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. 

Aminal Control

A service perhaps taken for granted is animal control.  In the old days, this was the Dog Catcher.  Some cities go without this service and expect police or interested citizens to deal with stray animals.  Most cities provide these services with a contractor that specializes in this activity. 

The City of Breezy Point uses Animal Control Enforcement Services.  This company is located in Brainerd.  They have worked with the city a good number of years and are familiar with the area.  The city is charged a monthly fee for their service.  If responding to a call the city is also charged mileage.  They do not patrol the city for strays but rather respond to calls for service.  The calls made in the past couple of years are:

          Total Animal Calls                       Responded to

2011            66                                            32

2012            41                                            25

2013*          27                                            9        *to date

Advantages in working with them are:

• Their services are very helpful in Dog Bite situations and Dangerous Dog notifications.

• They have the equipment and training to complete the tasks.

• There are OSHA issues that are of concern with Law Enforcement in capturing and transportation of animals.  (The police department will occasionally handle friendly dogs)

• If Law Enforcement is to be involved it ties up an officer who would have to drive to the animal shelter in Baxter and clean the squad car. 

The city council recently reviewed and approved their contract for service for the upcoming year.  The monthly fee is determined on a per capita basis.  For the upcoming year the cost of service is $1.10 per capita based on a population of 2388.  This was an increase of $0.10 per capita making the annual cost increase $280.80.  The annual cost for these services amounts to $2,626.80. 

The city is also subject to expenses if animals are sent to the pond.  If an owner picks up their animal they are subject to the fees imposed for that impoundment.  However if an animal is kenneled and euthanized those expenses are paid by the city. 

Dog licenses are issued by the city and are now a lifetime license for $10 per animal.  Having a license will help the owner and dog be reunited.  Please take the time and effort to license your dog. 

Special Events

The city recently approved a special event that will be held at Primetime on September 14^th.  This event will be an outside event and host 4 bands from 2 PM to 10 PM.  The city wishes them well with this first time outside event at that location.  

You might ask why the city would be involved in approving an event that is held on the property of a licensed establishment.  It would seem if they own the property they should, as a business; do what they feel best for them.  The answer really involves a few issues.  

An outside musical event, by its very nature, means they will have amplified sound. This business has neighbors who may be upset with the noise.  This is something out of the ordinary that they haven’t previously experienced.  Controlling the sound volume and the duration is of interest to the city as it affects surrounding properties.  The zoning ordinance does have limits in terms of volume.  If the volume exceeds a certain level it can be declared a nuisance.  

With any special event the goal for the sponsors is to attach as many people as possible.  Bringing more people means the potential for public safety issues increase.  First on the list of more people is parking.  Having adequate parking, where it doesn’t obstruct sight lines, lanes of traffic flow, or access for emergency vehicles is all important.  Addressing these issues before the fact is needed.  It becomes far too difficult to correct a problem of access after vehicles have been parked.  Emergency vehicles support emergency situations which the public has come to expect. 

Another issue that comes to play is that of a liquor license itself.  With the granting of a liquor license the holder of the license is given the authority to sell and allow consumption of alcoholic beverages within the establishment and areas contiguous to it.   If a license holder wants to hold an event on property that is not contiguous to his establishment he needs authority to expand the area for sale and consumption.  In certain situations this can be done administratively such as with a patio or deck adjacent to the building.  However when the property in question is not immediately contiguous it doesn’t meet the authority granted in the liquor license.  Special  authority is needed to use spaces outside of the normal authority granted with the liquor license.  

These situations and perhaps others are all reasons for looking at special events in a different fashion.  The city and the sponsor have the same goals in terms of a successful event.  The city has perhaps other goals in terms of providing for the health, safety and welfare of both residents and attendees.  The city has no intentions of being unreasonable but does have an obligation to address these concerns.  With this in mind the city should exercise some control in trying to mitigate those areas that spill over into the arena of public oversight.  

We're Ready for Solar Energy

There is the movement towards “Green” with energy and environmental issues.  One of these efforts produced by the Department of Energy was with a federal program called SunShot.  This program was largely educational in getting people to better understand solar energy and its benefits.  An off shoot of this program was a grant they funded to assist local units of government with issues relating to zoning and solar applications. 

The grant funding made available a consultant to assist local governments to address solar initiatives.  The assistance offered was at no cost to the city and the consultant in our case reviewed the existing code and proposed ordinance language for consideration.  Our code contained no definitions or setback requirements addressing this land use.  He also looked at the Comprehensive Plan for policy language that could be considered as well. 

The Breezy Point Zoning Ordinance did not address solar energy in any way.  A review was done which identified areas and language where changes to the code should be made.  In that analysis a number of questions posed by the consultant were considered by the Planning Commission.  Once an understanding was reached about their desires, proposed language was drafted to meet those goals.  The Planning Commission reviewed the final language and called for a public hearing to consider the changes.  Also under consideration was a draft policy statement to address solar energy for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan. 

The recommendations of the Planning Commission were reviewed by the City Council.   They approved an ordinance adopting changes to the Zoning Ordinance that address land use issues related to solar energy.  The policy statement for the Comprehensive Plan regarding solar energy was also approved.  

The city has now defined what is allowable for this type of use and is ready to deal with it.    We're hopeful there is some interest in accomplishing solar energy initiatives in the near future.