CCMinutes - 06/28/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Torrey, commenting by speakerphone, echoed Councilor Kelly. He said he had talked to many people who had shared similar concerns regarding the amount of money to be spent on a ~quick decision." He disagreed that the decision had been made quickly. The MWMC had been involved in the formation of this plan for a long time. He underscored that the citizen participant on the MWMC was a well-respected engineer and that he was unequivocal in his support of the plan. He recognized that people in the business community did not want to spend money frivolously, but they also wanted to ensure that the infra-structure needed for future development was available. He stressed that half of the cost increase was due to cost-of- living increases. Mayor Torrey urged the council not to hold back simply because it did not have a complete understanding of it, adding that, should a project not pan out to be what the community needed, the council could certainly determine that over the 20-year course of the long-term plan. He remained convinced the improvements were needed, however. Regarding the ;;Coburg question," Mayor Torrey opined that a joint project should be considered whether the City Council approved the plan or not. Councilor Bettman concurred with the comments of councilors Poling and Kelly and Mayor Torrey. She said the large portion of the plan sought to accommodate new growth. She alleged that SDCs were set artificially low and that ratepayers subsidized new growth. She stated that she would support the motion, though she felt this distribution of rate burden to be unfair. Councilor Bettman expressed concern that the addition of the community of Coburg into the wastewater treatment system would cost the City of Eugene ratepayers more. Councilor Pap~ commented that the concerns in Coburg regarding wastewater were not new. Councilor Pap~ referred to page 155 of the agenda item summary and asserted that the overflows did not exceed the limit set forth by the federal government. Peter Ruffler, Director of the Wastewater Division of the Public Works Department, predicted the overflows would increase. He said, looking at the historical record, there had been several continuous years of low rainfall, but prior to that there had been several instances of overflow due to storm events. Mr. Ruffler stated that a comprehensive evaluation of wet weather flow management plans that had looked at various options to handle peak flow issues had been conducted and the results were reflected in the MWMC facilities plan and project list. Councilor Poling related that, though Coburg had no SDCs in place for water, there had not been a reason to have such a charge thus far. He indicated that Coburg City Manager Mike Hudson had emphasized the community's willingness to ~pay its way." Councilor Meisner stated that the council had the material and had studied it, but the public did not have such a reference. He asked staff to state for the public the amount of the rate increase. MWMC staff member Susie Smith responded that the increase was projected over the course of five years to be between $5.60 and $6.50 per month. Councilor Meisner reiterated that the MWMC had not done a ~good enough" job of making the public aware of this. Gary Caldwell, staff member for MWMC, explained that the first four years of increases would get the rate revenue to the debt service support level. Increases beyond that point would be for inflation and operational increases. Councilor Meisner asked if there would be a decrease after six years. Mr. Caldwell replied that nothing in his projections indicated there would be a decrease in the rates.