City Council - 08/21/1990 - Special Meeting APPROVED MINUTES
SPECIAL MEE'T'ING
EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1990 6:00 PNI, CITY" COUNCIL CHAMBERS
7600 Executive Drive
COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Gary Peterson, Richard
Anderson, Jean Harris, Patricia
Pidcock and Douglas Tenpas
CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl J. Jullie, Assistant
to the City Manager Craig Dawson,
Director of Public Works Gene Dietz,
City Engineer Alan Gray, and
Recording Secretary Roberta Wick
ROLL CALL Councilmembers present: Gary
Peterson, Richard Anderson, Jean
Harris, Douglas Tenpas. Absent:
Patricia Pidcock
The purpose of this special meeting was to review the Black & Veatch Water
Study and to discuss alternatives presented in the report.
Dietz said that at present the City is using about five million gallons of water a
day. On a maximum day the City would need to be able to supply about 16
million gallons. He pointed out that the ratio of the maximum day to the average
daily use is 3.2. For example, if there was an average daily use of five million
gallons, a maximum day would be 16 million gallons, and the City needed to be
able to supply this amount of water. He showed the Council the water usage
figures since the first plant was built in 1974. The per capita flow has
increased considerably because of the expansion of the City since that time and
an increased commercial/industrial base.
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Three options were presented in the Black & Veatch report:
Plan A: Suggested using the existing facility and adding 10 million gallons of
capacity. Six new wells would need to be established to accomplish this.
Plan B: Proposed a new plant in the southwest area using the same well field as
Plan A. Some of the piping would be different in size but all the peripheral
distribution systems would be the same.
Plan C: Suggested a joint venture facility with Bloomington.
Dietz said Plan A plant cost is the most expensive - $9.9 million. Plan B. plant
cost would be $9 million. The City's share of a joint venture plant with
Bloomington would cost $7.5 million. Dietz said staffing requirements would have
to be considered for each of the plans as well.
Harris said she believed Plan C to be the least desirable. She said Eden Prairie
would always be handicapped to an extent by Bloomington being able to exercise
its contract with Minneapolis. She also said she believed expanding on the
City Council Special Meeting 2 August 21, 1990
c:{i�+`.iia' iic wOuiu U uirii� uU because ui Lhe Highway 212 situation. She asked
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if this selection were made, would the City still have to seek expansion
elsewhere in the area at some future time. Dietz agreed that this was one of the
problems. Harris said that given this situation, she believed Plan B to be the
most attractive.
Tenpas asked about the relationship between Minneapolis and Bloomington. Dietz
said he believed it to be a 30-year contract with Bloomington. Minneapolis also
supplied water to several other communities. However, these communities were
built and were even shrinking in some instances, which was not the case with
Eden Prairie.
Anderson said there had been a great deal of dissatisfaction with the quality of
water coming out of the Minneapolis system in Bloomington. Therefore, he would
be concerned about getting into a contract with another community for this
reason. Dietz said that if the City were to go with Plan C, it would not be
getting any Minneapolis water.
Peterson said he would favor Plan A for the reduced operating cost or Plan C
because of the economy of scale. The negative he saw in Plan B is that lagoons
look like sludge ponds and there has not been a way devised to mace them look
better.
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Tenpas said he believed the City could share water with surrounding
communities because at this time most of them had reached their maximum
populations. Eden Prairie was the only one growing in population. However, the
costs would probably be controlled better in the long term if the City were not
dependent upon another community. He said that he would prefer Plan A based
on information currently available.
Peterson asked Dietz to tell the Council what decisions would need to be made
for the budget process relative to acquiring land. Dietz said he believed the
City needed to look to the future as far as land acquisition was concerned to be
sure it was not in a position where an expansion was needed and there would be
no land for expansion. Because there were unknowns in the situation, Dietz's
recommendation was to purchase 30 acres in the southwest part of the City to
preserve all the options available.
Anderson he said he could agree with either plan A or Plan B but would want
the ponds to be well-screened. He would also like to eliminate any high towers
if possible. Dietz said that elevated storage would not be needed in any of the
plans. The building would have to be the height of the plant on Mitchell Road
but would not have to look like it. He said that the City could get rid of all the
lagoons by means of mechanical dewatering. However, a mechanical system had a
high initial cost and would be very expensive to maintain. It would add a couple
of million dollars to the cost.
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William Marshall, 15791 Pioneer Trail. asked how much land was vacant
immediately south of the current treatment plant. Dietz replied 30 acres or
more. He spoke against a water treatment plant and any other City facilities in
the location being considered in southwestern Eden Prairie. He believed it
would devalue existing and adjacent property.
Jerry Harris, 9844 Crestwood Terrace, spoke against putting the project in this
area because it would destroy the beauty of Lake Riley.
Dennis Anderson, 9864 Crestwood Terrace, asked if the City were to go to Plan
C, which he considered to be basically leasing water, should there be an
interruption in that supply, would that not end the City's costs at that time.
Would the City get the money back if such a thing were to happen? If so, this
would make Plan C a viable option. Dietz said that the City would enter into this
arrangement only long-term. The contract would not be for the facility but to
pump water and that cost may go up over time and the contract would be
renegotiated. Tenpas asked what would happen if the City were to go with Plan
C and in 30 years, it could no longer get the water supply from it. At that point
in time, Plan A or B would have to be looked at and then the facility would have
to be built again.
Pam Olson, 90.10 Dell Road, _poke against Plan B because of the number of
children in the neighborhood. She believed it would be harmful to the
environment.
Kathy Morton, 9860 Crestwood Terrace, apoke against Plan B, saying she
believed the residents of this area had been ignored until the City wanted
something of them.
Warren Carlson, who lived at the corner of the Dell Road and Pioneer Trail
intersection, said he believed one of the most important studies had not been
made and that was what the impact to the whole community would be. He
requested that a study be made on this for each of the plans.
Peterson asked Dietz to define the action needed by the Council. Dietz said the
Council needed to budget funds for land acquisition. He also said that
reaffirmation of the commitment to odd-even sprinkling policy could delay the
decision for two to five years. His recommendation was to keep the options open
by making a decision on these two points.
Tenpas said he would like to investigate the possibility of acquiring more land
at the existing site and to improve it.
Peterson said he would like the two days before the Council's budget meetings
to reflect and have discussion with staff about the feasibility of acquiring more
land adjacent to the existing facility, or being more specific on sites in the
southwest.
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City Council Special Dieeting 4 August 21, 1990
Arndersor •d I -
. s.:.:.. .,_� rvOiiica Yreier to see City facilities in one industrial or
commercial area to the south of the present site, if possible.
Harris said she would agree with providing the facilities, at the present site;
however, she had a continued interest in preserving all the options.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
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