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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin 10-20-04 (Special)MINUTES OF THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL Special Joint Meeting of the Ukiah City Council And Ukiah Valley Sanitation District Wednesday, October 20, 2004 The Ukiah City Council met at a Special Joint Meeting with the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District (UVSD) on October 20, 2004, the notice for which had been legally noticed and posted, at 4:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chambers, 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, California. Roll was taken and the following Councilmembers were present: Rodin, Andersen, Smith, Baldwin, and Mayor Larson. Staff present: Water-Utilities/Project Engineer Burck, Community Services Director DeKnoblough, Wastewater Treatment Manager Gall, City Manager Horsley, Water/Sewer Engineer Technician McArthur, Accounting Manager McCann, City Attorney Rapport, Planning Director Stump, Public Utilities Director Ziemianek, and Deputy City Clerk Ulvila. Ukiah Valley Sanitation District Board Members present: Shoemaker, Baldwin, and Chairman Delbar. Ukiah Valley Sanitation District Secretary Rau was also present. 2. JOINT MEETING OF THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL AND THE UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTIRCT a. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding a Cost Share A_~reement Between the UVSD and the City of Ukiah for the Design anr~ Construction of the Proposed Waste Water Treatment Plant Expansion and Rehabilitation Proiect Public Utilities Director Ziemianek advised that a cost share agreement between the City of Ukiah and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District (UVSD) needs to be discussed and approved in order to move forward on the financial obligations for the proposed Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Project, clarifying that staff is recommending a 60/40 split, based upon the recent review by the City of Ukiah Planning Department of potential building parcels available for build out in the future, within the City Limits. The Planning Department's report indicates the City's need of approximately 40% (960 of 2,400 available) from the new plant as opposed to 23% (552). Staff is attempting to get the UVSD and City to reach an agreement on this important issue. Director Shoemaker commented on the proposed split, noting that the costs of the upgrade project are being funded by the "users" or rate-payers, thereby making the split irrelevant. He proposed a compromise of 68/32 split. Throughout the meeting proceedings, the following issues and/or points were discussed, reviewed, and/or clarified: * Financial projections (increased fees vs. cost of WWTP upgrade) * Consideration of an undetermined "split" (no allocation) * Costs of the upgrade project being funded by the users, or rate-payers, thereby making the split irrelevant Joint Meeting of the City Council And the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District October 20, 2004 Page 1 of 4 * Historical methods utilized in determining cost sharing (based upon the number of users/rate-payers) * Large development in the County vs. small/incremental development within the City Limits * The need to rely on a General Plan for determining the development of vacant land * The need for an analysis of underdeveloped and/or underutilized parcels within the UVSD (similar to the analysis performed within the City) * Various methodologies utilized in sizing the proposed treatment plant upgrade * The CEPT process and the impacts that said process may have on the available ESSU's * Maximum capacity' of the current plant, with potential land acquisition, expansion, etc. * Legalities associated with a potential impassse' between the City and the UVSD, such as arbitration procedure/dispute resolution procedure included within the current Cost Share Agreement * Taking a "regional" approach to the issue, rather than the proposed financial split, which may potentially impose a barrier * Potential impacts should a funding a funding split/determination be delayed (financial and technical) * Should UVSD entertain a 60/40 split, the UVSD would need to reassess the fee Ordinances recently adopted * Consideration of implementing "triggers" within the Cost Share Agreement (such as reaching a certain ESSU, etc.) * Requirements of the bonding agencies (financial aspects, fee structures, etc.) * Various methodologies utilized in predicting the ESSU's * Apparent redundancies associated with the City and UVSD entities, suggesting that the issue be considered in the future (UVSD without the City involved) Following a lengthy discussion: M/S Baldwin/Smith adjusting the previous Council decision and approving a compromise split of 65/35 between the City of Ukiah and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District, and directing the City Attorney to work with County Counsel to move forward with the preparation of a draft cost share agreement, incorp0orating the amendments presented throughout the discussion; carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Rodin, Andersen, Smith, Baldwin, and Mayor Larson. