03-23-1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Project Assessments and Costs This will be a fully assessed sewer project. No City contribution toward the assessments will be provided. The proposed project assessment is $19,100/unit payable over a fifteen year period. Options for prepayment of the assessment are also available. Based on several projects completed in 1997, the estimated interest rate is 6.25%. Based on a 15 yeai issessment at 6.25% interest, the annual assessment payments will average approximately $2,000. The first assessment payment would be added to the 1999 property tax bill. The property owner is also responsible for payment of a $1,000 SAC (Sewer Availability Charge) at the time the permit for connection is issued. This money is collected by the City and then forwarded to the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division. This money is used to pay for the additional opacity built in to the MCES sewer interceptor pipes for future connections to the "ewer system. 1 s is a standard charge per rew sewer unit for the entire MCES system in the metro area. The sewer service pipes will be stubbed out to the property line. The property owner is then responsible for hiring a licensed plumber to complete the hook up to the new sewer and to properly abandon the existing septic system. The estimated cost for this work is approximately $1,000 to $2,000. The City fee for the connection permit is $35.00. The quarterly sewer rate for the entire City is a flat fee of $76.85 Exclusion From The Project The ideal situation is that all of the property owners will be included in the project. It is difficult to have all of the owners in a project area agree to an assessment sewer project. Recognizing this fact, the C'ty has adopted a policy that allows property owners to request exclusion from the project if they havw . conforming septic system. If a property is excluded from the project and requests a sewer connection at future date, a connection fee will be charged. This connection fee will be the full project assessment, increased each year according to the annual inflation rate. This entire fee will be payable upon connection without the benefit of the fifteen-year assessment option for repayment. Currently, property owners have a seven year period, from when notified their septic system is determined to be non-conforming, within which to replace the system. The property owner will be required to connect to sewer if the existing septic system becomes non-conforming due to any future septic system regulations. Major repairs or replacement of an existing septic system will not be allowed in an area where sanitary sewer is available. Because the City will be covering the debt service charges for any properties excluded from the project, the number of properties that can be excluded without making the project economically unviable is limited. If a substantial majority of the properties are not included in the project, the