Council sets parameters for stormwater grant pilot; staff to prepare program materials

Stormwater Utility Manager Corey Rayburn presented a proposed framework and nine unresolved design questions for a stormwater-grant pilot intended to help residents stabilize erosion and improve water quality. Rayburn told the council staff's recommendation set and the specific decision points: whether to use property value in scoring, whether to lower the maximum city contribution from $50,000 to $30,000, which property owners are eligible, how to score types of solutions, how to split the available funds between preventative and reactive measures, whether to require a minimum qualifying score, tie-breaker rules, staffing needs, and whether to add a severity-of-erosion line on applications.

Councilmembers discussed each item in turn. The council recorded consensus or majority positions for several items: remove property value from the scoring matrix; lower the maximum city contribution to $30,000 to stretch funds to more properties; open eligibility to all property owners (majority preference, though a few members favored a residential-first pilot); include a severity-of-erosion field and applicant photos; and use existing staff for the pilot year rather than hiring a dedicated grant administrator. On scoring, members were split about whether a riprap-plus-vegetation solution should score higher than vegetation alone; staff explained that vegetation-based solutions are often cheaper and better for long-term stabilization but that some engineered solutions have a role.

Council did not take a formal roll-call vote but asked staff to draft program materials and scoring language that reflected the council's consensus and to return with ordinance or policy language to adopt the pilot. Staff indicated they would likely recommend a flexible funding split (one councilmember suggested 50/50 to start) and that the pilot's first-year operations would inform any later staffing or allocation changes.