Storm Water Utility Will Be Discussed Thursday Night

The creation of a future storm water utility district will be discussed Thursday night at Cumberland School.

Under a storm water utility system, all users - including schools, churches and other tax-exempt groups – would pay for their portion of the storm water system's expenses. A storm water fee will be charged based on each property's storm water impact, similar to the way utility fees are applied to water and sanitary sewer users,

Consultants and village officials will introduce the first phase of the storm water utility process at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Great Room of Cumberland School.

"We're going to be going over the need for a storm water utility, and go over the calculations and estimates to see how different methods are priced out," said Assistant Village Engineer Aaron Jahncke. "We will also show what needs to happen for the storm water utility moving forward."

Trustees first decided to create a storm water utility in June, and in November, they hired consultants Crispell-Snyder to design and implement it. Village staff hopes to adopt the storm water utility in July.

If the Village Board agrees with the fee structure that Crispell-Snyder has created, then they will advance to the second phase of the project, which is developing a fee system. The third phase of the project is implementing the storm water utility plan.

Laterals will not be discussed

Some confusion about the purpose of the meeting was created by fliers placed on doors over the weekend. Contrary to the flier's statements, the meeting will not address the lateral rehabilitation project underway in the southern portion of the village. The village has already held two public information meetings regarding that project on Dec. 17, Jan. 9 and at several Village Board meetings.

The sanitary lateral rehabilitation project began last year when crews televised and inspected 386 private sanitary laterals to identify cracks and leaks. The inspection expenses incurred by the village will be fully reimbursed to the village by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. 

All of the private laterals inspected last year will need to be lined this year, Jahncke said. Village officials are currently seeking out contractors for the lateral lining project, and when they decide on one, they will send affected homeowners a more detailed assessment letter. Right now, the estimated cost per homeowner is $3,600 to $6,000 – or $80 to $120 per lineal foot of private lateral.

Another public information meeting about the lateral project will be held sometime in May, Jahncke said.

Questions about the lateral rehabilitation project underway in sanitary sewer basin 1203 can be directed to the Whitefish Bay Engineering Department at 962-6690.