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40,04, / O CITY of ORONO Municipal Offices �G~ Street Address: Mailing Address: Ira-0CW 2750 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66 Orono, MN 55356 Crystal Bay, MN 55323.0066 July 29,1996 Re: 2275 Webber Hills Road To Whom It May Concern: The Webber Hills neighborhood, including the above referenced property, is currently under consideration by the City of Orono for installation of municipal sewer. The decision whether to proceed with a sewer project has not yet been made,however. Such a decision will rely on a number of factors including 1)approval of a Metropolitan Urban Service Area(MUSA)boundary expansion by the Metropolitan Council, and 2) neighborhood agreement to proceed absent City financial participation. A neighborhood meeting was held in May 1995 at which City representatives discussed the pro's and con's of continuing the use of septic systems,as well as the probable costs associated with municipal sewer. The City Council had placed Webber Hills as a medium priority for sewer as compared with nine other Orono neighborhoods, and had indicated it might be many years before the City was in a position to financially assist in the costs of a Webber Hills sewer project. However, the Council suggested it would consider going ahead with such a project if the neighborhood was willing to pay the full cost. Many of the Webber Hills area homeowners have septic systems which would need to be replaced in the future with a'mound'sewage system at a cost of$8,000-10,000 each. The 1994 estimated cost for municipal sewer was approximately $13,800 per unit. In October 1995 the City was informed that 28 of 34 residents would support municipal sewer at full cost,under the presumption they would not have to replace their septic systems until sewer was available. Those who indicated they would not favor sewer were generally the residents who have recently replaced their systems, typically to meet rigid mortgage company requirements at the time they purchased their properties. The City Council has not formally reviewed the responses from Webber Hills or from the other nine neighborhoods under consideration for sewer, and will not do so until the Metropolitan Council has approved the MUSA expansion. The MUSA expansion was applied for in January 1996 and is expected to be approved as soon as sewer system capacity issues are resolved,which we expect will occur within the next few months. Then, perhaps this fall, the Council is expected to review the Telephone (612) 473-7357 • FAX 473-0510