City Council Minutes

Pursuant to due call and posted notice thereof, the City Council Workshop of the Victoria City Council was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Hershberger Thun in the Council Chambers at 7951 Rose.

Council Members Present: Mayor: Mary Hershberger Thun. Councilmembers: Jim Crowley, Tom O'Connor, Kim Roden (arrived at 5:40 p.m.) and Tom Strigel (arrived at 5:36 p.m.).

Absent: None

Others Present: City Administrator, Don Uram; Jylan Johnson, Finance Director; Holly Kreft, Community Development Director; Mike Norton, City Attorney; Cara Geheren, City Engineer; Sue Orsen, Victoria Gazette; Unsie Zuege, The Chanhassen Villager; and others.
 

Mr. Uram explained the purpose of the workshop is to discuss the sanitary sewer system in the Lake Wassermann area.

Ms. Geheren provided engineering background for the area, including the Met Council sewer system and the City's trunk sewer lines connection thereto. She noted a trunk facilities system is typically built in partnership with developers. The reason this proposal is before the Council now is because last year property owners around Lake Wassermannn petitioned for annexation.

Councilmember Strigel arrived at 5:36 p.m.

Ms. Geheren discussed the challenging nature of this type of construction because there is a large lake and wetlands in the area, and it also requires additional easement acquisition.

Councilmember Roden arrived at 5:40 p.m.

Ms. Geheren discussed financing options for a project of this scale, noting that if design work began in March, the pipes would not be in the ground until the summer of 2013.

Ms. Kreft discussed the vacant lots remaining in the City. She noted that the market dictates the location and product type of future housing along with the Comprehensive Plan guiding.

Mr. Uram discussed the financial feasibility of the sanitary sewer project. He stated the utility cost for the City will be approximately $2 million with a potential lot count of 170 single family and 32 multi-unit homes on three of the parcels.

Mr. Uram stated he expects the Council to discuss this over a series of workshops. He summarized that the extension of utilities is feasible through collection of fees and taxes and negotiated developer contribution. He also discussed the impact to the long-term financial plan, service levels, and commercial growth if residential growth ceases. He noted that Victoria's downtown will succeed with more residents.

Ms. Kreft discussed the staging plan from the Comprehensive Plan that outlines where growth will generally occur.

In response to a question by Councilmember Strigel, Ms. Geheren stated the 30-inch sewer trunk line through Watermark can handle approximately 8,000 units.

Councilmember Strigel commented there is a cost of doing nothing in this area as well.

In response to a question by Councilmember Roden, Mr. Uram stated the question before the Council is the timing of the investment. He stated that market conditions today do not allow developers to absorb that sort of cost.

Councilmember Roden stated her primary concern is the baseline financial model and to what extent the City budget is based on development fees.

Mayor Hershberger Thun asked Ms. Kreft to look at County Roads 10 and 11 in the Comp Plan and asked staff to consider where additional fees would come from when the City is fully built out.

Ms. Geheren stated the owners have desired to develop for five years, and the City has slowed them down. She indicated the timing feels appropriate, given the phone calls she is receiving from developers.

Councilmember O'Connor commented this may be the time to take the prudent step to replicate the model so successful in Watermark on a smaller scale.

Councilmember Crowley stated this is the right time to talk about this, and this has ramifications on City Hall and a Publics Works Facility. He stated his concern about a sustainable revenue model for the City.
 

The City Council workshop adjourned at 6:29 p.m.

Allison Burr, Recording Secretary