Mapleton council adopts stormwater master plan, approves utility-rate increase; impact fee set at $975.86 per ERU

The Mapleton City Council on a motion approved a stormwater master plan and moved forward with two fee measures intended to pay for stormwater projects: an impact fee of $975.86 per equivalent residential unit for new development and an increase in the city's stormwater utility charge from $5 to $10 per month.

The actions followed a staff presentation that outlined a multi-step strategy to reduce local flood risk, including continued use of retention for new development, targeted improvements to culverts and storm drains, and a potential outfall to Hobble Creek for Maple Canyon. Council members said the measures are aimed at funding immediate repairs and longer-term capital work while staff pursues federal grants and a possible revision of FEMA flood estimates.

City staff told the council the master-plan estimate for in-city stormwater work is about $12 million; the Maple Canyon outfall estimate varies depending on the FEMA-assessed hundred-year flow. "If they stick with 325 CFS'we're looking at about $8,600,000," the presenter said, adding that if the hundred-year flow is revised to roughly 130 CFS the city's projected outfall cost could fall to about $4,800,000. Staff recommended pursuing a FEMA review before committing to the largest outfall option and said grant funding is most likely when a project involves a FEMA floodplain.

Officials described current stormwater finances as constrained. Staff said the stormwater fund's total budget is roughly $650,000 and that proposed projects and transfers for the coming year would draw roughly $395,000. "We're already kind of small on the stormwater reserves," the presenter said, estimating reserves at a little less than $300,000 and noting the city has been using reserves to cover projects in prior years. To stop drawing on reserves, staff proposed the utility-rate increase and the new developer impact fee, and presented a projected package of projects, transfers and a master-plan line item.

Council members placed the measures in broader context. One member urged the city to prepare for state-level legislative changes that could limit local impact fees, saying "we need to be actively advocating with our legislature using the data we have so that we don't end up in a position at the end of the next legislative session that current citizens are paying for the infrastructure for future citizens." Another member stressed the need to update local stormwater design criteria so responsibility falls to the proper party in new development.

Public comment during the three related public hearings was limited. A resident asked how much of the higher fee would go to projects rather than to vehicle or utility costs; staff replied that roughly $20,000 of stormwater-funded transfers into the vehicle-replacement plan were projected for the next fiscal year and that, overall, roughly 60 percent of a $650,000 stormwater budget would go to projects in the ground (a rough estimate provided by staff). The city manager and finance staff also said the proposed timing is to notify residents in the July newsletter and implement the new monthly charge on July utility bills to be collected in August.

Council action included a resolution to adopt the stormwater master plan (motion by Council Member Jones; second by Council Member Carlson) and motions to approve ordinances for the impact fee and the utility-rate increase. The motion to raise the stormwater utility fee from $5 to $10 a month was made by Council Member Jones and seconded by Council Member Carlson; the recorded votes shown in the meeting transcript include several council members voting yes for the master-plan resolution and the utility-fee ordinance. The staff presentation said the impact-fee ordinance would take effect 90 days after adoption as required by state law.

Staff outlined next steps: pursue a FEMA review of the Maple Canyon hundred-year flow estimate, pursue flood-related grants tied to FEMA floodplain designation, update local stormwater design criteria, and begin phased construction on priority retention and drainage projects identified in the master plan. The presenter said the city will continue allocating about $120,000 per year for miscellaneous retention in older parts of town while building toward larger capital work.

The council recording shows the master plan item was opened for public comment and closed with no public comments before the vote. The council then opened and closed separate public hearings on the impact-fee ordinance and the utility-fee ordinance before moving to the motions and votes recorded in the minutes.

A follow-up staff schedule for design and grant work, and any FEMA outcomes, will determine whether the higher-cost outfall option is pursued or a smaller, less expensive outfall is built.