WS 2003 08 25CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
AUGUST 25, 2003
Mayor Furlong called the work session meeting to order at 5:40 p.m.
COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Furlong, Councilman Ayotte, Councilman
Peterson, Councilman Labatt and Councihnan Lundquist
STAFF PRESENT: Todd Gerhardt, Justin Miller, Bruce DeJong, Teresa Burgess, Matt Saam,
and Kelley Janes
UPDATE ON CHASKA AMBULANCE SERVICE'S APPLICATION FOR AN
ADVANCED AMBULANCE LICENSE.
Todd Gerhardt introduced Matt Podhradsky from the City of Chaska and John Wolff, Chanhassen
Fire Chief. Matt Podhradsky gave an overview of the process Chaska is currently undertaking to
obtain an ALS (Advanced Life Support) license for the City of Chaska. He provided statistics on
medical calls over the last year, and stated they needed to upgrade from BLS (Basic Life Support)
to ALS to better serve their residents and would appreciate Chanhassen's support when they go
before the Judge. Chief John Wolff provided reasons why this license for Chaska would be good
for Chanhassen residents as well, increasing response time in southern Chanhassen and allowing
for the possibility of generating revenue. Councilman Labatt asked how boundaries are set by
the ambulance providers and who staff's the ambulance, i.e. EMT, Paramedics. Councilman
Ayotte stated if this was important for Chanhassen residents, what else could the City Council do
to help Chaska. Matt Podhradsky stated he may ask individuals from the city to speak on
Chaska's behalf at the hearing before the judge. Mayor Furlong asked what licenses the City of
Chanhassen currently has. Chief Wolff stated the city does not currently have an ALS license,
but more and more cities are looking at ambulance service as a way of generating revenue.
Councilman Labatt asked what the cost impact is to residents. Mayor Furlong stated it made
sense to continue to support Chaska's efforts. Matt Podhradsky stated he would inform staff of
the hearing date which will probably be sometime in October.
2004 PRELIMINARY LEVY.
Todd Gerhardt informed the City Council that at their September 8th council meeting the City
Council will be asked to establish the 2004 levy limit. He stated this item was before them
tonight to make sure the council was comfortable with the levy amount prior to that meeting.
Bruce DeJong explained financing options, revenues from the previous year and how the levy
limit was established. Mayor Furlong asked for clarification on the levy limit for 2003 and
expected Estimated Market Value vs. tax capacity. Councilman Peterson asked if there was a
surplus to carry forward from 2003 because of street maintenance projects that were not done.
Mayor Furlong asked staff to talk about the debt side of the equation and asked that Mark Ruff
from Ehlers and Associates prepare a schedule outlining refinancing options. Councilman
Lundquist and Councilman Peterson both agreed that they wanted to send a signal to the citizens
of no levy increase and whatever staff can do to send that message.
The work session was recessed at 7:05 p.m. for the regular City Council meeting. It was
reconvened at 8:30 p.m.
City Council Work Session - August 25, 2003
REVIEW OF MASTER WATER STUDY OPINION.
Teresa Burgess introduced Steve Nelson and Mike Ketch from SEH (Short Elliot Hendrickson) to
discuss their review of the study regarding water treatment for the City of Chanhassen. She
showed water samples taken from different locations in the city. Todd Gerhardt asked SEH to
summarize their results after reviewing the study prepared by Black and Veatch. Councilman
Ayotte stated SEH's findings seemed to parallel those of Black and Veatch. Steve Nelson stated
he would not recommend a centralized system, but would go with two sites. He then discussed
the objectives laid out in Tables 1 and 2 and recommendations. There was discussion around the
Jordan and Fig aquifers and glacial drift. Teresa Burgess stated that drilling in the glacial drift
would be the cheapest and quickest solution to the city's water problem. She passed out a map
showing where complaints have been tracked in the city over the past year.
Councilman Peterson stated that the City Council will need to make a political decision. SEH has
provided technical information but will the citizens of Chanhassen support spending money for
water treatment. Technology is changing rapidly and maybe the city should wait 5-10 years.
Steve Nelson stated that the city's current system is not really meeting standards and the city has
to do something to take the next step to address potential problems. Kelley Janes asked Steve
Nelson to clarify the issues related with the Homeland Defense issue. Councilman Lundquist
stated the council gets a different answer every time someone looks at the issue, and maybe a
solution hasn't been found yet. Councilman Ayotte stated he liked the hybrid approach and the
council needs to give direction to staff regarding capacity and areas to be treated. Councilman
Lundquist stated the funding issue hasn't been addressed yet and the first thing to do is look at the
rate schedule to anticipate treatment in the future. Steve Nelson stated they've looked at the
distribution system, chemical, physical and biological issues, and now is the time to get an overall
strategy regarding financing. Mayor Furlong asked staff to provide information regarding the
financial impacts of moving forward with a phased approached, and which standards the city is
currently meeting and which ones it's not. Teresa Burgess stated staff needs more concrete
direction to provide a financial model. Mayor Furlong asked for clarification on the primary and
secondary standards that need to be met. Councilman Ayotte stated he sees water treatment as
more of an investment and that progress is being made slowly, but the need to figure out risk
factors. Councilman Peterson stated he needed more time to digest the information provided
before giving any concrete direction. Mayor Furlong recapped what's in progress, discovering
what's wrong with Well #4, starting work on Well #9 and construction on the Minnewashta loop.
Mayor Furlong adjourned the work session at 10:00 p.m.
Submitted by Todd Gerhardt
City Manager
Prepared by Nann Opheim