2023-05-11-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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05/11/2023 AC Minutes 4 applies to construction near wetlands that disturbs more than an acre of land, so it would not apply to most homes in Lexington. As to whether such mitigation would qualify for a rebate, Ms. Scerbo noted again that the Town has not developed a credit system, but stated that a presumptive credit could be issued if there was sufficient documentation and routine testing of the mitigation system. There was also a concern that, in practice, such systems might still not do enough to limit the over- all environmental impact from a site, meaning that a rebate would be difficult to justify. Mr. Parker noted that it might be helpful to engage in public outreach to assure ratepayers that they would only be billed once for stormwater, even if they had a second irrigation-only water meter. Mr. Padaki asked whether public roads were included in stormwater fees. Ms. Conchilla replied that public roads and sidewalks are considered to be a part of the stormwater conveyance system, and are not subject to the fee. Mr. Padaki asked if that also applied to unaccepted roads. Ms. Conchilla replied that such roads often run through many properties, making it difficult to properly allocate an accurate fee to property holders, but that roads contained entirely within a property would be sub- ject to the fee. Mr. Padaki asked if the Town made payments to any federal entity related to storm- water. Mr. Livsey replied that the Town made no such payments, and noted that properties owned by the federal government would also be subject to the Town’s stormwater fee. Mr. Michelson asked about the proposed underride to shift operating costs out of the tax levy, and why it could not also include capital costs. Ms. Kosnoff replied that the Stormwater Utility would be able to issue debt and pay its debt service out of the enterprise fund, and that the underride would only be proposed for the first year of the Stormwater Utility, after which the stormwater fees would be set as needed. Mr. Michelson noted that the end result would be an increase in the total cost to ratepayers if stormwater fees rose faster than the tax levy, and that the underride would do little to counteract that trend. Mr. Levine suggested that the Town could offer an override that also included stormwater capital expenses because the Town has approved overrides for non-operating costs in the past, but Ms. Kosnoff replied that the situation here is different. Capital costs for stormwater projects have been funded out of Free Cash, not the tax levy, so it would be unsuitable to lower the tax levy in response to moving those costs to the Stormwater Utility. Mr. Levine asked how much of the total stormwater budget would be collected from tax-exempt or- ganizations. Ms. Kosnoff was unable to provide the amount, but Mr. Levine suggested it would be worth comparing that amount to the overhead for implementing the stormwater billing system. Mr. Levine asked how much a typical house of worship might have to pay. Ms. Kosnoff replied that it would typically be in the $5,000 to $10,000 range. A slide from the consultant’s report showed one example of a church at 19 ERUs with a fee of $3,097. The largest tax-exempt property was Lincoln Labs at 724 ERUs with a fee of $112,000. Mr. Osborne asked how often other communities with Stormwater Utilities adjusted their rates. Ms. Kosnoff replied that all enterprise funds must have an approved annual budget and the Town will set rates accordingly. Mr. Livsey stated that the goal was annual updates to the impervious area da- tabase, including mid-year adjustments for new construction. Mr. Osborne asked if there was a po- tential for large swings in stormwater rates resulting from capital spending. Mr. Livsey replied that future requirements regarding phosphorus control were a “wildcard” that could strongly affect rates, but the DPW focuses on routine inspections and maintenance to reduce sudden costs from unex- pected failures. Mr. Osborne asked how billing would be implemented. Ms. Kosnoff replied that it would be tied into the Town’s MUNIS system, with the stormwater fee included as an additional line item on