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Home My WebLink About5M Pool Drainage Report Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 3, 2018 AGENDA #: 5M PREPARED BY: FRANK BOYLES, CITY MANAGER PRESENTED BY: FRANK BOYLES AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 705 OF THE PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE RELATING TO POOL DRAINAGE INTO THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM GOAL AREA AND OBJECTIVE: Public Safety 4. Ensure a safe and quality-built environment 5. Address threats to community standards through code enforcement DISCUSSION: Introduction The purpose of this agenda item is to ask the city council to amend the Prior Lake City Code to better regulate the drainage of large bodies of water-typically indoor and outdoor pools-into the Prior Lake Sanitary Sewer system. History As the community has developed so to have the existence of institutional pools such as those found in the River Valley YMCA in Prior Lake, Twin Oaks and Middle Oak Schools. In addition, a plethora of outdoor privately-owned in ground pools have been constructed, used and maintained. Pool systems large and small require regular water treatment to promote the safety and health of the users. The pool maintenance regimen consists both of regularized chemical treatment and water drainage and replacement. The city’s sanitary sewer system was designed to serve the needs of typical land uses allowed for by our comprehensive plan. The system was not sized to allow anyone to drain a pool into the sewer system at any time. When the city was a little smaller, we relied on verbal agreements between the city and pool owners to communicate at the time of pool drainage. Given the growth of the community it is logical that the city code should more formally address incidents which could harm the city sewer system and the private and public structures connected to it. Current Circumstances The attached ordinance is recommended which accomplishes the following: 1. Anyone responsible for an indoor or outdoor pool which is to be drained into the city sewer system must apply for a permit from the public works director prior to any drainage action. 2.The public works director will assess the situation and issue a permit which will specify the conditions under which the pool may be drained into the sanitary sewer system. 3.The conditions will be shared with the permittee who is responsible for following them. If the permittee does not abide by the conditions established by the public works director, they are considered in violation of city code and are expected to be held responsible for any damages created by their action or inaction. ISSUES: FINANCIAL IMPACT: This ordinance is a reasonable preventative measure. It is applicable to in ground and institutional pools not hot tubs or wading pools. Pool owners have an additional option to draining the pool into the sanitary sewer system. They may simply let the pool stand and dechlorinate. In addition to eliminating the potential for sewer back up, dechlorination saves the city and property owners money since there is no need to treat the water at the Blue Lake Treatment Plant. It is hoped that this ordinance will eliminate potential sewer backups caused by pool drainage which cause damage to properties and inconvenience to property owners. There will be costs associated with the administrative processing of the pool drainage permits. The $50 charge per permit is intended to defray such costs. We will monitor during the first year and recommend modification of this fee next year as part of the official fee schedule. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Motion and second as part of the consent agenda to approve this amendment to the Prior Lake City Code. 2.Motion and second to remove this item from the consent agenda for additional discussion. RECOMMENDED MOTION: Alternative #1 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY OF PRIOR LAKE ORDINANCE NO. _________ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 705 OF THE PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE BY INSERTING A NEW SUBSECTION 705.900 RELATING TO THE DRAINING OF POOLS INTO THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM, AMENDING SECTION 113 FOR RELATED FEES, AND ADOPTING BY REFERENCE CITY CODE SECTION 104; WHICH, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CONTAINS PENALTY PROVISIONS. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA, ORDAINS: Section 1. City Code Section 705 is amended by renumbering subsections 705.900, 705.1000 and 705.1100 to 705.1000, 705.1100 and 705.1200 respectively and inserting a new subsection 705.900 to read as follows: 705.900 DRAINING OF POOLS: The sanitary sewer system is not designed to handle the draining of pools and may not have the capacity to accept such drainage. The draining of pools into the sanitary sewer system has the potential to create backups which may damage the system and properties connected to the system. Therefore, any person draining any pool into the sanitary sewer system shall first obtain a permit from the City. 705.901: Application. The application for a permit shall be on a form provided by the City, shall include all requested information, shall be truthful in all respects and shall be accompanied by an application fee as set forth in the City Fee Schedule. 705.902: Review. Upon receipt of a complete application, the City Public Works Director shall review the application and either issue or deny the permit in writing. The Public Works Director may issue a permit if, in the Public Works Director’s sole discretion, the pool can be safely drained into the sanitary sewer system without any negative effects on the sanitary sewer system or any other public or private property. The Public Works Director may include any conditions on the permit that he/she deems appropriate, including but not limited to timing of drainage, flow rates, and maintenance of insurance. The Public Works Director may deny a permit if, in the Public Works Director’s sole discretion, the pool cannot be safely drained into the sanitary sewer system without negative effects on the sanitary sewer system or any other public or private property. 705.903: Revocation. A permit issued under this subsection is subject to revocation by the City Public Works Director for any failure to comply with the permit, any violation of this Section, any damage or risk of damage to the sanitary sewer system or any other public or private property, or violation of any other ordinance of the City or the law of the state. Notice of the revocation shall be provided to the permit holder in writing. Upon receipt of the notice of revocation the permit holder shall immediately cease draining the pool into the sanitary sewer system. Page 2 of 2 705.904. Violation and Penalty. Any failure to obtain and comply with the required permit, in addition to being a violation of this Section, may result in the person being held responsible for any damage which may occur to public or private property as a result of the pool drainage. Section 2. City Code Section 113 is hereby amended by inserting the following new fee into the “Utility Rates and Charges” section of the City Fee Schedule: Pool Draining Permit Application $50.00 Section 3. City Code Section 104 entitled “General Penalty” is adopted in its entirety, by reference, as though repeated verbatim herein. Section 4. This ordinance shall become effective upon its passage and publication. Passed by the City Council of the City of Prior Lake this 3rd day of December, 2018. ATTEST: _________________________ __________________________ Frank Boyles, City Manager Kirt Briggs, Mayor Published in the Prior Lake American on the 15th day of December 2018.