HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.1009.TCWSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE WORK STUDY SESSION
OCTOBER 9,2007
AGENDA ITEM#1—CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Vice Mayor Dickey called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Councilmember Leger,
Councilmember McMahan, Councilmember Archambault and Vice Mayor Dickey. Town Attorney Andrew
McGuire, Assistant to the Town Manager Kate Zanon, Public Works Director Tom Ward,Town Engineer Larry
Woodlan and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
Mayor Nichols and Councilmember Kehe were excused from the meeting and Councilmember Schlum joined
the meeting at 5:10 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM #3 — PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE STORMWATER
MANAGEMENT IMPACT FEE CONCEPT BY AMEC TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ED LATIMER.
Public Works Director Tom Ward addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and noted that the issue of
stormwater had received a lot of attention and the Federal government had issued a mandate on this matter. He
said that staff had been working diligently in this area for several years and this year they discussed with the
Town Manager the possibility of a stormwater utility, which was then further explored. He stated that this
evening Mr. Ed Latimer, who had his PhD in water resources engineering, ten plus years experience in the
stormwater area, had served as a stormwater consultant for twenty years and was the department head for
AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc. would address the members of the Council and highlight a presentation
relative to the concept of a stormwater utility.
Mr. Latimer thanked the members of the Council for allowing him the opportunity to address them this evening
and noted that members of the Town's Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (SPAC) were also in
attendance. Mr. Latimer highlighted a brief PowerPoint presentation (a complete copy of the presentation was
on file in the office of the Town Clerk) and said that the question before them was "Does it make sense for the
Town to establish a user fee based funding mechanism to proactively meet growing stormwater regulatory
requirements and stormwater management needs of the community?" Mr. Latimer advised that his presentation
would cover the Town's Stormwater Management Program; the Stormwater Utility Concept (4
development/implementation tracks); closing thoughts and questions/comments.
Mr. Latimer referred to a map that identified locations across the United States where his firm had implemented
stormwater utilities or aided in some element of the work. He noted that there was only one stormwater utility
in place in Arizona, in the City of Flagstaff. He noted the significant number located of utilities was located in
the eastern portion of the United States and said they were slowly moving towards the western portion of the
States. He reported that there were approximately 2500 stormwater utilities throughout the U.S. and that
number continued to increase. He provided background information relative to stormwater regulations and said
that in 1987, Congress amended the Clean Water Act (CWA) and essentially added stormwater to the list of
what was regulated in terms of water. NPDES and water were already regulated at that point. The Town
became regulated as a Phase II Stormwater MS 4 community in March 2003. This was a federally mandated but
unfunded permit-based program.
Mr. Latimer advised that small MS4 general permits included six minimum control measures:
cor
• Public education and outreach
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• Public involvement
• Illicit discharge,detection and elimination
• Construction site runoff control
• Post-construction runoff control
• Municipal good-housekeeping
Mr. Latimer discussed the mandatory Stormwater Management Program and noted that under each MCM, there
were mandatory and recommended requirements. They were renewed/updated every five years (the current
program was good through 2007). There were annual reporting requirements and the program includes adopting
and enforcing new ordinances plus increased construction and post-construction inspections.
Discussion ensued relative to the fact that municipal stormwater management had become an integral
community service and associated maintenance components and their costs totaled an estimated $514,413.00;
the fact that the permit required Stormwater Management Program plus operations and maintenance funding of
existing and future stormwater infrastructure places an ever increasing financial burden on the Town;
environmentally friendly pollution (pollution prevention/improved quality of life); the fact that the stormwater
challenges were real and unresolved; there were competing priorities for limited revenue and the fact that stable,
equitable funding could be created that results in real benefits.
