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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-14-14 Inter-Neighborhood Council Minutes THE INTER-NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL (INC) MEETING OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA DRAFT MEETING MINUTES Madison Room, City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Avenue Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014 Attending: Jennifer Rockne (SCAN) moderator, Kirk Johnson (MarLin), Gary Gulickson (BPNA), Joe Genovese (NHVN), Ginny Cowan (BCNA), Bob Wall (SENA), Ally- son Brekke (City Neighborhood Coordinator), Mark Carpenter (Bozeman Police Department), Kyle Mehrens (City of Bozeman GIS Technician) Quorum met. 4:33 Jennifer convened the meeting Review of July minutes. It was modified to remove Allyson from the attendee list. Joe moved to approve the minutes. Gary seconded. Motion passed unanimously. No public comment. Mark Carpenter – Police Activity Report Mark distributed a brochure of information for renters. The brochure was assembled with input from Peak Property Management. Travelling magazine sellers are around town – there have been reports of some of them being rude and aggressive. There is also a jury duty scam circulating. People receive a letter demanding they pay a fine for missing jury duty, providing a local number for people to call. College students are starting to return to town. Mark is assembling a city-wide group to help clean up trash lying in boulevards (furniture, etc.). There have been a lot of instances in the past week or two. The City is working to clean up outdate compliance information on the web site. All such information has been removed until conflicts and inconsistencies can be resolved. The Police Department and the City have decided to not enforce the city ordinance against parking campers in driveways. It is still not legal to stay in these campers. Resi-dents can report problems by calling 582-2000. Presentation on City stormwater management by Kyle Mehrens, City GIS Techni-cian (582-2270, kmehrens@bozeman.net) The Public Works department is working on changes to the City’s stormwater program. They have consulted with business groups, and they are now soliciting input from resi- dents. Stormwater discharge in the City dumps into creeks and streams, not into the system that goes to the waste water treatment plant. Currently, the system is not meeting regulatory requirements. In 2011, there was an MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm and Sewer System) permit audit. It found one violation, 23 recommended improvements, and 16 deficiencies. So far, no monetary penalties have been imposed for any violations of the permit. The City has been working since 2013 to map the stormwater discharge system. There are over 3000 inlets, 1275 manholes, 551 outfalls, and 21.6 miles of waterway. Of the 551 outfalls, 100 are direct discharges (without any passive treatment of water before it enters the waterway). Condition analysis is 52% complete. There are 366 detention ponds. 263 have been inspected. 196 are not function as de- signed, and 67 need simple repairs. 11 pollution events in the stormwater system were investigated in 2013. Construction site maintenance is a big problem. A lot of sediment is deposited into the stormwater system by poor management practices at construction sites. The City is work- ing on a new permit that will be required for construction projects. The Public Works department is also working on community outreach, to increase awareness of the stormwater system. The new plan will define a new level of service, select a new rate model, and determine a geographic distribution of costs. Currently, residents pay a very small amount on their water bills for stormwater system maintenance. This raises about $200,000 annually, which is not enough to maintain and operate the system. The current pricing model is not defensible; it is unfair to residential customers. Items are being discussed before going to the City Commission. The department is solic- iting input from residents. There have been two public discussions so far, both poorly at-tended. The components of the new Stormwater Utility that is being proposed are Operating Costs, Deferred Maintenance, and System Enhancements. Three different levels of service have been discussed: - Gold (5 yr. goal), which would cost $2.7 M annually. - Silver (10 yr. goal), $1.7 M - Bronze (15 yr. goal), $1.2M. The Commission decided on the Bronze level. They plan to employ 5.5 FTEs for this program. This would provide $550,000 for operating costs, $440,000 for deferred maintenance, and $200,000 for system enhancements. Also working on a rate model. The current idea is to determine the average impermeable area for residential (single-family) units throughout the city. This has been evaluated as 2,700 sq. ft. This is an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). The plan is to charge $5/month per ERU. For commercial or multi-family properties, the plan is to divide their square footage of impervious surfaces by 2,700 to get a number of ERUs, and to charge $5/month for each. The group is also trying to work out how credits might be handled for owners that take steps to mitigate discharge. Rate analysis will be done this fall. The department can give presentations on this topic to neighborhood associations. Con- tact Kyle for details. The recommendation will probably be delivered to the City Commission in December. The utility should be in place by Mar. 2015. 5:50 FYI Allyson intends to return to the planning department. There are some issues being dis-cussed about finding a new neighborhood coordinator. Presentations on the Justice Center and associated funding opportunities can be requested for neighborhood meetings – email aflynn@bozeman.net. A presentation will be made to the INC on Sept. 11 at the next meeting. Bogert Park Neighborhood Association is holding its annual meeting on Sept. 18 at Bogert Park. The next meeting will be Sep. 11. 6:00 Gary moved to adjourn. Joe seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Minutes recorded by Bob Wall.