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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-11-03 WSCOUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES TxuRSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2003, 4:OOPM MARION CONFERENCE ROOM In attendance: Mayor Robert Johnson and Council Members Mark Bellows, David Luick, and Wendy Wulff. Also in attendance: City Administrator Robert Erickson, Assistant to City Administrator Brian Anderson, City Attorney Roger Knutson, City Engineer Keith Nelson, and Civil Engineer I Zach Johnson. Item No. 1 Review Draft Right-of-Way Ordinance and Proposed Fee Schedule City Administrator Bob Erickson introduced the right-of--way ordinance to the Council and stated that Keith N., Zach J., and Brian A. have worked on completing the proposed right-of-way ordinance for the past two months. Staff feels confident this comprehensive ordinance will serve the best interests of the City. He then asked City Attorney Roger Knutson to provide the historical origin of this ordinance and how it relates to the current statutes. Mr. Knutson informed the Council that the legislature passed a "Right-of-Way Statute" which provides that cities have the right to manage and protect their right-of-ways. After the right-of-way legislation was passed about five years ago, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) adopted agency rules fleshing out the statue. After the rules were adopted, the League of MN Cities (LMC) wrote a model ordinance, to assist cities in preparing their right-of-way ordinances. Mr. Knutson informed the Council that City staff has reviewed and incorporated information from the LMC model, Dakota County's, Eagan's, and other cities' ordinances into Lakeville's proposed ordinance. Mr. Knutson stated he felt the proposed ordinance was very well written and included the best provisions from other ordinances and suggestions from the utility companies. He then stated the ordinance is a management tool that will allow the City to better control right-of-way access and sets standards for future right-of-way projects. However, he cautioned an ordinance of this size will undoubtedly have to be revisited and amended in the future due to the changes in legislation, technology, and City practices. Mayor Johnson questioned if the utility companies have challenged any of the ordinance language in other cities. Mr. Knutson stated that he was not aware of any previous or pending lawsuits pertaining to right-of-way ordinances. Mr. Erickson stated the utility companies have provided important input to this ordinance that other ordinances fail to address. Those comments allow this ordinance to be current and practical without going to extremes, which the utility companies have agreed makes this ordinance very well written and user friendly. . Mr. Erickson informed the Council of the feedback he had received from Council Members prior to the work session. Those comments included items regarding self- insurance and pollution liability insurance requirements. Mr. Knutson informed the Council that the City has the discretion to accept or reject any self-insurer if staff feels they are not sufficiently covered. He then told the Council that requiring pollution liability insurance was not a common requirement in such ordinances. It was then agreed by Council and staff to remove the pollution liability insurance requirement until the utility companies had a chance to provide feedback. Mr. Erickson stated the only real change in the proposed ordinance verses the City's current practice would be the way the City would manage undergrounding, aterm used to describe the installation utilities in the ground. Mr. Nelson read 7-15-24-E.1 of the proposed right-of--way ordinance and then described that a utility would now be required to relocate their infrastructure underground during a roadway expansion or at the reasonable request of the City. Mr. Knutson added that the City has the right to request this action of the utility companies. Council Member Wulff inquired if the County roads would have to comply with the County or City right-of-way ordinance. Mr. Nelson stated the County roads are under the jurisdiction of the County ordinance. Council Member Wulff then asked if Lakeville has any congested right-of-way areas due to undergrounding. Mr. Nelson stated that reconstruction projects such as Dodd Blvd in conjunction with Crossroads Development and Ipava Ave. from 175th - 176th Street are becoming crowded -due to the undergrounding required for those projects. Mr. Knutson briefly addressed excavation fees as a means of recouping the City's costs. The City can't impose fees greater than the city's actual costs. After the initial fees are adopted they should be monitored to ensure they coincide with our costs. Mr. Nelson .stated the City currently charges a $50 flat fee and last year the City issued about 107 permits, which generated about $5,000. Mr. Erickson stated the City is not currently covering their costs associated with right-of-way management considering Mr. Johnson spends about 30% of his time performing this service. Mr. Knutson stated the City has the right to recoup labor, benefits, vehicle gas and maintenance, and overhead costs such as cell phones and office administration. Mr. Erickson then reviewed the fee comparison spreadsheet, which outlined a comparison of how much various cities charge for excavating in their right-of-ways. Mr. Erickson then explained the proposed fee structure stating that staff recommends raising the excavation permit fee from $50 to $200. In addition, staff recommended charging $0.20 per linear foot for each excavation foot over 2,640 feet. Mr. Nelson stated the utility companies felt the proposed fee schedule appeared reasonable in comparison to other cities; however, they did ask the City to consider waiving the first half-mile from any additional lineal foot charges being a majority of the projects are small and only take up to two days. City staff agreed with their rationale and incorporated their recommendation into the proposed fee schedule. The Mayor and Council agreed the proposed rates appeared to be reasonable. Mr. Knutson then explained the Summary Ordinance would be published in lieu of the original 26-page ordinance, which reduces the publishing costs. ~1 LJ Page 2 of 3 Direction: The City Council agreed to remove the language requiring utility companies to provide pollution liability insurance at this time. They also directed staff to bring the revised Right-of-Way Ordinance, Fee Schedule, and Summary Ordinance forward at the December 15th City Council Meeting for approval. The meeting adjourned at 4:55PM Respectfully Submitted, ~- ` ~ ~~_ a, ~=-~- Brian J. nderson Assistant to City Administrator • .7 Page 3 of 3