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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-23-1997 Navarre Water Plant Public Hearing MinutesNAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING • MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23,1997 ROLL The Orono City Council held a public hearing to consider the improvement of the Navarre Water Treatment Plant on the above mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Gabriel Jabbour, Councilmembers J. Diann Goetten, Charles Kelley, Barbara Peterson and Richard Flint. Representing Staff were City Administrator Ron Moorse, Public Services Director Greg Gappa, City Engineers Glenn Cook and Tom Roushar, and Recorder Lin Vee. Mayor Jabbour called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Moorse explained the purpose of the hearing is to make the public aware of what the project is and provide an opportunity for public comments so the Council can decide whether or not to move forward with the project. An assessment hearing would be held at a later time if Council votes to continue with the rehabilitation of the Navarre Water Treatment Plant. Jabbour added that there are two parts to consider as improvements - the water softening system and the iron/manganese filtering system. The City must decide whether to rehabilitate the existing water plant or stop using it. Tom Roushar, City Engineer from Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik and Associates, gave a presentation • on the proposed rehabilitation project. The Navarre Water Plant was constructed in 1971 of masonry and steel. It is a very basic water treatment system providing for softening and filtering at the least possible cost. Improvements would extend the use of the system for another 20 -25 years. The following issues were discussed: 1. Water quality. The Orono water supply system meets all of the primary drinking standards mandated by the Federal Drinking Water Act. The water does not meet secondary standards which are related to aesthetics, i.e. iron, manganese, hardness. Iron can cause reddish water; manganese may cause the water to appear yellowish to blackish. Iron and manganese also promote the growth of iron bacteria which may result in taste and odor problems. Hardness results in problems with laundry such as less suds, and build -up in piping. 2. Treatment process schematic. Diagrams were shown outlining how the water plant works. Chlorine is added, water is then aerated and flows through a gravity filter which strains out the iron and manganese. Booster pumps pump the water through three softeners and up to the water tower behind the water plant. Fluoride is added on the way out of the softeners. Federal law does not require the addition of fluoride but Minnesota law does. Some additional chlorine is added to keep the water disinfected. 3. Filter schematic. A Dualator I Filter from the Tonka Equipment Company is used to aerate the water and filter out iron and manganese. It is a gravity setup and very economical way is to filter water. NAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23, 1997 • 4. Softener schematic. After filtration, water flows through three softeners which are similar to home residential models. Sodium is exchanged for calcium and magnesium, the hardness producing elements. 80 parts per million is a recommended standard of hardness. 0 hardness for water may cause corrosion in copper pipes and tends to leach lead out of the solder holding pipes together. Calcium and magnesium waste from the backwashing of the filter are discharged to the City sewer. 5. Recommended improvements and cost estimate. Bonestroo completed an evaluation study in 1995 with the following recommended improvements: - Filter refurbishment $ 220,900 - Softening unit control replacement 17,000 - Chlorine solution water line relocation 8,500 - Brine storage tank cleaning 8,000 - Softening unit renovation 79,900 - Softening unit discharge meters 23,400 - Electrical systems replacement 43,100 - Automatic control valve replacement 9,600 - Ventilation/dehumidification improvements 102,500 - Controls replacement (SCADA) 73,100 • - Piping replacement 30,000 - Engineering and contingency 123,200 TOTAL $ 739,200 6. Proposed project schedule. Identical to the schedule proposed in the Feasibility Report. The bid opening would be early in 1998 with award of construction contract in February. Approximately 6 months is allowed for delivery of materials to job site. Construction would be from September to November of 1998. 7. Proposed project financing. Financing is proposed from three areas: Assessment $263,200 Cash Reserves 200,000 Internal Loan from Sewer Fund 276,800 TOTAL $740,000 8. Assessment area. An assessment would be levied against those properties served by the water system and capable of using the system. This is approximately 750 customers. 