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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Miscellaneous_11/22/1993_Public Works Committee E y' `�s� VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA ; , _, Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive � Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 • (407) 575-6200 ' " � � Fas: (407) 575-6203 3 - o A 4 � coUN V I L L A G E O F T E Q U E S T A P U B L I C W O R K S C O M M I T T E E M E E T I N G M I N U T E S N O V E M B E R 2 2, 1 9 9 3 I. The Tequesta Public Works Committee held a scheduled meeting at the Village Hall at 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Monday, November 22, 1993. The meeting was called to order at 4:05 P.M. by Chairman Earl L. Collings. In attendance were: Chairman Earl L. Collings; and Co-Chair Liz Schauer. Village Staff present were: Village Manager, Thomas G. Bradford, and Village Clerk Joann Manganiello. Also in attendance were: Richard Staudinger, Mike Rocca, and Ji-Ang Song of Gee and Jenson. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Agenda was approved as submitted. III. PRESENTATION OF THE STORM WATER UTILITY CONCEPT. W. RICHARD STAUDINGER, P.E. AND JI SONG, P.E., OF GEE AND JENSON. Village Manager Bradford stated that the reason for bringing this discussion up at this point in time is because it is evident that the status quo, in terms of the handling and financing of stormwater, will not remain the same. Mr. Bradford submitted to the Committee documentation regarding a State Statute which explains the power to create a stormwater utility. Any municipality which, after 1992, amends its Comprehensive Plan, must comply with the State Drainage dictates. In addition to this, the Environmental Protection Agency has the Clean Water Act which is in effect, the NPDES Program is in effect, each costing the municipality. In summation, merely taking runoff from streets etc. and allowing it to go into the Loxahatchee River will soon be history. The municipality will be required to come up with ways and means to meet the rules and regulations, the bottom line being, it will cost, and probably cost a lot. Therefore, it will cause Tequesta to start "knocking on the door" of the ten mill cap on taxes allowed under State Law. Therefore, it is necessary to look at the Stormwater Utility option, which allows assessment of property, based upon formulas, etc., to cover those costs. Mr. Bradford also submitted to the Committee documentation on a similar issue on which ENCON is working. Recycled Paper Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes November 22, 1993 Page 2 ------------------------------- The Town of Jupiter has recently implemented a Stormwater Utility. Chairman Collings felt that, as unfunded State mandates, both of the above-named Acts are tragic for the community. Richard Staudinger submitted to the Committee a hand-out discussing the concept and potential for a stormwater utility and advantages and disadvantages within in the Village of Tequesta. This was an issue initially visited five years ago. The document presents information on what other governmental entities have done regarding stormwater utility and some facts regarding stormwater utility. Stormwater Utilities are being considered because of a number of costly problems that are typically faced by municipalities. The Stormwater Utility is a State Law (unfunded mandate), which allows local formation of a stormwater utility. There are a number of other water requirements on the Federal and State level which require municipalities to come up with monies, a stormwater utility being one of the mechanisms. Some costly problems faced by municipalities are: - deteriorating existing drainage systems; (not a problem in Tequesta, since most of Tequesta has been developed in the last 30-40 years); The Committee asked Gee & Jenson to make an estimate, at least of the major facilities, of how much capital Tequesta has in drainage. - increasing development; - existing problems such as Cypress Drive flooding; - la�ge stormwater capital expenses; (i.e., Dover Ditch); - increasing operation and maintenance costs; - increasing costs to comply with new environmental regulations such as NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) now in the third phase of a multi- phased program; Chairman Collings pointed out that there are 4-5 communities which discharge water into the Loxahatchee River, a substantial portion of that discharge being from the County. He urged that Tequesta's contribution of that discharge be kept in perspective. Mr. Staudinger informed Chairman Collings that, right now, Tequesta's costs are pro-rated in the Palm Beach County process with the other 37 co-applicants of NPDES. Tequesta's proportionate cost is approximately $1,500 (approximately 1.5% of total). Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes November 22, 1993 Page 3 ------------------------------- - steady or decreasing stormwater budgets from General Funds; and - inequitable distribution of stormwater expenses (i.e., churches, other non-profit or tax exempt users). Traditional stormwater funding usually occurs only after flooding. Under the new Comprehensive Plans that the State is mandating and under the new EPA requirements, they are trying to create a Master Plan approach to this, where the municipality decides with the citizens, in advance of flooding, how much flooding is tolerable, what kinds of levels of service will exist with the drainage systems, what structures will be built, improvements made, funding - either through bond issues or general municipal revenues, traditionally. A stormwater utility is an alternative to traditional methods. This utility operates as does a water utility or sewer system, with a user fee. It's financed through direct customer user billings on a monthly/annual basis, and based on level of use. The method of calculating level of use is to calculate the impervious/solid areas on the property vs. the total of that in the entire Village. A primary advantage of a stormwater utility is that it is a reliable, additional funding source. Once set up, it is less subject to cuts and tradeoffs as with other Village programs. It also can free up General Funds which can be spent elsewhere. With it, there is an equitable distribution of costs, shared even by those who are tax-exempt. With proper informational programs, there is good citizen acceptance of a stormwater utility program. Village Manager Bradford added that another advantage of a stormwater utility is that the value of the property does not enter into the cost equation, therefor making it more palatable to those waterfront property owners. There