TAMRMS#: B06
8.2
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STORM-001 Utility Master Plan
Notice given by: Councillor Biermanski
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BUDGET POSTPONED MOTION:
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That the Storm-001 is removed from 2023 10 Year Utility RMR Capital Plan.
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Administration’s Understanding of the Intent of the Motion:
This motion appears eliminate the entirety of the Stormwater Utility Master Plan (Storm-001) from the 10 Year Utility RMR Capital Plan
As the project is not scheduled until 2024, there is no ability to make a budget motion at this time as the 2024 RMR budget will not be considered until June of next year. However, the motion could be reworded to address only the timing or inclusion of the 2024 component in the 10 year plan. If this is the intent, the following alternate motion is recommended:
That the 10 year Utility RMR Capital plan be amended “to move STORM-001 Utility Master plan to a "20xx” OR “to remove the 2024 update to STORM-001 Utility Master plan”.
Operational or Organizational Impacts if Motion is Approved:
The City's stormwater model would not be fully updated to account for growth that has occurred since the last UMP or UMP update.
Regularly updated UMPs allow faster and more accurate development circulation response times. In the absence of updated UMPs, additional staffing would gradually need to be added to address the gaps in infrastructure planning, to update the City's stormwater model and to provide timely responses to developers.
In the absence of recently updated UMPs, developers would be required to provide more/larger engineering submissions. This would result in the duplication of effort for developers and is counter to focus on the needs of their own individual developments. It would also result in less collaboration between developers to reduce their servicing costs by working together. Ultimately, the City would inherit infrastructure that is more costly to maintain (additional lift stations and additional stormwater lines) which would result in higher utility rates.
Financial Implications of Motions:
If the alternate motion is moved by rescheduling the project to a future year:
Funding for the items in the Stormwater category, comes from a specific reserve generated through stormwater rates. The utility rates are derived based on a 10 year operating and capital plan, therefore moving this activity to a future year within the 10 year window has no effect on utility rates.
If the alternate motion is moved by removing the 2024 project
This would result in a short-term cost savings in utility rates (insignificant). The dollars would remain in the reserve to support other required stormwater projects. However, in the long-term there would be cost implications for the City and for developers. Both oversizing and undersizing stormwater infrastructure have significant cost implications for the City and the development community.
It is expected that Utilities and/or Engineering would need to add temporary staffing from 2024 until 2029 to address infrastructure planning in-house until completion of the next UMP Update in 2029.
If the original motion is moved:
This would result in a short-term cost savings in utility rates (insignificant). The dollars would remain in the reserve to support other required stormwater projects. However, in the long-term there would be cost implications for the City and for developers. Both oversizing and undersizing stormwater infrastructure have significant cost implications for the City and the development community.
It is expected that Utilities and/or Engineering would need to add temporary staffing starting in 2024 to address infrastructure planning in-house until completion of the next UMP Update sometime after 2032.
If the original motion is moved:
This would result in a short-term cost savings in utility rates (insignificant). The dollars would remain in the reserve to support other required stormwater projects. However, in the long-term there would be cost implications for the City and for developers. Both oversizing and undersizing stormwater infrastructure have significant cost implications for the City and the development community.
It is expected that Utilities and/or Engineering would need to add temporary staffing from 2024 until 2029 to address infrastructure planning in-house until completion of the next UMP Update sometime after 2032.
Stakeholder Consultations:
UDI is a key stakeholder in Stormwater Utility Master Plans and would need be consulted to discuss the impact of delaying the next UMP Update until 2030 (more infrastructure planning would be required from developer submissions and circulation response times would be expected to increase without additional staffing).
Background:
Utility Master Plans (UMPs) are a critical part of the City of St. Albert strategic planning framework that focus on the City's water, wastewater and stormwater systems. The intent of the Stormwater UMP is to identify required system improvements in the existing stormwater system as well as to recommend a utility servicing strategy that supports the City's future growth and stormwater asset management. The Stormwater Utility Master Plan is an important input into the City's RMR program and the Off-site Levy program. These studies are typically not completed in the same calendar year in which they begin and the 2023 UMP is expected to be completed in 2024. St. Albert, similar to other municipalities of its size, completes a UMP every 10 years with a UMP Update at the 5 year point in-between.
The City of St. Albert does not maintain a staff complement that is capable of performing "in-house" master planning. Regular reliance on external consultants to perform UMPs allows us to leverage the specialized expertise of external engineering consultants to complement our "in-house" detailed knowledge of the stormwater system.
While it should be the responsibility of developers to plan growth infrastructure, each developer typically focuses only on the infrastructure needs of their individual developments. Utility Master Plans provide an overall framework for infrastructure to be over-sized and shared resulting in significant cost savings to developers over time. In addition, UMPs increase the probability that the City will inherit less costly infrastructure that will be costly to maintain (fewer lift stations, "right-sized" piping resulting in less line twinning or other upgrades).
UMPs also help guide the City's RMR program by identifying deficiencies within the existing system and changes in regulations. It is important that cost estimates for projects within the UMPs be updated at least every 5 years to account for inflation and the advent of new technologies.
The 2023/2024 Utilities Master Plan is particularly important with the addition of the 2022 Sturgeon County annexation lands. These lands were excluded from the 2020 UMP update that was completed in March 2022. Each year, the utility infrastructure needed to service growth for the next 25 years needs to be constructed and planned.
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Report Date: June 7, 2022
Author(s): Regan Lefebvre, Senior Manager of Utilities
Committee/Department: Public Operations (Utilities)
Action Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts