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LIQUOR LICENSE FOR SCHOOL OF THE WISE
LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN VICTORIA
Council unanimously approved the on-sale and Sunday intoxicating liquor license for Brandon Wallis and Ann Clifford (CMW, Inc.) doing business as The School of the Wise in downtown Victoria at the Clock Tower.
The required background checks have been completed and the Carver County Sheriff signed the application. The appli-cant paid the license fee and submitted a Certificate of Liability Insurance.
Introducing himself to councilmem-bers on March 10th, Brandon stated, "Our menu will change pretty considerably. It will be available for breakfast, also open on Sunday mornings. There's one section of the dining area that is a little protected if you'd want to hold small meetings there. Staff is hired. Training is done. We'll probably have weekly wine tasting.
Without fanfare, School of the Wise opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, March 29th.
NO SPRING COMPOST SITE IN VICTORIA
USE COUPONS AND FACILITY IN CHASKA
Council approved a recycling coupon program in the City of Victoria that will replace the spring composting program.
Stated City Administrator Steve Sar-vi, "We don't think there will be adequate funds to operate the compost site as we have in the past. The biggest change for Victoria is that residents won't be able to just drop things off at the Public Works site."
About the new recycling coupon pro-gram, he said, "We won't know until we try it how successful it'll be. And maybe there will be money for a fall composting site. As this city grows, offering a com-post site free will be prohibitive. The coupon program will provide opportuni-ties beyond yard waste. The coupons will be out there if people want to use them."
Steve added that there is still a low use rate of the coupons in other cities where the program is already inaugurated. He said the recycling center in Chaska is supported by county tax dollars and that it's relatively close and convenient for Victoria residents.
The Environmental Center is located off Hwy 41 at 116 Peavey Circle. Resi-dents may call 952-361-1800 with ques-tions.
CHECK YOUR SUMP SUMP
IS IT ILLEGALLY CONNECTED TO THE SEWER?
Councilmembers held a workshop on Monday evening, March 21st, to discuss how to alleviate Inflow and Infiltration in the City of Victoria, also known as I/I.
Inflow is the normal flow of sewage and wastewater into the regional sewer system where it is treated and released for reuse as "gray" water.
Infiltration is the entrance of water into the sewer system due to the illegal hookup of sump pumps.
The City of Victoria and other cities have been trying to curb or eliminate infil-tration because the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (MWCC) bills cities for discharges into the regional system. It is, in other words, a cost to local tax-payers. Total sewer cost for the Victoria taxpayers is up to $20,000 per month, according to City Clerk Jennifer Kretsch.
There is now another incentive for the City of Victoria to remove sump pumps from the system, an incentive whereby the Metropolitan Council will give the city one additional REC unit per three sump pumps that it can get discon-nected from the sewer system.
One REC unit is, more or less, one additional new home that the Met Council will allow to be built in Victoria. Growth is not only regulated by the City of Vic-toria as it approves developments; it is also regulated by the Met Council which controls sewer capacity to developing areas. The Met Council has limited Vic-toria's sewer connections to 3,200 RECs through December 31st, 2010.
Stated Jennifer Kretsch, who spoke of infiltration into the sewer system, "We don't need to treat water that doesn't need to be treated. This is not something new."
She reported that the Met Council measures the amount of flow dumped into the system. It was metered in 1979, 1983, and 1994. Currently there are 18,000 connections to the regional sewer system, she said, adding that the Met Council will be placing an additional surcharge on Victoria's current charge if the city doesn't put together an I/I program.
Jennifer spoke of city costs incurred by putting together such a program. Someone needs to inspect homes and send out notices to homeowners, for example. She said the program will be outlined in an education piece and be presented to city councilmembers on a monthly basis. "The Met Council would like a tracking," she stated.
Jennifer pointed out, "Today we are doing this for financial reasons, and it's going to be mandated in 2007."
"We will go to every extent, above and beyond, with every homeowner," said Jennifer, who suggested an Open House for residents whereby they'd have access to educational materials and a map and staff to answer any of their questions.
"Every step will be tracked along the way," she said. "We do not want to be heavy-handed in any way." She projected that, at the very highest, maybe 5% of the homes in Victoria have illegal hookups.
Public Works Superintendent Bruce Osborn stated, "We have to educate the people why we're doing this. With the ordinance you're approving, we can do a random check." He also emphasized that the purpose of the home checks is to keep the cost of sewer down.
"We're trying to help fix things and get drain tile into areas," said Bruce. "We want to focus on the future. Victoria is known as a tight system. In order to get the big cities fixed, they've got to get the little cities fixed. We're going to work with the Met Council for the future of Victoria so we can pass savings onto the people of Victoria."
City Administrator Steve Sarvi said, "We have to come to people with solu-tions. Some people may have no options today, but we can do a project that will identify and take care of the problem."
It was suggested that residents be given at least 90 days to comply. Staff will get inspection costs to councilmem-bers for review and approval. There are approximately 2,000 Victoria connections to the sewer system at this time.
There is not yet an official date or time set for the sump pump project Open House.
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