2 • • NAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23,1997 9. Roushar also presented the following photos: Brine storage tank for the softening process. Well #1. Top side of filter system and aeration chamber. - Condition of filter along base noting high degree of rust. - Pump showing rusty pipes. - Softening unit. - Failing softener with hatch open (8' diameter, 10' high) - Renovated system which would be repainted with new controls. Moorse continued with an explanation of financing. Three sources are being considered. First, $200,000 is currently available in water fund reserves which have been built up through increases in water rates specifically for these types of projects. Secondly, $263,000 will be collected from assessments on properties in the Navarre water service area. This is broken down to $350 per property served by the water system or capable of using the system over a 5 year period with interest at 6.25 %. Thirdly, an internal loan for $277,000 will be paid off over a 10 year period from the operations of the water fund. He also showed a chart of how the payments and interest would be calculated over 5 years so that homeowners could visualize how their properties would be affected. • Karen Cuff, 3572 Livingston Avenue, stated she was aware that the system needs improvements. She has an in -home water softening system and has not noticed problems that neighbors may experience. She asked how long the softening system had been failing. Roushar responded that one of the softeners is out of service completely and the other two are probably not as efficient as they should be. She questioned if it was worth the additional money in the proposal to have the City soften its water when she already has her own system. Roushar explained that when the project is finished, the water would be softened to 80 mg /1 which is about the same as Minneapolis. In addition to rehabilitation of the softeners, the engineers are also recommending a change in the way they recharge. One softener would recharge each day producing more uniform water. Currently the water varies from very soft right after recharging to very hard before the next recharge. Jabbour asked if the new softeners would be monitored for hardness. Roushar responded there would be analytic testing at the startup to provide a baseline for operation. Cuff asked what level of softness the City system has been at over the last 10 years. Roushar responded that the water quality has been variable from 0 to 150 mg/l. A survey indicated about half the homes in the water system have in -home softeners. Jabbour added that a home softener would help to keep water at a more consistent level of softness. A new City system would also be more consistent. At that time, the individual homeowner may still wish to have softer water than is provided through the City system and could still choose to use a • home system. 3 NAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23,1997 • Cuff suggested breaking the softener and filtration improvements into separate projects. Roushar stated that he had looked at that option. Gappa, the Public Services Director, had asked the Engineer to look at rehabilitating the existing softening system vs. people buying their own softeners. Roushar priced a basic Culligan softener and the cost to operate it, and found that it is cheaper for the City to continue softening. Salt costs for the City are much less than for an individual homeowner because the City can buy in bulk (25% less than at Cub Foods). Jabbour also noted that a homeowner's sewer bill may be higher because of the in -home softener discharging into the sewer system. Katherine Miller, 1635 Shadywood Road, stated they have been very pleased with the water quality and do not have an in -home system. Andrew McDermott, 2702 Walters Port Lane, stated his water has been relatively good although he has purchased his own softener. He has tried the water using his own system as well as not using it, and it was difficult to tell the difference. He asked if the City softener was eliminated if he would have to increase the number of times he ran his own softener. Roushar responded that he would have to recharge more often and use more salt. Although the City system has not been as uniform as they would like, some of the hardness is still eliminated. The homeowner may have to triple the use of an in -home system if the City did not soften its water. • Dave Holste, 1761 Concordia Street, asked what would happen to the 50% of homeowners who have existing in -home water softeners. Jabbour suggested a homeowner may continue to use their own softener if they choose to have softer water than is provided through the City system. Holste added that he uses a well but still pays for water because it is in the street. He has three units on his property. Moorse confirmed that there are some properties in the City that are not hooked up to water even though it is available. It is not mandatory to be connected just because City water is available. Moorse thought there may be one to two dozen situations where the property has not been connected to City water. The assessment is paid by everyone in the assessment area. Holste expressed his concern about financing. He did not feel he wanted to pay for soft water when he didn't use it. Jabbour compared a possible water assessment to a recent sewer assessment. The individual property owner could continue to use his private septic system but would pay the full amount when they do hook -up. Lois Hudlow, 3438 Lyric Avenue, also questioned the means of assessment. She asked for the definition of a unit and if Culver's would be considered one unit. Moorse responded that Culver's would be considered a parcel. She felt the assessment should be based on usage. She added that the water is good, she would like to keep it, and is willing to pay for it in an equitable manner. 