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: None. M/S UVSD Director Baldwin/Shoemaker approving a revised compromise split of 65/35 between the City of Ukiah and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District, with 65% going to the UVSD and 35% to the City of Ukiah, and directing the County Counsel to work with the City Attorney for the City of Ukiah to move forward with the preparation of a draft cost share agreement, incorporating other modifications as indicated by Director Shoemaker, carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Board members Shoemaker and Baldwin, and Chairman Delbar. NOES: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT: None. Joint Meeting of the City Council And the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District October 20, 2004 Page 2 of 4 Public Utilities Director Ziemianek requested item "c" be heard next due to the amount of audience interest. c. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Processes Associater~ with the Development of a Draft Policy Pertaining to Will Serve Letters Public Utilities Director Ziemianek advised that staff recently completed a review of the ESSU request process as directed by both the City Council and the UVSD. As a result of the review, Staff has recommended a new request process based upon the following objectives: 1. Make ESSUs easy to request by residential, commercial and industrial customers 2. Insure appropriate measures are in place to manager the ESSUs 3. Set appropriate time values in the process before relinquishing the units 4. Set appropriate checks to assure "sandbagging" units does not take place 5. Take into account Iow income housing developer needs He reported that based on the above objectives, staff completed various flow diagrams, addressing affordable housing projects, as well as other project developments, with the following options for the Council and UVSD to discuss, modify, and/or approve: Option 1. Pay full ESSU fee upfront Option 2. Pay three-fourths of ESSU fee upfront Option 3. Pay half of ESSU fee upfront He went on to address various concerns presented by the City Council and the UVSD, including the impacts pertaining to the Will Serve process, General Plan amendment processes for zoning, etc, and related matters. Members of the audience that spoke to the issue included City of Ukiah Water/Sewer Engineer Technician McArthur, Mike Johnson, Estok Menton, Emmett Jones, and Eric Ideruas. It was the consensus of the City Council to continue this matter until later in the meeting. b. Presentation and Possible Action Regarding the Suq_~estions of th.-, Value Engineering Team Desiqn Review of the Proposed Brown and Caldwell Waste Water Treatment Plant Public Utilities Director Ziemianek advised that during the week of August 30th a Value Engineering (VE) Review commenced on the engineering details and design of the proposed Wastewater Treatment Plant. Staff will provide an additional update at the next joint meeting of the Council and UVSD. d. Update and Review of Staff's Action to Obtain Additional ESSUs by Existin~ CEPT Process and Additional Polymer Enhancement Joint Meeting of the City Council And the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District October 20, 2004 Page 3 of 4 Public Utilities Director Ziemianek advised the Chemical Enhancement Primary Treatment (CEPT) process was undertaken to obtain additional capacity out of the WWTP facility until the new plant is under the construction. Since the adoption of the CEPT program, Staff has been monitoring the results and overall chemical balance of the plant. The results have been very good and indicate an increase in available ESSUs up to the maximum (15%) suggested by Brown and Caldwell is warranted based on these results. He went on to describe the methods utilized in preparing the analysis and options presented for Council consideration. c. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Processes Associated with the Development of a Draft Policy Pertaining to Will Serve ,.Letters (continued from earlier in the meeting) Discussion continued with regard to the agenda item. Director Shoemaker recommended various amendments to the timelines presented in the proposed polices/flow diagram, noting his support for the capturing an administrative fee for those that do not make it through the process. Director Delbar requested that if the timelines are not made, as suggested in the flow diagram, that provisions be made for discussion to occur with Staff to assess the project, suggesting various amendments to the proposed process, and he stated that an upfront fee is not appropriate at this point. He advised that the draft policy should be available for adoption at the next UVSD meeting. Councilmember Baldwin stated that he would like to have time to see how other jurisdictions in the region handle this issue. Cities such as Cloverdale and Sebastopol could be contacted. There was general consensus of the Council and UVSD to concur with the proposed amendments associated with the recommendations for the Will Serve process and directing staff obtain like polices from close jurisdictions. 4. ADJOURNMENT OF JOINT MEETING ere being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:26p.m. Marie Ulvila, Deputy City Clerk Joint Meeting of the City Council And the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District October 20, 2004 Page 4 of 4