Study Session: 7:00 – 7:30PM

John Jamnick of RLK-Kuusisto reviewed the Project Status Report and discussed hearing topics with the Board.

Public Hearing

Vice-Chair Darrell Scott turned the Public Hearing over to John Jamnick of RLK-Kuusisto.

John Jamnick explained that a notification of the Public Hearing was sent to property owners in the District prior to the hearing. He further explained that this was a preliminary project hearing required by MN Statute 429 to present to the public financing options to address the debt of the project by assessment. A final assessment hearing will be held in September or October of 2003 to notify the public of the actual amount to be assessed to each property. The District has a potential loan of $390,000 for the initial estimate of the project. Based on the original estimate of 136 EDUs the assessment would have been $2,800 per EDU. There are now approximately 163 EDUs because of additional property owner interest in being included in the sewer system. Increased EDUs will increase the cost of the project and increase the assessment figure. Property owners would have the option of either an up-front fee or a property tax assessment. Additional cost of Operation and Maintenance will be approximately $58,000 per year for which there would be a monthly fee of about $30 to $35.

On October 23^rd the Board received the bids. Bids for both the Collection System and the Treatment System were over the engineer’s estimates, with the Treatment System coming in nearly double that expected. Some re-design options were presented including the sharing of grinders by property owners to reduce project cost. John explained that the treatment facility capacity was 50,000 gallons per day of which 30,000 gallons per day would initially be used. There could be a District-wide assessment for the 20,000 gallons per day extra capacity. John then asked the public for questions and comments.

Bob Bowers asked if the Treatment Facility was re-bid, what changes would be made to ensure a lower bid on the project. John said a possibility would be to deliver prepackaged tanks rather than construction on site.

Bob then asked if the engineers thought more contractors would bid with the plant changes. John said they were not sure. In talking to the contractors some were concerned about the distance and that a lot of land must be cleared. He suggested that the Board might want to bid with local loggers for the land clearing rather than include that in the bid. Also the building could be made smaller.

Butch Eggen asked if the road into the treatment facility was part of the collection bid and how much it was. John said it was part of the collection bid at $27,000.

John stated that if the bids do not come down to the $2,221,000 project cost the Board could look into adding to the loan. Rural Development would be open to discussion and there are several options.

Larry Olson asked if the project was re-bid would the District stick to that bid or would it re-bid again. John said you can negotiate with the bidders a little and that it is preferable to award both bids at the same time.

Larry asked if the contractors feared the amount of rock that would be discovered when they start digging. John explained that that was not an issue. He also explained that there was a lot of sod, gravel, and culverts included for restoration of property, which made the bids high.

Public Hearing (Cont.)

Larry asked if businesses and individual properties would be assessed alike. John said the Board would need to decide that.

Butch Eggen asked if the $6,000 initial assessment would address the 50,000 gallon cost and when the ESA was brought in would there be another assessment. Mike White said no, which is why the Board needs to know the plan for the ESA.

Butch said he had heard from others that they are concerned about being assessed even without being directly connected to the system. Mike said it is possible properties along the line will be assessed, as their property will increase in value as a result of sewer hook-up availability. Again, the Board needs to look at the entire project for these answers.

Butch then asked who would decide that. Mike said an independent assessor would need to provide a formula that could be defended in court if needed.

John then asked if the public had any other questions or comments. There were none and the public hearing was ended at 8:15PM

Regular Meeting

The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Darrell Scott at 8:15PM.

Members present: Managers Darrell Scott, Mike White, Deena Congdon and Jim Sanborn. Members absent: David Dill.

Also present: John Jamnick and Jim Pucel of RLK-Kuusisto Ltd., Clerk Jo Ann Pohlman, a reporter from the Cook News-Herald and five members of the community.

BUSINESS:

Motion by D. Congdon, supported by J. Sanborn to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 2 and the Special Meeting of October 23, 2002. Motion carried.

Motion by M. White, supported by D. Congdon to approve the October Treasurer’s Report and payment of administrative bills and attorney fees as follows: Frontier – $55.94; Cook News-Herald – $61.72; Cook News-Herald – $107.64; VTSI – $545.05; and Cope and Peterson – $15,528.32. Motion carried.

Correspondence:

The correspondence was presented to the Board. A motion was made by M. White, supported by D. Congdon that the correspondence be filed and acted upon as required. Motion carried.

RLK-Kuusisto Progress Report

Met with Mike White to discuss the project status and budget.
Spoke with Roger Clapp regarding the project status and budget.
Spoke with Mary Frances Skala regarding the public hearing and project status.
Received a letter from the MPCA regarding administrative issues and recommendation not to award bid on 11/6. Main issues that need to be addressed are:
- The Sewer ordinance.
- Sludge management.
- Additional clarification of plans.
- Get all easements signed so public money can be used.

RLK-Kuusisto Progress Report (Cont.)

Reviewed the bids
Have compiled the Bid Tabs. The issues are that the Treatment Facility bid is too high and that they recommend rejection of the bid. Are considering rejection of both bids.
The Specs designated a particular brand of pump or equivalent. It needs to be determined if the pump that was included in the lowest bid is actually equal to the pump specified and meets Spec.
The bids can be held 60 days and could be tabled until the December meeting with the possibility of a re-bid in January.

A motion was made by D. Congdon, supported by M. White to table the bids. Motion carried.

A motion was made by M. White, supported by J. Sanborn to pass a resolution stating that the Board intends to pursue the use of assessments in a final arrangement for financing, subject to Mary Frances Skala’s wording of the resolution. Motion carried.

Easements-Status Report

Most of the easements are done or nearly so.
There was discussion on the recording of plats.
J. Jamnick will talk to Alicia Cope about recording the plats and report back to the Board.

Right-of-Way Jurisdiction

The Township has jurisdiction over public right-of-ways in Chase, Baylis Crane Lake Addition and Harding Manor, which will be crossed by the supply and discharge lines.

Alicia Cope is drafting a letter to be sent to the Town requesting its approval to cross these right-of-ways.

Eastern Service Area Plan

RLK-Kuusisto will have a report and cost estimates at the December meeting.

Ordinance Plan & Rate Schedule

M. White and D. Congdon will get together to work on the Ordinance & Rates.

OTHER BUSINESS

When the results of the elections are certified, D. Scott will contact D. Dill about his potential resignation from the Board of Managers.

The next meeting will be a Regular Board Meeting on December 4, 2002 at 7:30PM at the Crane Lake Chapel with a Study Session beginning at 7:00PM prior to the meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENT – None

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.

J. Pohlman

Clerk

FINANCIALS MINUTES · NEWSLETTERS MAPS REGULATIONS BULLETIN BOARD FAQ CONTACT US HOME