Item Coversheet

Agenda Item - 1.


Staff Report



City Council Study Session Meeting
October  8, 2020

Visionary Leadership, Effective Governance and Proactive Regional Collaboration
Financially Sustainable Government Providing Excellence in City Services
Subject:  
City Council Workshops Related to Water/Wastewater Infrastructure, Costs and Rates

Prepared By: 

Julie Koehler, Utilities Engineering Manager

Christine Gray, Business Operations Coordinator

Max Kirschbaum, Director of Public Works and Utilities

 
Recommended City Council Action:
 
Conduct the first of four special study sessions with City Council, Staff and facilitator. 
Summary Statement:

 

  • City Council is scheduled to meet with Staff and Heather Bergman, a facilitation consultant, four times over the course of the next several weeks to discuss water/wastewater infrastructure, costs, and rates. 

  • These meetings are being held in advance of discussions about the 2022 water/wastewater rates. Thursday, October 8, is the first of the four study sessions. 

  • City Council also agreed that an agenda item in this first special study session should be a discussion about how to proceed with community engagement on the 2022 water/sewer rate process. 

  • Subsequently, questions about public input during these special study sessions have been raised. Public input can be gathered during the remaining special study sessions and/or after them based on direction from City Council.

  • The community has been notified about these meetings via a press release, a posting on the City's website, an article in The Weekly, and on Facebook, Twitter and NextDoor. 

 

 

  • Following the October 8 meeting, City Council, Staff, and Ms. Bergman will meet three more times: October 20, November 5, and November 17.

  • Each meeting will include a presentation for City Council, followed by a discussion between City Council and Staff.
Fiscal Impact:

None identified. 
Source of Funds:

Not applicable.

 

Policy Issue(s):

 

Does City Council wish to conduct this special study session to discuss water/wastewater infrastructure, costs, rates and community engagement on Thursday, October 8?
Alternative(s):

 

Do not conduct this special study session as planned. Staff does not recommend this option as these special study sessions have been prepared with the facilitator to allow time for City Council to discuss and deliberate the state of the water and wastewater system infrastructure and provide direction on future rates.

Background Information:

 

City Council is scheduled to meet with Staff and Heather Bergman, a facilitation consultant, four times to discuss water/wastewater infrastructure, costs, rates and community engagement. These meetings are being held in advance of discussions about the 2022 water/wastewater rates. Thursday is the first of the four study sessions. 

 

City Council also agreed that an agenda item in this first special study session should be a discussion about how to proceed with community engagement on the 2022 water/sewer rate process. Public input can be gathered during the remaining special study sessions and/or after them, based on direction from City Council. 

 

The community has been notified about these meetings via a press release, a posting on the City's website, an article in The Weekly, and on Facebook, Twitter and NextDoor. 

 

A summary of the questions and the format proposed by Ms. Bergman is attached (Attachment A). Staff has prepared a presentation to answer questions that City Council posed to Ms. Bergman this summer; a copy of the presentation is attached (Attachment B). The presentation is also available on the website, as well as information on how residents may listen to the meetings.

  

City Council, Staff and Ms. Bergman will meet three more times: October 20, November 5, and November 17. Each meeting will include a presentation for City Council, followed by a discussion between City Council and Staff.

Conducting this special study session about water/wastewater infrastructure, costs, rates and community engagement in advance of the 2022 water/wastewater rate process meets the City's Strategic Plan goal of Visionary Leadership, Effective Governance and Proactive Regional Collaboration by providing City Council with an opportunity to hold in-depth conversations with each other and with Staff. Reviewing the infrastructure and discussing the costs and rates also supports the City's Strategic Plan goal of Financially Sustainable Government Providing Excellence in City Services by working to ensure a long term financially sustainable utility providing important water and wastewater services to the community. 
Respectfully submitted,


Donald M. Tripp
City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
DescriptionUpload DateType
Attachment A: Meeting Outline for W-WW Infrastructure, Costs and Rates (original proposal)9/30/2020Attachment
Attachment B: Discussion of Water & Wastewater Infrastructure PowerPoint Slides (Session #1)10/5/2020Attachment