In This Issue:
- EVENT: Join Us! Metro Cities and MN Housing Workshop for City Officials and Staff
- Governor Walz Appoints City Officials to the Metropolitan Area Water Supply Advisory Committee (MAWSAC)
- MPCA Seeking Public Comment on Water Quality Fee Increases
- Save the Date for the Metro Cities Annual Meeting!
- DEED Brownfields Updates - Call for Presentations and Funding Resources Webinar
EVENT: Join Us! Metro Cities and MN Housing Workshop for City Officials and Staff
Join Metro Cities and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) on Friday, February 21 for a workshop with information for cities on accessing funding for housing programs administered by MN Housing.
Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss funding priorities and application scoring criteria with MN Housing officials and to learn about:
- Funding programs and cycles;
- Submitting a competitive application;
- MHFA funding priorities; and
- Single family and multi-family development and rehabilitation.
City staff and elected officials are welcome.
DATE: Friday, February 21, 2020
TIME: 9:00 - 11:00 am
LOCATION: St. Anthony Village City Hall, 3301 Silver Lake Rd, St. Anthony, 55418
RSVP: Please respond by February 14 to [email protected].
Questions? Please contact Charlie Vander Aarde, Metro Cities Government Relations Specialist at 651-215-4001 or [email protected].
Governor Walz Appoints City Officials to Metropolitan Area Water Supply Advisory Committee (MAWSAC)
On Thursday, Governor Walz announced the appointment of four municipal officials to the Metropolitan Area Water Supply Advisory Committee. Congratulations to new appointees Mike Huang, Councilmember-Chaska, Tonja West-Hafner, Councilmember-Brooklyn Park, Kevin Watson, City Administrator-Vadnais Heights, and Brad Larson, City Administrator-Savage. The Metropolitan Area Water Supply Advisory Committee was established by the 2005 Legislature to provide advice and assistance to the Metropolitan Council on water supply planning and works with a 15-member Water Supply Technical Advisory Committee to provide scientific and engineering expertise to inform the Advisory Committee’s work.
MPCA Seeking Public Comment on Water Quality Fee Increases
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) this week released a set of proposed amendments for public comment relating to rules that govern water quality fees. According to the release, the agency is requesting comments on proposed amendments to rules in Chapters 7002 and 7083 that govern water quality fees. This includes fees for municipal and industrial wastewater permits, municipal wastewater variances, municipal stormwater permits, feedlot permits, and subsurface sewage treatment systems. A concept document with information about the plan to adjust fees is available here.
The MPCA will hold several stakeholder meetings to share information about fee revisions and the intent of this rulemaking. One meeting is scheduled to be held in the metropolitan area on Monday, February 10, 2020 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at the MPCA St. Paul office Lower Level Conference Rooms, 520 Lafayette Road. St. Paul, MN 55102.
The MPCA stated that their goal in the proposed amendments with respect to increases in each fee area, is to cover 30% of agency costs for administering each program. This includes proposing to increase both municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4) permit fees and municipal wastewater permit fees. MS4 permit fees are currently $400 every five years. Under the MPCA proposal, MS4 fees will be changed to an annual fee and be based on city population.
The chart below is the proposed fee structure by city population:
| City Population | Proposed Annual Fee |
| 1,000 or Less | $500 |
| 1,000 - 3,000 | $1,000 |
| 3,001 - 10,000 | $2,000 |
| 10,001 - 30,000 | $4,000 |
| 30,001 - 50,000 | $6,000 |
| 50,001 - 75,000 | $9,000 |
| 75,001 - 100,000 | $12,000 |
| Over 100,000 | $18,000 |
The notice is available at the MPCA public notice webpage. Additional information about this rulemaking, stakeholder meetings and how to submit comments is available on the Water Quality Fee Rule webpage.
The public comment period for this notice closes at 4:30 on Friday, March 13, 2020.
Please contact Steven Huser at 651-215-4003 or email at [email protected] with any questions.
Save the Date for the Metro Cities Annual Meeting!
Mark your calendars and save the date for the Metro Cities Annual Meeting! This year’s event will be held on Thursday, April 16 and will again be held at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in the Bullard Rainforest Auditorium. The evening will start with a social hour, followed by guest speaker Rick King, Chair of the Metropolitan Airports Commission. The evening will wrap up with a brief business meeting to elect members and officers to the Board of Directors.
All member city staff and elected officials are welcome and encouraged to attend! More
information and details will follow.
Questions or wish to RSVP? Contact Kimberly at 651-215-4000 or [email protected].
DEED Brownfields Updates – Call for Presentations and Funding Resources Webinar
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will be hosting the Brownfields and Beyond: 2020 Minnesota Redevelopment Conference Thursday, April 30 - Friday, May 1, 2020 at Cragun's Resort near Brainerd, MN.
This 1 1/2 day conference will convene over one hundred of Minnesota's leading professionals from private, public, and nonprofit sectors engaged in all facets of brownfield and redevelopment including economic development, local and state government, environmental science, finance, law, engineering, development, real estate, planning, and consulting. City officials from the metropolitan region are welcome to attend.
DEED is also soliciting a call for sessions, currently open HERE. Proposals must be received by 3:00 pm on Monday, February 3, 2020.
Registration for attendees, the conference agenda, and the hotel block information will be made available mid-February 2020.
WEBINAR:
City officials can learn more about funding programs that assist with the cost of cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated sites on Tuesday, February 18.
Learn about local public grants that help pay the cost of cleaning up contaminated sites known as brownfields. Brownfield properties are often close to a high-quality workforce, good transportation, and transit. DEED is interested in helping redevelopment that will yield jobs, increased local tax base, and leverage private investment while avoiding costly new public infrastructure.
In the Minnesota metropolitan area, there are multiple opportunities for funding to remediate contaminated sites. Representatives from the Metropolitan Council, Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will summarize program requirements and describe how to apply for funding.
Who is eligible to apply for funding?
Cities, Counties, EDAs, HRAs, and Port Authorities. (Private organizations redeveloping real estate are encouraged to work with eligible applicants to apply.)
Over $8 million in grant funds (and low-cost loans) will be available to investigate and clean sites contaminated with:
- Petroleum contamination
- Groundwater contamination
- Soil contamination
- Soil vapor contamination
- Asbestos and hazardous materials
Applications for the next competitive grant round are due May 1.
Webinar Details
February 18, 2020 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am
• Meeting link
• Meeting number/Room ID: 596 326 553
• Meeting password: Brownfield
• Audio connection: 1(619)377-3319 or toll free 1(888)742-5095
• Conference code: 176 233 5404
Registration is not required. For questions, contact Kristin Lukes at 651-259-7451.