2007-11-23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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To: Honorable Mayor Adams and City Council From: Julie Feier, City Manager Date: November 23, 2007 Subject: Weekly Update Ewald Winker, Park Operations Superintendent, believed that Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) was inappropriately charging the City for sewer usage for various park locations that did not have actual sewer service. Mr. Winker informed MSD verbally and by letter that the City was disputing the charges for sewer service at nearly twenty specific park locations. In July of 2006, payments for these service locations were suspended pending dispute resolution. MSD eventually assigned a Field Engineer to visit and inspect each location with the assistance of Mr. Winker. Ultimately, the engineer agreed with Mr. Winker that the disputed sites had no sanitary sewers and therefore these locations were being billed in error. MSD has agreed to refund sewer bills paid back for several years, which will result in a refund to the City of approximately Mr. Winker’s $115,000 and an ongoing annual savings of $12,000. It is only through knowledge and extreme persistence over many months that the City has resolved this issue. Heman The City received a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to replace the Park restroom building near the picnic shelters and softball field on the south side of the River des Peres. The original structure was constructed in 1939. The current location is in the flood plain. Under MSD guidelines, we would not be allowed to replace the facility in the same location. After identifying an alternative location, MSD asked for the sewer location. Using dye and a camera, staff discovered that there is no sanitary sewer at the existing bathroom facility and immediately closed the facility. The discharge from the restrooms was flowing directly into the river. We are considering the installation of a sewer line out to Midland or the installation of a composting toilet. Cost estimates will be determined for both options as well as any requirements from MSD and city code. We typically close our park restrooms for the winter, however, in this location we will need to use portable restrooms in the spring until a new restroom can be funded. The current grant will not cover the cost of a new bathroom and sewer line installation.