Mr. Latimer explained that a stormwater utility included a funding method, a program concept and an
organization entity (a mix of methods) and reiterated that stormwater utilities represented a growing trend in the
United States. He further stated that stormwater utilities were on the rise because they were stable, adequate,
flexible and equitable and because:
• It was a dedicated enterprise fund and does not rely on or compete for general funds;
• Proper preparation and rate study should provide adequate program funding
• Provides a primary source for the entire program(can credit good actors and account for environmental
costs)
• It was based on contributions to the system rather than property value
Mr. Latimer informed the audience that for every $1.00 a month per household, a utility could generate
anywhere from$20 to $50 per acre per year (bare minimum). The national average for fees in place was $3.40
per home per month (representing a moderate or advanced program). He noted that surveys conducted on
utilities across the U.S. showed that for approximately 16% of them,the fees truly met the needs,the majority of
fees met most of the needs, 34% of the fees only met urgent needs and 6% of the fees were inadequate. He
added that other fees could be put in place to enhance the equity, credits could be offered to encourage good
performance, the program could be geographically based and it could take into account environmental costs. He
stressed the importance of documentation and establishing a basis for proceeding in the manner they choose and
reiterated that the fees were extremely equitable.
Mr. Latimer emphasized that the areas of finance, public education,program development and a billing database
must be focused on in order to ensure that a viable model for stormwater utilities was established. He added that
it was important to insert a group of citizens between the Council (the governing body of the Town) and the
decisions that were made and benefits that would be realized as a result of bringing partners into the process
early on (such as the SPAC). He further discussed the benefits of working towards achieving an endorsed plan
with stakeholder involvement and the importance of general education and awareness in order for the program
to be successful. He noted that most failed stormwater utilities were doomed prior to implementation due to a
lack of public and political backing.
Mr. Latimer discussed the recommended makeup of a Stormwater Advisory Committee (SWAC) and said that
these partners would help with the general education/awareness component(a cross section of the stakeholders:
developers, environmentalists, neighborhoods, clubs, social classes, tax exempt organizations (utilities vs. tax),
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II
commercial and industrial entities and designers. He added that the six main issues that must be addressed by
the SWAC include:
• What was the Town spending and doing now as far as stormwater?
• What were the significant problems, issues and needs the Town was facing?
• How have others solved these problems/issues?
• How should the Town solve them?
• What would it cost?
• How should the Town pay for it?
Mr. Latimer further commented on the "policy paper process" (drafting a policy paper, discussing a policy
paper, drafting a policy statement, discussing a policy statement and finally agreeing on a policy statement. He
outlined a program development tract and emphasized the importance of evaluating the existing program;
identifying problems, needs and goals; establishing priorities; determining cost of service; organization and
developing an implementation plan.
Additional discussion ensued relative to a finance track and rate methodologies and common fee calculations.
Mr. Latimer suggested that the Council consider selecting the stormwater management monthly impact fee
option from the September 2007 Revenue Enhancement analysis for further assessment/study and added that
they should also perform a Stormwater program funding study(two to three months) to:
• Approximate and benchmark the Town's current and projected stormwater-related costs;
• Assess whether or not the Stormwater Utility Concept merits further consideration/study and make
necessary recommendations; and
• Participate in initial consultations with both the Water Company and Sewer District.
NIlir Mr. Latimer outlined a proposed timeline, as follows:
• January 2008—March 2008: Conduct a Stormwater Program Funding Study;
• Include study recommendations in the Town's FY 2008-09 operating budget;
• July 2008 — February 2009: Conduct a Stormwater Utility Feasibility Study to include a SWAC and
public outreach;
• Include (if necessary) the SWU Feasibility recommendations in the Town's FY 2009-10 operating
budget;
• July 2009—June 2010: Implement a Stormwater Utility
• July 2010—Begin invoicing and revenue collection
Mr. Latimer once again thanked the Council for providing him the opportunity to address them this evening and
indicated his willingness to respond to questions.
Councilmember Schlum asked Mr. Latimer to discuss potential impacts on the residents of Fountain Hills when
stormwater standards were not put into place and managed. Mr. Latimer responded that the permit-based
process benefited the entire community in terms of outreach, education, etc. He added that immediate impacts
may include the flooding of homes, washes overflowing and damaging properties and explained that a lack of
adequate infrastructure would result in these types of impacts. He noted that a stormwater utility could actually
cover CIP elements (infrastructure elements)for designing/implementing culverts, lining canals, etc.
Mr. Latimer also discussed the Water Quality Act and explained that the purpose of including stormwater
management was to focus on water quality and improve the quality of rivers, streams and lakes and based on the
Lie success of that component, the goal moved on to include addressing the number one pollutant, sediment, which
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washes off of streets, pavements and construction sites. This sediment runs off and ends up clogging the
streams and rivers.
