Public works briefs North St. Paul council on salt supply, water treatment and $600,000 lead‑service funding bid

At a council meeting, public works staff delivered a wide‑ranging operations update covering winter supplies, park and street maintenance, water treatment and infrastructure funding.

The department reviewed its statewide state‑contract salt purchases and on‑site storage. "We order all just regular salt" and then mix beet juice to create treated material, the Public Works Director said, adding the practice saves about "$15 to $20 a ton." The director explained the state contract offers discounted pricing but requires taking ordered quantities (with about a 20% tolerance) and noted the city sometimes coordinates with other municipalities to avoid shortfalls.

Staff described street sweeping and disposal practices, saying the city averages six to eight sweeps per year and hauls collected material to a disposal facility in MOA to save roughly $1,000 per load compared with a nearer Burnsville site. On parks, they said irrigation was added at Hy Park and Casey Park, a new playground at Polar Park was installed in December and a Gaga ball pit is being assembled at public works.

On water operations, staff said the system currently uses temporary chlorination at three wells and that daily testing continues. "The water is perfectly safe. It meets… all of our testing is good," the Public Works Director said, noting that brown or discolored water calls are generally caused by chlorine interacting with iron and sediment in pipes and that flushing customers' mains often clears it. Staff reported roughly 4,800–4,900 residential water meters will need phased replacement in the next two to three years as meter batteries reach end of life (about 15–20 years), and said the city will likely seek a contractor for the large replacement effort.

Staff also discussed lead service lines and an associated federal notification requirement. The director said the annual mailing requirement stems from federal law and that the city confirmed the practice with the Minnesota Department of Health. The city applied to the PFA (part of the Drinking Water Revolving Fund) for lead and galvanized service‑line replacement; staff said the city is currently ranked roughly in the 200–300 range out of about 1,200 applicants and is not yet fundable. "Maybe 27," they said when asked about an optimistic funding timeline, and staff estimated a $600,000 request to cover the known inventory plus contingency; that funding could pay to replace service lines from the main to the curb stop and, in some cases, extend to the home depending on investigation results.

On sanitary sewers, staff said the city maintains about 47 miles of sewer with four lift stations, noted upgrades to the SCADA monitoring system, and described multiyear televised inspections and mapping work done with contractors (Hydro Clean and WSB/Datafy) to improve as‑built records. They also reviewed stormwater requirements and the role of watershed districts, saying rules from the Ramsey–Washington Metro Watershed District (and Valley Branch for a small Silver Lake corner) drive requirements for ponds and runoff treatment tied back to federal Clean Water Act–era regulations.

Forestry work was summarized: about 200 ash trees were removed in 2025 and 125 new trees were planted; the city received a $400,000 relief grant ($300,000 for public ash removal and $100,000 targeted at low‑income private removals), with roughly $72,000 of that grant remaining to support additional removals and replanting.

Staff provided other operational details — an average fire hydrant replacement cost of about $15,000, a new bucket truck and auction plans for an older unit, building maintenance and prospective HVAC replacement at city hall, and staffing: "There's 10 total" public works workers in the department plus supervisory staff and a rotating on‑call schedule.

Council members praised public works for winter response and upkeep. Council member Woods moved to adjourn; Council member Mackenzie seconded, the motion carried by voice and the meeting recessed to 6:30 p.m.

Next steps identified by staff include returning with detailed cost estimates and options for permanent chlorination, developing a plan and bid package for phased water‑meter replacement, continuing pursuit of PFA funding for lead service‑line replacement, and using remaining forestry grant funds to finish prioritized removals and replanting.