Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 01-22-08 workshop agenda — reading text

CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH City Council Workshop Meeting Agenda - January 22, 2008 - 5: 30 P.M. City Council Chambers 107 Miracle Strip Parkway, SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Anderson APPROVAL OF AGENDA 1. General Public on items of City business. ( No Backup) VIIORKSHO PAP ENDA 2. Presentation of Update on Stormwater Utility Study. Mr. Michael Bomar, Tetra Tech, will be present at the meeting. ( Utilities Director) ( See Backup) ADJOURN Any person who decides to appeal any decision made with respect to any matter at this meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. (FS286.0105). The City of Fort Walton Beach adheres to the American with Disabilities Act and will make reasonable modifications for access to this meeting upon request. Please call City Clerk Helen Spencer at 850 -833 -9509 to make a request. For Hearing Impaired dial the City Hall TDD # 850 -833 -9925 or 1- 800 -955- 8771( TDD) or 1- 800- 955 -8770 ( Voice). Requests must be received at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting in order to allow the City time to provide requested service.  CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 22, 2008 Workshop Agenda General Public on items of City business Agenda Item Number: WA- 1  CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 22, 2008 Workshop Agenda Presentation of Update on Stormwater Utility Study Utilities Director) Agenda Item Number: WA - 2  CITE' OF FORT WALTON BEACH MEMORANDUM To: Joyce Shanahan, City Manager From: Sam Wilson, Environmental Specialist Through: John Hofstad, Utilities Director Date: January 17, 2008 Subject: Stormwater Utility Update /Presentation Backm d: On May V of 2007, a City Council Workshop was held regarding the implementation of a Stormwater Utility. At that meeting, the Utilities Director and Finance Director presented information relating to stormwater infrastructure, state and federal regulations, known stormwater problem areas, and how a Stormwater Utility could be established as a separate Enterprise Fund. Also mentioned during the meeting was how the Utility rate is typically calculated for stormwater, and the mechanisms needed to start the billing process. As part of the discussion and feedback from Council, questions were raised about additional costs to implement the stormwater utility, current and future stormwater grant opportunities, and how rates are calculated using the impervious areas vs. permeable areas. h On August 7` h, of 2007, following a selection process and Council approval from the regular meeting held May 8` a notice to proceed for Engineering /Consulting services for a Stormwater Utility was issued to Tetra Tech Inc. of Destin, Florida. Since this time, Tetra Tech Inc. has been gathering information outlined in the approved scope of work to include the following; review stormwater development of rate needs, develop mission statement, institution /management assessment, structure, analysis of qualifying fee exemptions, local versus regional stormwater utility, feasibility report, enabling legislation, master database development, billing policies and procedures, and finally public outreach and education. Discussion: Currently, Tetra Tech Inc. has completed several phases of the Utility Plan, which include project These initiation and data collection, rate development, and preliminary cash flow analysis. accomplishments were achieved by studying the feasibility of a Stormwater Utility, development of the rate structure, and establishing the Equivalent Residential Unit calculating proposed rates, ERU). Future tasks will include Public Outreach /Education, Program implementation, and Project Documentation. As the initial step to studying the feasibility of a Stormwater Utility for the City of Fort Walton Beach, Tetra Tech Inc. had to review the City's current stormwater needs, develop a preliminary CIP stormwater master plan, review existing reports and budgets including ongoing and future programs, and develop a prioritization methodology for existing and future projects along with ranking the list. While performing the necessary historical investigation of the program, Tetra Tech's subcontractor, Ennead LLC, acquired LOC code files from the City's HTE billing system and is preparing this data for integration back into the City's billing system as a stormwater fee. The majority of this process is contained in the second task of the development process known as the development of the rate structure. The development of the rate structure consists of obtaining Geographic Information System ( GIS) data from the Okaloosa County Property Appraiser, City of Fort Walton Beach, and Okaloosa To County, and relating /linking this information back into the City's utility billing system. accomplish this process Tetra Tech has defined the customer base through the characterization and delineation of customers served by the City's Stormwater Programs. This was achieved by conducting a parcel analysis of the number, size, land use, and amount of pervious /impervious area on each parcel located within the political boundaries of the City of Fort Walton Beach. From this analysis, a geo- database compatible with the City of Fort Walton Beach' s GIS was generated. This information was used to calculate proposed rates. The proposed rates will be used to determine the future level of service. The items listed above and in previous paragraphs are a few of the steps accomplished, but in the near future public outreach and education, the third and one of the most important components to the implementation of a Stormwater Utility, will need to be taken. A major component of a successful Stormwater Utility is public outreach and education. The public's perception of a Stormwater Utility will dictate whether or not this type of Utility will be a In viable strategy to improve and enhance the community' s water resource management systems. communities throughout Florida, a large number of the general population lacks a thorough understanding of stormwater problems and needs. Many citizens live in areas that do not sustain damage from drainage problems. They are not exposed to certain pollutants entering open bodies of water; and they do not encounter traffic issues similar to what our citizens face because of deficiencies related to stormwater drainage. Communities throughout Florida have recognized the need for a phased approach to stormwater management; coupled with the requirement to meet NPDES ( National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) standards and the possibility of increased regulatory demands to retain and treat this water before it gets into our watersheds As a result, many of these communities have adopted Stormwater Utilities to cover the cost of building stormwater management programs that can address immediate demands, while preparing for long range improvements that take several years and high levels of funding to accomplish. The City of Niceville adopted their program in 2004, Pensacola in 2004, Bay County in 2006 and Gulf Breeze and Panama City Beach are in the process of adopting programs now. Future decision points that will be needed from City Council include, but are not limited to the following: whether or not to establish a Stormwater Utility, if so, what the rate should be, review of prioritized projects what if any exemptions are needed, billing policies, and personnel requirements. Recommendation: No Council action is required on this item at this time. This report and accompanying presentation are being provided to Council for informational purposes as an update to the Stormwater Utility 2  Study. During the next step in this process, the City's consultant will host a series of meetings with citizens and stakeholders to discuss the merits and benefits of an adopting a Stormwater Utility. Once public information and stakeholder meetings are completed, staff will report back to Council and receive direction on whether to proceed with the development of a stormwater utility ordinance. Submitted By: I -&- UD9 ;; Samuel O. son N, Environmental Specialist * Date Utilities Director Date Reviewed and Concur: 7 Date oyce hang an, City Manager 10 M  C ODOD ii WW W NN Z Q vv cLcL LLLL NN Jo gyp', CL a w Cl) LL AMAM as g y cc ZiZi H m C.) J UJ 0 O ea cc: a H J Q aC U. z 0 JJ o JJ cr. aa C olouioloui O CM) zz ww Cl) V I L.  C\ J G', J f 4 , z E cn cr W w p CL. cm 0