Town Engineer Larry Woodlan commented that the stormwater issue was going the same way as the wastewater
treatment issue, which began in the 1970's. He said that they had to monitor everything and in doing so they
found out where the waste was coming from, identified the various types and then implemented regulations to
clean up the waste (costs were reflected in the wastewater bills). He added that so far Fountain Hills was
fortunate because they did not have a lot of heavy industry but noted that they did have stormwater pollution.
He said that they would have to monitor what was occurring on residents' properties and potential impacts on
the overall system. He commented that pools should not be able to be backwashed into the washes; they could
drain onto the person's property as long as the water did not run off. Otherwise they would have to take it to a
sanitary sewer system. He advised that the ADEQ was already hiring staff to monitor stormwater systems and
had sent inspectors into Gilbert to inspect some of the capital improvement projects and determine whether
stormwater measures were being implemented.
Mr. Woodlan stated that if the Town did not implement programs to keep the stormwater runoff clean, fines
would be levied. Fine amounts have not yet been set but they would definitely be implemented as part of the
process. He noted that the Town's Public Works Department did not have adequate staff to do the required
monitoring or sufficient Code Enforcement staff to conduct inspections. He advised that when it rained the
Town would have to hire people to collect water for stormwater sample testings and they have yet to determine
how they would treat it to keep the rivers and streams clean. He added that vehicles would also have to be
purchased for use by the people who would do the monitoring/inspecting and said that the program was growing
and the overall costs were going to increase. He reiterated that additional staff and vehicles would be needed in
order to comply.
Councilmember Schlum commented that he was sensitive to the issue and believed that the Town would do
what had to be done in order to comply.
In response to a question from Councilmember McMahan, Mr. Latimer advised that the Maricopa County Flood
Control District's focus was simply on flood control.
Mr. Woodlan advised that all of the meetings were held at Maricopa County Flood Control District and stated
that they were in the middle of it but have different restrictions because they were a County agency as opposed
to a municipal agency and their hurdles and issues were a lot more complicated. He added that they had been
very helpful in providing literature for public education purposes.
Councilmember Archambault asked how they would respond to people who said they were already paying for
flood control on a County level and the Town was already doing it. Mr.Latimer responded that it came down to
quantity versus quality. They had done an excellent job managing quantity with the help of the Maricopa
County Flood Control District but the focus as far as the regulations had nothing to do with quantity, it dealt
with water quality, the quality of the stormwater, which was something they had never had to do before. He
noted that it did not rain very often in Arizona. However,places that receive very little rain experience the most
problems from a water quality standpoint because when it does rain they had to deal with concentrated pollution
that had been building up. He stressed the importance of repetitive public education programs relative to that
concept.
Mr. Ward advised that staff had been working in this area for approximately five years and now it was time to
move on to the next phase. He said that the Town could learn from what Avondale had gone through and
requested that Town Attorney Andrew McGuire comment on this issue.
Mr.McGuire stated that everyone was moving through the process as well as they could and added that the first
step would be the passage of an ordinance that would prevent people from directly dumping into the stormwater ,vig)
system and/or dumping things onto their properties that would run off into the storm system. He said that this
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was typically the first "wake up call" for residents and said this would cover everything including pool
backflushing. He commented that they do not have storm sewers and so measures must be implemented. He
Lieadded that whether or not a Stormwater Utility was the main goal, they must at least implement the measures
that were currently before them and some type of regulatory documents must be developed.
Councilmember Leger asked whether the Town currently measured the quality of stormwater runoff. Mr. Ward
replied that they currently did not; they were just entering that phase of the program.
Councilmember Leger agreed with the importance of heightening citizen awareness and stated the opinion that
once they began to measure the quality of the stormwater runoff that would begin to increase awareness. He
added that once a baseline ordinance in place, awareness would also be heightened. He said that he would be
interested in seeing what the measurements reveal.
Discussion ensued relative to Phase I and Phase II requirements; the fact that staff had met with the Sanitary
District, the Water Company and the School District to review steps that have been taken to date and associated
issues; the fact that costs were increasing and would continue to do so; the fact that it was never too early to
begin a public education process; the fact that the Hawking report included a recommendation that such a utility
be put into place; Phase I participants and difficulties associated with monitoring.
Councilmember Schlum stated the opinion that the north east section of Town would not have pollutants that
would wash off during rains and the importance of spending money only in areas where it makes sense to do so.
