Laserfiche WebLink
more water annually, it is that they are getting more water in one event and the <br />stormwater system then becomes surcharged and it cannot handle that and the pipes <br />overflow. He asked how they handle that and delay the water from getting into the <br />storm water system and that is why they see all the new rain gardens and basins and <br />underground storage systems, which is great but there is a capital cost to install <br />those and there is a growing capital expense to maintain those. The City water <br />system and sewer system are pretty much staying the same. The stormwater system <br />is growing and the City is adding more components to the system, not necessarily <br />pipes but what they call best management practices, retention devices, rain gardens <br />and basins, which all require some sort of maintenance or at some point <br />reconstruction. <br />Vice Chair Ficek asked if staff knew how the increased proposed tier for recycling <br />compares to previous years. <br />Mr. Culver indicated there was a pretty substantial increase and shift in the rate <br />structure. All of the other utility rates have pretty much only increased by five to <br />six percent. The recycling fee has probably been the most volatile from that <br />perspective because when the City was paying on the revenue structure or cost share <br />structure and making one hundred thousand a year to paying in an additional <br />seventy thousand dollars a year, the City had to make some pretty dramatic changes <br />to the fee structure there. <br />Chair Wozniak indicated when they were talking about the recycling fee and slides <br />about increasing the rate to $13.00 or $14.00 per quarter from $12.60, he liked the <br />idea of starting a fund to support purchasing carts several years from now and he <br />would be willing to make that recommendation as a part of an action the <br />Commission makes on these utility rates. He indicated he would not go much <br />beyond $13.30 per quarter for 2022, however, he would suggest going to $15.00 <br />for 2023 and even $17.00 for 2024 because it is not that big a jump from $13.00 or <br />$13.30 to $15.00 and then $15.00 to $17.00. He did not know how much money <br />would be raised but it could not hurt to look at the numbers and see how that works <br />out. He explained he would support increasing the rate to start generating a fund <br />to purchase carts at the end of the current contract and he would look at modifying <br />some of the numbers shown and increase it more in the second and third years. As <br />part of that, he would try to find out if staff can get some figures on how much the <br />City might save by having their own carts compared to having a vendor's carts. <br />Member Cicha agreed that the numbers do make sense to increase the recycling to <br />build up that kind of capital. He indicated the whole concept of recycling is <br />sustainability and bringing in all these new carts into the system, does that concept <br />work together and is there any way they can try to offset the purchase of the new <br />carts with some other type of sustainable action. <br />Mr. Culver explained they would be looking at current numbers which is around <br />sixteen thousand carts plus some percentage for stock. The carts that are out there <br />Page 4 of 6 <br />