SPECIAL UTILITY MEETING MINUTES

APRIL 29, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Utility Committee Chair Cindy Endicott. Present for the meeting were Chair Endicott, Supervisors Jeff Bachke, Greg Andrews and John Goman; the Town’s engineer, Jerome Flogel; the Town’s attorney, David Oberstar and clerk Cammy Hansen. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss imposing fines for those who have not yet connected to the water/sewer line on W. Calvary and Rice Lake Roads.

Jeff stated that it is not the Utility Committee’s intention to charge $1,000.00 per day as the Sewer Ordinance permits. The Town simply wants people to comply with the Ordinance and connect to the system.

David provided a sequence of the letters that were mailed: in June all residents along the new line were sent a letter stating that the 90 period allowed for connecting had begun. In September a reminder letter was sent and in November the Notice of Violation letter was sent stating that they had 30 days to comply. It allowed some “wiggle room” in that it stated that it was starting to freeze and as long as a signed contract was entered into with a contractor that was fine. David stated that the fine would start at the end of the 30 days that was mentioned in the November letter (December 17, 2009.) The supervisors need to set an amount for the fine. David recommends that an amount be charged for the first day of the violation and then an additional daily dollar amount. He recommends that two additional letters be mailed: one to residents with whom we have had some contact with but are not connected (to encourage them to connect soon) and one to residents who have done nothing to begin the connection process. There are eight residents who have not done anything. The question was raised as to how the home on the Rice Lake Road that recently burned down would be handled. (Cindy mentioned that there were two electrical services to the property so we should make sure there isn’t another home on that property that we are not aware of.) David doesn’t think we need to be concerned about that house at this point; if and when they rebuild they would have to get a building permit and the sewer connection would be required at that time. Cammy stated that there are also two homes in foreclosure along the new line. David said that the Town would have to get a court order to enter someone’s home to connect the service, but the fees would still be accruing and all attorney fees would become the responsibility of the homeowner.

Also discussed was billing all non-connected residents the minimum monthly sewer charge. The committee decided that the amount of the fine would be enough to cover the minimum charge. David suggested that the Town adopt a “forgiveness program” if the resident complies within a certain amount of time in order to encourage quicker action. This would be something such as “if the resident’s system has been completed and inspected by _______ (date), the Town will forgive one half of the accrued fine.” The number is up to the Town. David recommends that the amount of the fine as well as the details of the forgiveness program be put into the form of a resolution. David also mentioned that an alternative is to assess the cost of the installation against the property via the County. This would entail the Town hiring a contractor and putting the line in, the Town paying the contractor and then the Town assessing the fine against the property taxes. The committee recommended a $300.00 first day of violation fee and a $5.00 per day fee for each day thereafter until the violation is cured. The committee then recommended that the Town adopts a forgiveness program giving residents a specific and reasonable amount of time to cure the violation (specific date to be determined.) If violation is cured prior to that date, one half of the fee would be forgiven. If the violation is not cured, the Town will make arrangements with a contractor to install the line and will bill the resident accordingly (note: after this meeting, Cammy called the SLC special assessment department. They offered no guidance as to the procedure to assess against the property; they only stated that the Town has the authority to do so.) A court order would be required to access the inside of the resident’s home. Cammy will prepare a separate letter to residents who have started the process however are not presently connected. David Oberstar left the meeting at this point, approximately 6:45 p.m.

Cammy also reported that she has verified that the City of Duluth is charging the customers on Austin St. for water and is also billing the Town directly for that water. Cammy wonders if the Town had, at some point in the past made the conscious decision NOT to bill the homes on Austin St. in order to avoid the appearance of ownership of the line. This will be discussed at the next Utility meeting.

Having no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m.