City council moving toward start of storm water utility, new charges Aug. 11, 2009 The Antigo Common Council may take another step toward the possible creation of a storm water utility, which would charge people for the amount of rain water running off their roofs and driveways, when it convenes Wednesday.
Aldermen will meet at 6 p.m. in the chambers at City Hall.
The storm water utility has been in the discussion phase for years and is designed to create a funding mechanism to finance a variety of infrastructure improvements to alleviate flooding concerns.
At a special meeting as a committee of the whole on July 28, aldermen voted 6-1 to direct MSA Engineering to study creation of the utility, which would tax residents and businesses on the amount of storm water runoff their properties place into the city’s overburdened system. Since that action was taken at the committee level, it must be affirmed at Wednesday’s formal council meeting.
The city has been under pressure by the Department of Natural Resources to create the utility as a means of obtaining grants and funding necessary repairs. The idea was briefly floated last year, but action was delayed until after MSA completed an extensive review of the overall storm water system.
According to Director of Administrative Services Dale Soumis, at least a third of the city is affected by storm water problems, which creates backup in basements and flooding on streets during times of high water.
The storm water pipes are too small and are aging, and should be replaced, Soumis said, and far overdue maintenance must be done on a timely basis.
The resolution calls for MSA Engineering to spend the next few months analyzing the various hard surfaces throughout the community, including roofs and driveways, and coming up with recommendations for some sort of fees, he said.
MSA will be paid $36,253 to complete the work, with the dollars repaid from future revenues if a utility is created.
In other matters, aldermen will act on a jurisdictional transfer agreement with the state Department of Transportation that will transfer control of 1.28 miles of Highway 64 from Western Avenue to Superior Street—through the downtown area—from state to local control.
The change will take place following the completion of the Highway 64 bypass slated for 2011 and 2012.
As part of the bypass project, the council is in the midst of planning for the rebuilding of the roadway through the downtown, with 80 percent of the funding coming from the state. Downtown revitalization is included in the program.
Aldermen are also expected to move forward with a sidewalk reconstruction project, the focus of public hearings last month. Low bidder was Duffek Sand and Gravel.
Property owners will be assessed 75 percent of the cost with the city covering the remaining 25 percent.
In other business, aldermen will:
—hear a report from Deb Gallenberg and Debi McGregor of the Family Corner Resource Center.
—be on hand for the oath and badge presentation to John Landwehr, a new firefighter and paramedic.
—review the city’s 2008 financial statement with Dave Maccoux of Schenck Government and Not-for-Profit Solutions.
—confirm Mayor Bill Brandt’s appointment of Ted Strobel to the Broadband Utility Commission, replacing Peter Nystrom, who resigned.
—allow the street department to expand into the adjoining lot already owned by the city, along Pierce Avenue to alleviate a shortage of space and storage.
—use $1,000 in Hotel Motel economic development funds to cover labor costs incurred by the Park, Recreation and Cemetery Department for two weekend baseball tournaments.
—and approve a $976,934 change order for the Fulton, and Hudson Street and Third Avenue reconstruction project for Kruczek Construction Inc. The extra dollars will cover unanticipated costs or the excavation and disposal of wood debris and a wood corduroy road long since buried and forgotten.
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