The Mount Vernon Utilities Commission has approved a petition by Liberty Crossing to join the private stormwater management utility. This decision was made during the commission's meeting on August 14.
According to a YouTube recording of the meeting, Assistant City Engineer Quentin Platt expressed that the Engineering Department would prefer if developers sought stormwater agreements before any homes were sold, as was done in Gilchrist Estates. "As far as I know, we haven't done a cost analysis for the maintenance of this yet, like we did for Gilchrist Estates," Platt said. He added that this involves assessing three post-construction Best Management Practices (BMPs) being installed and determining how much needs to be assessed in addition to the base stormwater utility for each resident.
Law Director Rob Broeren said that city code requires an assessment for ongoing maintenance and final replacement. These figures must be calculated before finalizing the private stormwater maintenance agreement.
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers raised concerns about the request for an agreement being presented on city letterhead instead of one from Highland Real Estate. He noted that confusion could arise if someone perceives it as a letter from the city engineer addressed to the city engineer.
Platt emphasized that obtaining authorization to start working on assessments is crucial. The assessments developed for Gilchrist Estates cannot be applied directly, as each project is unique. He noted that while avoiding overbilling customers is important, ensuring sufficient revenue collection for necessary maintenance and eventual replacement work is also essential.
