10-13-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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r COUNCIL MEETING REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION OCT 1 3 1997 DATE: OctcMiV9?if^9\DNO ITEM NO, Department Approval: Name Ron Moorse Title City Administrator Administrator Reviewed:Agenda Section: City Administrator’s Report Item Description: Wetland Protection/Inventory Element of the Surface Water Management Plan The proposal from Bonestroo for the preparation of the Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) included a significant cost reduction due to City staff taking on responsibility for portions of a number of the elements of the plan. The total value placed on the City's efforts was $25,000. Of this amount, $11,800 was related to the wetland protection element. City staff responsibility was to complete an inventory and classification of the City's wetlands. The plan for accomplishing this inventory was that Bonestroo would provide initial training to Mike Gaffron and Steve Weckman and they would conduct the inventory and classification. Since that time, the work load in the Planning & Zor^'i^ Department has been very heavy and staff have not been able to do the inventory work. The wetland information is an important element of the SWMP because it significantly affects the design of stormwater ponds. Different types of wetlands have different sensitivities to stormwater runoff. Without information regarding wetland classifications, the Plan would treat runoff in the same way for all wetlands. This would result in too much ponding in some areas and not enough ponding in other areas. The lack of the wetland component is now delaying the completion of the SWMP. If the wetland inventory cannot be completed this fall, the completion of the SWMP would have to wait until next spring. Bonestroo has indicated they can free up their staff to complete a sufficient amount of the inventory to enable the SWMP to proceed, yet this fall. The cost for Bonestroo to complete the inventory is estimated at $15,000 - $20,000. Staff will work with Bonestroo to determine if the number of wetlands to be classified can be reduced without adversely impacting the quality of the SWMP. It may be possible to eliminate the smallest wetlands from the inventory process to reduce the cost of the inventory. StaH* Recommendation Because the completion of the wetland inventory is important to the completion of the Surface Water Management Plan, and because City staff is not able to conduct the wetland inventory this fall, it is recommended that Bonestroo and Associates be authorized to conduct the wetland inventory this fall to enable the SWMP to be completed as soon as possible. As indicated above, the cost for this inventory is roughly estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000.