10-15-1984 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 24, 1984 PAGE 6 George F. Rovegno, Jr. 2010 Shoreline Drive Wayzata, Minnesota 55391 U.S.A. September 16,1984 Orono City Council Crystal Bay, Minnesota In the matter of the Public Hearing on Sanitary Sewer in the Crystal Bay area: I regret that I am personally unable to attend th- September 24, 1934 Public Hearing on the above matter. However, I would like to make a few comments and suggestions. The Public Hearing Notice, as published and as mailed, appears to be defective. It doesnot describe the same area as is reported upon in the feasibility report. As a result I suspect that action cannot be taken without re -publication and notice and a new hearing held. As you know we have occasionally had to do this for Planning Commission public hearings. Two alternatives to the problems in the Crystal Bay area are apparent: construct sanitary sewer or make private systems work properly. Those with functional septic systems might prefer the latter, while those with failing systems no doubt would prefer the former to the alterna- tive of a holding tank system. As more systems fail more pressure will be brought to install public sewers. Sooner or later this area will be sewered. In fact, since costs would have been much less and the City certainly knew of the problems, this area should have been sewered years ago. For this reason I will assume that in my absence you will take action to cause the construction of sanitary sewer in this area. The passions that surround this issue arise largely from the cost of the project. Having read the minutes of your August meeting on this subject and the feasibility report, as well as having spoken with Mike Gaffron. ;t would seem that the big problem is the $12,230 cost per unit. I hav? a few suggestions. Fist the Council should carefully examine the costs estimated in the reasibility report. To my n ndjiPIS, i0c_O4 for /1 7�S` feet 4` sewer pipe, i.e.iQ(-3 7 per foot, is exorbitant. Perhaps a lift station must cost $35,000, but $4,500 of annual maintenance on top of the capital expense seems unreasonable. The Council must exercise its management function. We should find out why parts of this system will be 21 feet under grade. We should ask these question,- and many more before we spend a million dollars, a sum equal to the annual total City operating budget. If any of us was faced with this kind of expense at home or at work in the private sector, we would not accept this type of cost/benefit relationship.