4 • NAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING • MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23,1997 Jabbour responded that 2/3 of the costs are paid based on usage, $200,000 would come from water fund reserves and $277,000 from an internal loan to be repaid through future water bills. He added that water rates would have to go much higher to fund the entire project through water payments. The City still needs to determine how the assessment would be collected. He added that this would be discussed at an assessment hearing. The current hearing is to determine if the project should go forward. Roxann Beisch, 3436 Livingston Avenue, stated it was difficult to agree to spend money over the next 5 years if the people decide they don't want to pay for the project in the proposed manner. Jabbour responded that the City is not obligated to proceed with the project until after the assessment hearing. There is also a period of time where property owners can oppose the assessment. She also felt she has had good water up until the 1 -2 years. The taste of drinking water in other cities has been bad, which is the only way she could determine if Orono has good water or not. Joe Forrer, 2655 Pheasant Road, suggested exploring other means of softening the water rather than salt. Roushar responded that potassium chloride rather sodium chloride has been used in some homes. Other methods are membrane filtration, which is relatively new technology, and reverse osmosis. All methods are more expensive than ion exchange softening. With the existing water plant design, using salt is the most cost effective. Larger plants like Minneapolis or Bloomington use a • lime /soda ash process. Forrer questioned if salt would always be available in the future. Roushar responded that salt can be delivered inexpensively by water from the salt flats in New Orleans and it seems there would be an unlimited supply of salt water available in the Louisiana salt flats from the ocean. Jabbour asked why the City of Tonka Bay uses the lime /soda ash process. Roushar responded that lime is an option but more expensive. Another factor is sludge that is produced from the lime process which has to be disposed of. McDermott asked if there were any plans to expand the area of users. Jabbour responded there definitely was not. Pam Peters, 3640 Togo Road, stated the water quality is good. She commended the Council for acting on this matter before it becomes a problem. She did not feel $350 was unreasonable but would not want to pay 5 years of interest. She agreed with others that the assessment should be done on a usage basis. Jabbour responded that the homeowner is not required to pay the assessment over 5 years with interest through taxes but would have the option to do so. Previously the City auditor advised Council to increase water rates to prepare for improvements. If additional money was to come from the water billing, rates would probably have to increase another 35 %. • 5 NAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23,1997 Peters also questioned the engineering and contingency fee. She asked how much was considered contingency. Roushar responded that the contingency is based on the engineering estimates used for bids. Approximately 5 - 7.5% would be considered contingency with the remaining used towards engineering fees. Miller asked about the construction of the water tower near the City offices and how it happened. Jabbour assured her that the Navarre residents were not paying for it. The users have been assessed who use that tower. The City is slightly subsidizing the bonds used to construct the tower. He noted the current Council has made a conscious decision to have users pay for the services they use. Based on current and potential development of the Highway 12 corridor, it was felt that an additional water tower was needed in that area. Walt Romann, 2420 Old Beach Road, asked if there would be a long -term effect on the distribution system if the softening system was not repaired. Roushar responded that it would not affect the distribution system but would be noticed in the home by build -up in the water heating and piping system. • Jabbour asked if removal of iron and manganese would have the same affect. Roushar stated that there would be a negative affect if the filtration system were not upgraded. There could be iron build -up and serious complaints about the water color. Softening could be considered more of an • optional upgrade. Cuff also felt that $350 was not excessive. She asked if she would be charged for two hook -ups if she has two lots with two water stubs even if she has only one house. Moorse suggested that since the property has been combined into one lot, only one charge should be made. Holste asked if the same situation would apply to his property. He has three stubs but only one buildable lot. Jabbour thought he would also pay for only one charge but could not give him a final answer without knowing all the facts. Jabbour asked for comments from Councilmembers. Peterson stated she was in favor of the project. She was disappointed there were not more users present. Kelley stated he was in favor of the project but would need to review how the assessment would be determined. Goetten was also in favor of the project but unsure about the assessment. Flint agreed with other members. 6 • NAVARRE WATER PLANT PUBLIC HEARING • MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 23,1997 r: • Jabbour concurred with members of the Council and encouraged residents to call with any questions. He added that insurance rates are lower for those residents where City water is available because of the proximity to water hydrants. It was moved by Kelly, seconded by Goetten, to authorize the consulting engineer to prepare plans and specs and advertise for bids for the rehabilitation of the Navarre Water Plant and schedule an assessment hearing. Ayes 5, nays 0. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Jabbour adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. 7 Gabrie abbour, Mayor