Council hears proposal to pay for three-year adopt-a-storm-drain program and citizen-science kits

As part of the flood resiliency plan update the presenter proposed the city adopt a Hamline University-run "Adopt-a-Storm-Drain" program to enlist residents in maintaining storm drains, reporting debris and providing citizen-science data to spot early infrastructure problems. The presenter said the program is turnkey: municipal subscription, a GIS set-up, resident sign-ups, reporting forms to record debris types and pounds removed, and education kits for teachers. "That would fund three years of program subscription, upfront...50 bonus kits...and 10 of the education kits," the presenter said, asking for a $15,000 allocation from special-projects funds to cover the upfront cost and initial materials.

Councilors discussed scale, GIS mapping, whether the city already holds drain location data, and possible connections to state clean-water funding and regional planning. Staff said the upfront cost would include GIS geolocation of drains; volunteers could walk the city with phones to map drains and identify problem hotspots for staff response. Questions included what "cleaning" means (presenter clarified volunteers should clear the top of drains—leaves, sticks and surface debris—not reach into pipes) and whether the program could help with reporting for state grant opportunities focused on phosphorus reduction. The presenter noted annual subscription rates are based on municipality size and estimated $1,000 per year thereafter; kits were roughly $20 each.

Ending: Council members signaled support and asked staff to identify the appropriate fund source for the $15,000 request and to include the item on next week's agenda for formal action.