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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-07-08 Sewer Committee MinutesSewer Committee Meeting Mimes July 8, 1998 Crouches Attending: Nchi Farnham, tan Tyler SUIT Attending: Jun Ring, Brad Moore L Dlseumian -120 Day Limit for Abatements Jun Ring Whined that staff put together a summary of how may abatemems had been received beyond the 120 day limit There were 8 out ofatoW of250 since August 1995. The 120 day Unit allows the customer to receive 2 bills and then another 30 days upon which to act Councilor Tyler asked Bred if, when he assembled the irdbrrvation, were the abatements rejected only because of the limit or were they a8 that came in after the time had Wired and they weren't reviewed fm thew merits. Brad explained that these were written requests and did qualffy in Ns judgement, if they had come at on time and he would have gone to the Committee with a recommendationtoabate. Bend explained that there has also been requests over the phone goal these individuals were told that if it is over 120 days, they shouldn't put in a written requear Councilor Tyler asked ifstaff were able to characterize these as to whether they are individual homeowners Bradexplained that the majority were landlords Brad feels that another part of this is that the ordinance addresses due care. There has to be some balance as to where the City draws the line at due care. Brad brought up another factor regarding the limit, which is people being away. Of the iMormaticn gathered, one was an individual that was away in the South and had another individual here paying the bills forthem. Should consideration be given to these individuals that are away? Councilor Tyler fell that the individuals need to take responsibility for then properties. Councilor Farnham asked if there were only 8 requests beyond the time Unit, does there need to be a once limit at all? Jim Ring commented that there may be a lot more phone calls and it isn't easy to tell how many may actually be received. Councilor Farnham asked if there is a notice on the bill when something changes? Brad explained that at a JAM increase there is a message on the bill that says bigh wvsumptiom Councilor Tyler felt that possibly lowering that 100a/o to 50%may be an option so that it gets Bagged before the doubling. Brad explained that that is a level that the Water District has set Councilor Tyler recommended that this policy not be changed at this point th time. Councilor Farnham agreed that taking due care into consideration the time limit is fair and recormaended that staff look mo flagging bills at 50% increase instead of 100%. 2. CSQ Eancingomits Special L o of m UN Maeda Jim Ring updated the Committee on the pending legislation on the CSO partnership Act of 1998. This act, which is sponsored by the CSO Partnership, would provide congressional approval of the CSO Policy, would strongly encourage the EPA on a state by state basis for we wemheruses of receiving waters so that programs are more closely tailored to what the real impacts are, and lastly, to provide some federal funding. The CSO Percnership Board ofD'vectom discussed the need m assess its membership to cover these legal costs in pushing this legislation forward. Then rourmmendmion is a$3500 once time assessment specifically for the legislative efforts. Bangor is in the 10,000.50,000 population category which indicates me $3500 is voluntary. Staff feels that even though it is voluntary, they would as to support this. The question smffbas is how much? If the nature amount is paid, it will say something about the City's commitment and leadership position. Jim's suggestion is this Bangor make a among mmanmt in support of this, but that suggests the amount be half of the tlat rune. The Committee suggested paying half ofthe $3500 with a clear letter outlining concerns and if the Partnership comes up abort, the City could consider giving more. 3. Stuff Avtiv*tj Jim updated the Comvdttm on aprevicusdiscussicnregardivg high nrengthwaste, Bred Moore has spoken to the two businesses and explained that Corm's Dairy has looked into the process, primarily the milk side of it, Ism have not seen any, significant changes with anything they've tried up to this point There hasn't been much response from the Sea Dog. Staff is looking for d"incomon fiom the Committee at this point. The Committee directed smfftc develop alternatives for implementing a rate surcharge for high strength waste for tutors consideration by the Committee. Businesses which could be potentially impacted will also be granted of discussion relative to this issue.