2009 Street Improvement Project Gets Frosty Reception
Experts Dispute City's Move To Cap Private Wells
CENTERVILLE - About 75 Centerville residents took advantage of the second public input meeting in four months to attend a presentation on the 2009 Street Improvement Project given by City Engineer Mark Statz and City Administrator Dallas Larson on Feb. 21 at St. Genevieve's Parish Community Center.
If ordered by the Centerville City Council, the $7-8 million project -the second phase of a two-phase effort that began in 2004 - will impact 5.7 miles of residential streets and 470 households, 175 of which will be connected to city water. An additional 97 homes will be offered connection to nearby water mains.
City ordinance requires that all homes within the city be connected to water and sewer by the end of 2012.
"One of the city's goals is to get water to every house," Statz said.
"The city has made a substantial investment in infrastructure." That system includes the city's water tower, wells, and pumps.
Five different residential areas within the city are included, and there are various classifications of road and utility work within those areas. Several streets, including Peltier Lake Dr. and 73rd Street, were initially included in the 2004 project but were deferred to the second phase due to larger-than-anticipated street reconstruction costs.
In general, the project includes water main installation where no piping exists, water connections to new or existing water mains, curb and gutter, storm water improvements, various degrees of street work from mill-and-overlay to complete reconstruction, sidewalks in designated locations, and a bike path along Mill Road.
Repairs to existing sanitary sewers, water mains and storm sewers would also be conducted.
"The city has had a number of water main breaks," Statz said, explaining that aging water main bolts would be replaced by stainless steel bolts where necessary. Street reconstruction plans are based on the city's 2003 Pavement Management Plan and additional field assessments.
"We take the pulse of the road," Statz explained. "At a certain point, when there's enough patching, it becomes more expensive to patch it [than to reconstruct it]."
Assessments are estimated to range from $2,200 to $14,100 per household. For houses not currently connected to water, these costs do not include extending the water service line to the house (estimated at up to $5,000), a water trunk connection fee ($1,750) and the costs for well abandonment ($600) for wells located within the city's Wellhead Protection Area.
Nippy Outside And In
While temperatures remained nippy outside, it was pretty chilly inside, too.
Residents voiced their concerns about being able to pay for their assessments.
"I'm 64-1/2 and I'm retiring in June," said Bill Svetin. "They're just going to push me right out of my house. I'll be standing holding a sign at the corner of Mill Road and [County] 14."
A number of residents didn't feel their streets required reconstruction.
"The scope of this project is 'preemptive renovation,'" said Marty Bevan, who asked for a second opinion from another engineering firm.
Some residents suggested installing water main in the boulevards so as not to disturb the streets; still others felt they shouldn't have to pay for streets that are in need of help. Craig Sievert, who said his road is failing, said, "We don't think we should be assessed because our road has failed prematurely."
Other residents were frustrated over the timing of the project, coming on the heels of a record number of home foreclosures in Anoka County.
Said Randy Haggerty to council members, who were sitting in the audience, "People are hurting. It's tough."
"You're hearing us say 'no, not now,' we're not saying 'never,'" Kevin Buechler said.
Mayor Mary Capra told residents that the project has changed a bit since the last time residents shared their questions and concerns in October 2007.
"The plan has changed based on what we have heard," Capra said. "We do hear you, and we do take under consideration what you are saying."
Where possible, existing curb and gutter will be saved to lower costs, and the extent of street repairs have been downscaled in some areas, Statz said, but added that saving existing curb and gutter creates a "patchwork" effect, hinders the city's ability to correct some drainage problems, and makes street utility work more difficult.
Experts Dispute City
Well-Capping Requirement Several residents in attendance that night indicated an interest in keeping their existing private wells for watering their gardens. They questioned the city's mandate that all residents who hook up to city water cap their well if it is located within the designated Wellhead Protection Area.
"If it's not capped, it's a potential source of contaminants for the city's well," Larson said.
Minnesota Statute 103I.301 deals with well sealing, and among other requirements, states that property owners must seal their well if the well is contaminated or may contribute to the spread of contamination, is located or maintained in such a manner as to endanger groundwater quality or pose a health hazard, or is no longer in use.
But whether the city of Centerville's authority extends to the regulation of private wells is quite clear, according to Patrick Sarafolean, Area Hydrologist with the Minnesota Department of Health.
It does not.
"No city in Anoka County has the authority to order somebody to seal a well," he said, when contacted by The Citizen.
Anoka County Environmental Health Specialist Bart Biernat said, "An abandoned, unused well [covered by the capping requirement] doesn't mean a well used to water gardens."
"We did ask the city attorney to research whether we have that authority, and it was his opinion that we did," Larson told The Citizen in a later interview.
Project Schedule Outlined
If all goes according to plan, Statz said the city would hold a formal public hearing next month [April], at which time the council will decided whether to authorize the preparation of plans for the project. The project would go out for bids in late summer.
A formal assessment hearing would be held in October, and a contract awarded in November.
Construction would begin in the spring of 2009, with substantial project completion and water hookups completed that fall. On streets with significant utility work, the final asphalt course would be delayed until spring 2010.
Approximately one-third of the costs of the project would be assessed to benefiting property owners; the remaining two-thirds would be paid for by a municipal bond, to be paid by city-wide taxes.
Early next month, residents would be mailed a notice of their estimated assessments. Final assessments would be computed in time for the October 2008 assessment hearing.
"Contractors are very hungry for work; we're seeing some very good bid prices," Statz said. "This project will never be any cheaper than it is this construction season."
As the meeting was winding down and residents were slipping out, others stuck around to express concerns about the number of large projects the city has taken on in recent years, specifi cally, downtown redevelopment efforts, the Main Street reconstruction project, and now the proposed street improvement project.
"The city picks up a large portion of this [project] tab, too," said Sievert, "and that weighs on everybody."
Said Clifford Lutz, "It's a lot for a little city to take on."