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33 Member Trainor moved, Member Heimerl seconded, to add Agenda Item No. <br />34 8, Discussion of Joint City Council Meeting, with Adjournment moving to <br />35 Agenda Item No. 9. <br />36 <br />37 Ayes:5 <br />38 Nays:0 <br />39 Motion carried. <br />40 <br />41 Public Works Director Culver and City Engineer Freihammer provided additional <br />42 comments and a brief review and update on projects and maintenance activities <br />43 listed in the staff report dated September 26, 2017. <br />44 <br />45 Chair Cihacek inquired about the booster station project that came in $400,000 <br />46 under the engineer's estimate and if the savings created more opportunities for this <br />47 budget cycle. <br />48 <br />49 Mr. Culver stated the savings do not create more opportunity. With this lower bid <br />50 and participation from Arden Hills, they will still be over what was in the CIP. They <br />51 will balance the amount of water main replacement each year to stay within the CIP <br />52 budget. <br />53 <br />54 Chair Cihacek inquired how many street sweepings were planned for this year. <br />55 <br />56 Mr. Culver responded they typically do three, sometimes four. They do a major <br />57 sweep in the spring, a couple of maintenance sweeps in the middle of the year, and <br />58 several other sweeps around the lakes. They use different equipment after the <br />59 leaves fall that vacuums them up. <br />60 <br />61 Chair Cihacek inquired if they are ready for winter with salt storage and if any <br />62 improvements regarding the salt storage area will be made this season. <br />63 <br />64 Mr. Culver responded they have a good salt supply since the last two winters have <br />65 been mild. They are 30 percent full of salt and will order less this season. There <br />66 are no funds identified to improve salt storage this year. <br />67 <br />68 5. Utility Base Rate Discussion <br />69 Mr. Culver reported the City Council requested the Finance Commission and Public <br />70 Works Commission discuss a proposal to shift more of the water utility base rate <br />71 from residential to nonresidential. Currently, they are collecting about $2,300,000 <br />72 annually in the base fee revenue. The base rate for residential properties is $53.15 <br />73 per quarter, plus $2.25 per 1,000 gallons of water, up to 30,000 gallons. The base <br />74 rate varies for nonresidential based on the meter size. The argument is that a <br />75 resident who uses a minimal amount of water is paying the same fee as someone <br />76 who is using 25,000 gallons of water. With a high base rate, there is a lower <br />77 incentive to conserve water. The City Council wants to generate most of the <br />78 revenue for operations and capital costs in a base fee. <br />Page 2 of 14 <br />