Can we work together?

The city received an interesting request from Breezy Point Resort, Whitebirch, Inc., concerning a lot the city owned.  This lot is used as a storm sewer retention pond and serves Airport Road.  It also is adjacent to property owned by Whitebirch near their maintenance facility.  Their desire for the lot was to improve their ability to deal with the impervious coverage requirements.  By adding in additional property they have additional space to deal with in meeting the maximum requirement.

 

Impervious surfaces shed water.  Pervious surfaces absorb water.  Impervious surfacing includes roof tops, driveways, sidewalks and parking areas.  The maximum allowable coverage for these surfaces in that zoning district is 50%.  This means that no more than 50% of the surface area of a parcel of land can be covered with impervious surfaces. 

By acquiring additional land the factor of pervious versus impervious improves.  The resort wanted to provide for an expansion of their facilities.  With the added roof top, parking and driveways it was becoming difficult for them to meet the required standard.  They wanted to maintain centralized facilities as it makes sense for their operations. Expansion at this location was improved by adding the additional property.    

The city agreed to sell the property to the resort with the understanding that the use as a storm sewer retention pond would continue.  It was also agreed that no building would occur on the site and the site would need to be consolidated with abutting properties.  In doing so the resort was able to expand their maintenance operations in a way that makes sense for them.  The city was able to work with them to address concerns and provide for development. 

The outcome is really a win for all parties involved.  The use of the property owned by the city is maintained.  The resort is given the opportunity to provide for their expansion needs.  Additional tax base and business growth are outcomes.  By working together we solved problems and common goals for the betterment of the community. 

Why is Imprevious Coverage Important

The issue of impervious surfaces is one that is difficult for some people to grasp.  What’s an impervious surface?  Simply said it is any surface that sheds water.  With that in mind a lawn is a pervious surface as rainwater will generally soak into the ground.  A driveway is an impervious surface as drainage occurs and water runs to the sides of this structure surface. So is a roof.  Run off can occur on all surfaces given enough volume with large storms but the standard that is looked at is surfaces that create run off all the time  are considered impervious. 

The reasons we look at impervious surfaces carries a few concerns.  With the lakes we have we want to maintain water quality.  Controlling impervious surfaces lessens the amount of runoff created by them.  The more impervious you have the greater the runoff and the greater the velocity of that runoff.  Velocity of runoff is important as the greater the velocity the greater potential for erosion.  With erosion comes silt, dirt and pollutants that get carried away to end up in our streams and lakes.  Water quality is then affected. 

Erosion carries its own problems.  With gravel soils and roadways heavy rains degrade the roadway surfaces, fill in the drainage ways and limit our ability to adequately deal with rain events.  Soils that are deposited by erosion eventually need to be removed from drainage ways, storm water ponds, and other areas.  The removal is a costly effort.  Limiting the source of some of this runoff lessens the problems of erosion by decreasing the volume of runoff, reducing the velocity, and keeping the pervious surfaces available for absorption. 

Another issue with impervious surfaces is the need for drainage facilities and storm sewers.  The more impervious surfaces that we have the more need there is for adequate drainage facilities.   It is an easy concept to grasp that if you have 50% impervious surfaces you have more runoff than 25% impervious surfaces.  Having more runoff means, in the case of storm sewers, larger pipes are needed at a higher cost.  Some of this can be managed with storm sewer ponds as they collect water and release it as the outflow allows.  This seems like a good solution and does solve the part of the problem. Detention ponds take space that in many instances can’t be used for other purposes.  They also control sediment which needs to be periodically cleaned out.

If there is a lack of or inadequate drainage facilities the issues get compounded with greater impervious coverage.  More runoff and continued inadequate facilities to deal with it.  A smaller problem becomes a larger one.  Solving the problem in the first place is costly.  Correcting it can be more costly and managing it over time means constant maintenance. 

I hope the significance of managing impervious surfaces becomes a bit clearer.  A property owner may not think their situation causes a problem.   In all rights a single property may not be that significant but extending that privilege to all creates the problem so having a standard is important and should be adhered to.  

Preliminary 2014 Levy

Preliminary Levy

Each year the city goes through its budget cycle for the upcoming year.  The process starts in mid-year and a preliminary levy needs to be set by September 15^th.   This number then is used to generate notices to property owners about the pending amount of taxes for the next year.  The final levy is then set after a public budget meeting that is held in December.  

The Finance Committee of the city accomplishes the majority of the work on crafting the proposed budget.  They look at the financial statements on a monthly basis and understand how the city is tracking in terms of expenditures.  Developing the budget is somewhat an extension of that review but it also is a means of developing policy regarding how revenues are spent and what amount of tax should be levied. 

Over the past several years the city has experienced a decline in taxable values.  These declines have occurred for several reasons.  Leading the change is that of declining property values due to the economy.  Real estate was perhaps over-heated in value and a correction was needed much like that occurs in the stock market.  We also saw a number of valuation challenges.  As a property owner, you have a right to challenge your taxable value and one method is to use the tax courts.  Rulings have been made that have reduced values within our community. 

The City Council has been sympathetic to issues of rising taxes and has kept the city’s tax levy in check for a number of years.  The total city levy, which includes debt service, from 2010 is listed below.  You will note the final levy in each of these years has been flat or reduced during this time period. 

          2010  Total Levy     $1,779,090

          2011 Total Levy      $1,728,480

          2012  Total Levy     $1,728,480

          2013  Total Levy     $1,719,080

In developing the budget for 2014 council goals included making some improvements to roadways, stepping up deferred maintenance.  The Road Improvement line item was increased from $25,000 to $91,000 for 2014.  Accomplishing this task took some work to look at existing reserves in the debt service fund with an eye towards paying off 2 bonds early.  With the reduction in debt service requirements it became possible to budget for these improvements.  Even so the first draft of the budget showed an additional levy of $34,000.  The Finance Committee asked if the budget couldn’t result in a further reduction to make a flat levy again.  This would mean the fifth year in a row the levy was held flat or reduced from the previous year.  

Further restraint was placed on the budget getting to a flat levy but it was stated we’re at a point where it may be difficult to meet budget.  The city was also shown additional costs for employee health insurance.  This cost is currently an employee obligation but the extent of increase could be difficult for employees to handle.  It was suggested that the council increase the preliminary levy to consider this cost.  

After considerable discussion the council felt a cushion was needed at this time.  The preliminary levy can be reduced but not increased.  A $34,000 increase in the preliminary levy was made, making the total levy $1,753,080.  As the council considers the budget in more detail, adjustments will be made to determine the final levy.