in agreement that more and better education was good, including how to address problems, projected service life, a process for who to contact;with a request for specific additional information from the City Council on capping costs. Chair Cihacek reiterated his specific request from staff for a cost analysis and possible solutions if rates were found relatively low for in-house inspections at this point. Chair Cihacek thanked commissioners for their ideas and tonight's discussion. Page 14 of 17