is much flexibility in the approach of a stormwater utility. Gee & Jenson suggests that the proper approach to implementation would be to first do the Master Plan, identify all costs associated with the Master Plan, scheduled debt and funding needs over the years, and thereby assess the appropriate utility charges. There are also advantages, when starting a stormwater utility, of assessing a dollar amount to get the system going, then as improvements are identified, adjust the amount. Public Works Committee Meetinq Minutes November 22, 1993 Page 4 When first developing a stormwater utility and its fee structures, one must look at the preliminary plan and program design, and then the program implementation. Emphasis should be on the mechanics of a stormwater utility fee and how to make it fair and equitable, and how it is distributed. Adding all of these components can make a gigantic fee schedule. Some communities made very complicated structures which cost more to administer and have proven to be a nightmare. Chairman Collings asked how an ERU is computed. Ji-Ang Song answered that a typical ERU is approximately 2500 impervious square feet per equivalent residential unit. ENCON looks at their district properties, including vacant lots, commercial, etc. Tequesta would consider only that area within the confines of the municipal boundaries. The ERU is calculated through text data (i.e. size of lot, impervious areas, etc.), compared with aerial photographs of that same area for updating purposes, then the area is averaged, (to avoid getting too many complicated categories), to come up with one rate for the average area. There is the ability to create, in cooperation with the County, one or more special storm water management benefit areas (i.e., unincorporated areas). Discussion took place regarding the best billing method, whether it should be on a user bill (such as the water bill, or the tax bill). Mr. Staudinger recommended that billing take place on a monthly basis. Since Tequesta is basically residential, and owner-occupied, a user fee on the water bill would be equitable. When using the water bill method of billing, vacant properties are generally not shown, but usually are shown when using the tax bill method. Mike Rocca pointed out that if there are properties which, during their development process, were required to put in an elaborate stormwater retention and maintenance system and does solve most of their problems, there is a credit mechanism involved in the program, an added flexible feature of a stormwater system. If such a feature has already been implemented in a development, it is necessary to allow for a follow-up mechanism. In order for a stormwater utility program to be successful, it is imperative that a good job be done regarding public awareness. Public Works Committee Meetinq Minutes November 22, 1993 Page 5 ------------------------------- Gee & Jenson presented to the Committee a list of municipalities and three counties in Florida which have implemented a stormwater utility, showing typical ERU square footage, fees, fees per area, etc. The list, dated 1991, did not reflect the multitude of most recent implementations. Gee & Jenson agreed to do a survey to determine the percentage of stormwater utilities which are presented on the water vs. on the tax bill. Chairman Collings stated that the reason this issue has come about is to protect the water quality of the Loxahatchee River, according to ENCON. Therefore, there should be a measurement of water quality before a stormwater utility, and a measurement of quality after a stormwater utility. A basic matrix was presented to the Committee showing how a stormwater util.ity might impact the millage rate, if it came from ad valorem taxes, and what the bonding capacity could be, using various terms and interest rates. Village Manager Bradford explained that presently Tequesta spends approximately 10% of its millage rate for drainage. VII. ANY OTHER MATTERS ENCON's River Enhancement Rule: Mr. Staudinger explained that ENCON is considering creating a stormwater utility, under their existing legislation, calling it a Loxahatchee River Basin Stormwater Management Plan and River Enhancement Program. ENCON is considering a two-level fee structure: 1) District-wide, $1.00/ERU for River Enhancement Services (i.e., planning, studies, additional water quality sampling, etc., which directly effect or monitor the quality of water in the south, west, and northwest forks of the Loxahatchee River). This $1 fee (mandatory) will effect everyone, whether or not they are an ENCON customer. In their own opinion, ENCON feels they are the one entity which covers the whole region of the River, as opposed to surrounding municipalities. Ji-Ang Song suggested that ENCON be asked how they arrived at the dollar figure, how that number is justified, since so far they have been doing water quality monitoring and other activities to protect the River, with funds coming from the sewer fund. They are now, all of a sudden, they are changing that to a stormwater utility, stating there will be a$1/fee. When ENCON was asked if sewer rates would go down accordingly, their answer was "no". Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes November 22, 1993 Page 6 ------------------------------- The second portion of ENCON's fee is up to $2.50/ERU (optional) for operation and maintenance of applicable systems. This is made available to local governments and/or subdivisions. ENCON has not made clear what portion of that $2.50 they would keep for administrative costs. This issue is set for discussion at the December 2, 1993 ENCON meeting, at 7:00 p.m. at District offices. A special act of the Legislation which created the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control Act, and created the District, is the major enabling legislature which allows ENCON to do this. Chairman Collings inquired as to whether ENCON could pre-empt a municipal function, such as a stormwater utility . That was determined to be a legal question for the Village Attorney. It was the Committee's recommendation that an Ordinance be prepared to create a Stormwater Utility in Tequesta, to be presented at the December 2 Village Council meeting, and that the Village Attorney be asked if ENCON could pre-empt Tequesta in this regard. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no other matters before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:55 P.M. Respectfully submitted, . ,, _ .•^� ��;:. �/ ,,, ,.._: _ , _ . ' ;,� <�y ?: `. � - �'� mL`�; Fran Bitters - =.� ..1�� '•;� , � f �; Recording Secretary _ �, , ATTEST: Joann Man niello Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: /.�.i99s