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CR 94-139 Legislative Policy #8H -.- . 1 'I ,-, G /c . July 1, 1994 0 P K \ '" Council Report: 94-139 ADOPT LEGISLATIVE POLICY #8H STREET RESTORATION REIMBURSEMENT Proposed Action. Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: "Move to approve Leqislative Policy #8H. Policy on Street Restoration Reimbursement for Private Utility Service Repairs.1I overview. At the June 14 Council Work Session, a discussion was held on this issue in response to some complaints the city received from a resident on 11th Avenue North. The discussion resulted in staff being directed to prepare a policy that would provide relief to property owners who experienced substantial street restoration costs associated with their plumbing repairs. The contents of the policy were to include provisions for reimbursing residents for restoration costs exceeding $750, and to have an effective date of January 1, 1994. . Staff has prepared the attached policy in response to Council directive. The policy includes Council's provisions as mentioned above as well as other procedures to clarify the reimbursement process. Council should be aware that the policy, as currently written, only applies to homesteaded single and duplex property owners. Primary Issues to Consider o What is the city's current policy? o What could be some side effects of adopting the proposed policy? o What are the alternatives in lieu of adopting this policy? supportinq Information. o Analy~is of Issues o Propos~d Legislative Policy No. #8H c..../ t I __~.' _,'_""r,. .......".~.h,-'.,.u.-. rj :.,'"-..... Lee Gustafson, Public' Works Director . .---.-- - ,----~. Council Report: 94-139 Page 2 . Analysis of Issues 0 What is the city's current policy? The city's current policy for street restoration after plumbing repairs requires the plumbing contractor to repair the street. The current policy has worked very well in the past with little opposition from the residents. The city's current policy is also very similar to many other cities in the metro area. As Council is aware, staff conducted a survey of city sewer and water policies earlier this year. The survey indicated that over half of the cities surveyed have sewer and water service maintenance responsibilities similar to those of the city of Hopkins. These similar maintenance responsibilities also include the property owner and/or plumbing contractor being responsible for street restoration after plumbing repairs. 0 What could be some side effects of adopting the proposed policy? The first side effect that comes to mind is with regard to the property owner and plumbing contractors possibly making e behind the back deals to take advantage of our reimbursement policy. Hopefully, our verification process will eliminate this potential problem, or keep it to a minimum. The second side effect that comes to mind is that landlords of single family and duplex properties may approach Council to be included in the eligibility list of this policy. staff is quite certain that it is just a matter of time before this happens. One other side effect that may occur is that residents may request reimbursement for other costly items such as tree removal when they learn of this new policy. This however, may not occur but council should be prepared if it does. 0 What are the alternatives in lieu of adopting this policy? There are many different policies that could be adopted with respect to this issue. The policy could be changed to make the city completely responsible for the street restoration or something between that and our current policy. Staff, however, feels that the best alternative to what is being proposed by Council in this policy, is to keep our current policy in effect. . ____ ______ __ ____._ _ n ____ .- . ---. - - - - --.-..- . POLICY # 8H STREET RESTORATION REIMBURSEMENT FOR PRIVATE UTILITY SERVICE REPAIRS 1. PURPOSE 1. 01 The Hopkins City Council recognizes that from time to time property owners experience very expensive street restoration costs when they are required to repair their water or sewer service within the city right-of-way. The City Council furthermore recognizes that some property owners may experience a situation where they may be paying an amount that is substantially higher than the average street restoration cost. 1. 02 The purpose of this policy is to outline policies and procedures for reimbursing property owners who experience extremely high street restoration costs when performing repairs to their private water and sanitary sewer service within the city right-of-way. e 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR REIMBURSEMENT 2.01 Property owners of homesteaded single family or duplex properties are eligible for street restoration reimbursement under this policy. All other property owners are ineligible. 3 . REIMBURSEMENT CONDITIONS 3.01 property owners may request reimbursement for all street restoration costs that exceed Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750) for each service repair they experience. 3.02 The only street restoration costs eligible for reimbursement shall be bituminous or concrete pavement, curb and gutter, and the public sidewalk. Items not eligible include backfilling or dirt work, sod, and private sidewalks commonly known as cat walks, out walks, or carriage walks. 3.03 Property owners shall be ineligible for street restoration reimbursement when falsifying information requested by the city in processing the reimbursement. city staff shall have the authority to deny any such claims. Claims may be denied completely, or in portions. . Policy # 8H Page 2 . 3.04 Property owners may appeal reimbursement denials to the Hopkins city Council after submitting their appeal in writing to the Hopkins city Manager. The appeal shall contain the reason for the appeal as well as all pertinent information that may be needed by the City Council in reviewing the appeal. 4. REIMBURSEMENT NOTIFICATION 4.01 Notification of the city's reimbursement policy will be distributed to both the person applying for the plumbing permit, and to the property owner. 4.02 The plumbing permit applicant will receive notice of the city's reimbursement policy when applying for the plumbing permit. 4.03 The property owner will be mailed notice of the city's reimbursement policy subsequent to the plumbing permit being approved by the city's Inspection division. 5. REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURE 5.01 Street restoration reimbursement requests shall be submitted to the Engineering Superintendent or his designee, after . full payment has been made by the property owner to the plumbing contractor. 5.02 The reimbursement shall be in writing by the property owner and contain itemized costs submitted by the plumbing contractor for the entire repair. The information required includes repairs to the utility service and to the city right-of-way. 5.03 The quantities and prices contained within the request shall be verified by the city's Engineering division staff for validity. The city shall have full authority to request additional information from the property owner, or the plumbing contractor, when verifying requests. 5.04 Any repair not acceptable to the city shall be corrected to the city's satisfaction prior to any reimbursement being made by the city. 5.05 After the Engineering Superintendent or his designee has approved the street repair and the reimbursement information, the reimbursement shall be forwarded to the city's Finance department for issuance of a reimbursement check. 5.06 The city's Finance department shall follow all established . policies and procedures when issuing the reimbursement. - ------- - ---.------ . Policy # 8H Page 3 . 6. REIMBURSEMENT DEADLINES 6.01 Reimbursement must be submitted in writing to the city's Engineering Superintendent or his designee within 60 days of issuance of the plumbing permit. Reimbursement requests submitted after this date shall be ineligible for reimbursement. The only exception to this rule will be in cases where restoration must be delayed due to weather conditions. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE 7.01 This policy shall be effective as of January 1, 1994. All private service repairs made after this date shall be eligible for reimbursement. Service repair dates shall be determined by the date of plumbing permit issuance. The 60 day reimbursement deadline contained in section 6.01 shall be waived for all service repairs made between January 1, 1994 and the adoption date of this policy. Established 7/19/94 City of Hopkins e . - ~ -. --. --- ---- -- ,--