Minnetrista council approves up to $18,840 for communications support for water-billing changes, 3-1

The Minnetrista City Council voted to approve a communications and outreach task order not to exceed $18,840 to support a transition from quarterly to monthly water billing and communication around the water-treatment plant project. The motion passed, recorded in the minutes as 3-1.

A staff member briefed the council on the task order's deliverables: a project website with near-real-time site photos, a newsletter, a postcard mailing and defined social-media posting. The consultant and staff said the $18,840 total is a 30-month cost estimate; roughly half covers the listed deliverables and half funds day-to-day support that could be used for unexpected issues. "We have this question or this thing coming up that we didn't anticipate... it's for that," the staff member said of the on-call support portion.

Council members pressed on value and scope, with one member saying the city could do basic communications in-house and questioning why the city should spend the full amount for graphics and mailings. Staff responded that the task order is a task-based contract and the city "would be the drivers" of deliverables and could scale work (e.g., choose a postcard or a limited set of posts) depending on cost.

Action details: The approved task order is not-to-exceed $18,840 over 30 months; printing and postage were noted as additional costs outside the task order. The motion's mover and seconder were not specified in the transcript excerpt; the recorded outcome was "Motion passes, 3 1." The council directed staff to proceed under the approved task order.

Why it matters: The communications work is intended to reduce resident confusion and calls to staff when billing frequency changes and when a major capital project goes online.

Next steps: Staff will work with the consultant under the task order to develop materials and can limit or expand work within the not-to-exceed amount based on council direction.