Mr. Woodlan discussed unique problems associated with monitoring flows and reported that most of the flow
equipment utilized batteries that must be maintained on a regular basis. He added that when they have "no
flow" situations for months at a time, when it finally does rain the equipment did not function. He outlined a
number of the challenges that they currently faced and additional challenges they would face in the future.
(by Mr. Ward stated that they were "on the cutting edge" and staff wanted to bring this before the Council because
they were looking for possible revenue streams to support some of the programs. He added that the Town could
not ignore this unfunded mandate and thanked the Council for their input.
In response to a question from Vice Mayor Dickey, Mr. Latimer said that the court case referred to by the Vice
Mayor went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the State and the State was now fully and
officially back in control of the program.
Mr. Latimer expressed the opinion that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) would be addressed by ADEQ and
would require new legislation. He added the opinion that eventually the State would have to truly look into
implementing the programs. He stated that there was also historic building requirements that were part of the
whole dispute and that too would probably play into it over time. He said he believed that the State would
always "lag behind" other states as far as being aggressive in their enforcement efforts and the programs they
rolled out. He stated that that was just the nature of the environmental culture that existed in Arizona. He added
that he saw California,Florida and Colorado leading in the stormwater quality area.
Vice Mayor Dickey commented that the Town would have to do the things that Mr. Latimer had outlined and
they would have to talk about the possibility of forming a utility at some point to help offset the costs (unless the
State decided to fund it). She said that the discussion was not whether or not they would comply with the law;
the discussion was could the budget take the hit. She stated that they might also want to talk about the
timeframe if they were going to be talking about strategies to deal with the revenue short fall. She noted that the
fact that they lived in the desert did not change what they must do. She referred to the $1.2 million included in
this year's budget and asked what was included. Mr. Ward advised that capital improvement projects were
Leincluded: a storm drain project ($650,000 for improvements to Saguaro Boulevard) and the decant station
($150,000).
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In response to a question from Councilmember Leger relative to whether establishing a stormwater management
utility would require a vote of the public, Mr. McGuire replied that there were two components to that question:
(1) Did a stormwater utility fall under the same regulations that required a public vote as a regular utility (water,
sewer, etc.) and (2) Had they already had that election. Years ago they talked about having that type of election Nodif
but he does not recall whether or not they did. He indicated his intention to research this issue and determine, if
they had held such an election, (a 9154 election)and whether it was broad enough to cover stormwater.
Mr. Latimer advised that his company was involved in the implementation of the City of Flagstaff's utility and
under State law, a Town or city governing body did not require a popular vote to implement a stormwater utility.
It could be set up simply by a vote of the governing body(an ordinance).
Councilmember Archambault asked whether water and sewer utilities were regulated by the Corporation
Commission. Mr. McGuire responded "yes and no." He further stated that if they were talking, for example,
about a private water company, that would be regulated by the Corporation Commission. He added that the
Town's Sanitary District was a Title 48 municipal corporation just like the Town; they were a taxing entity just
like the Town. If a city or town gained authorization from voters under 9154, they were not regulated by the
Corporation Commission.
Councilmember Archambault asked what would happen if they needed to increase the fees being charged for the
stormwater utility and Mr. McGuire said that they would need to determine if that was a 9154 entity. He said
that Flagstaff concluded that it was not and the second step would be to determine whether the fee structure was
reasonable. Mr. Latimer added that ADEQ would enforce the stormwater program.
Mr. Woodlan stated that this evening's presentation was for discussion purposes only and no further direction
was required at this time. He said that they had started talking about the stormwater utility a long time ago so
money was placed in the budget for the concept study. He said the money was in place to move ahead after the
first of the year if the Council decided to move forward with the concept study.
Vice Mayor Dickey thanked everyone for their input.
AGENDA ITEM#3—ADJOURNMENT
Councilmember Archambault MOVED that the uncil meeting adjourn and Councilmember Leger
SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNAN OUSLY by those present (5-0). The meeting adjourned
at 6:31 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
By IA/ '
Wally Nic ols, a
ATTEST AND
PREPARED BY:
Bevelyn J. Be der own Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work Study Session
on the 9th day of October 2007. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was
present.
DATED this 1st day of November 2007
Bevelyn J.B d ,Town Clerk
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