After a 35-minute public hearing and lengthy discussion Monday, the Clearwater City Council decided it wasn’t ready to set parameters for a stormwater improvement district and tabled its vote until after a future workshop.

The council was looking to establish the boundaries of a stormwater district as a method to pay for a future trunk stormwater line along Co. Rd. 75. Owners of land within the district could be assessed to cover the cost of the stormwater project.

The issue has had extensive discussion since early 2019, when the city’s Engineer Joe Pelawa from Bolton & Menk advised the council that any development in the area bordered by the Travel Plaza, I-94, Co. Rd. 75 and the city’s maintenance facility could potentially contaminate the city’s drinking water supply.

The area is part of the city’s Wellhead Protection Area, and there are specific regulations by the MPCA and Dept. of Health restricting runoff on the site where it could leach into the groundwater.

Monday’s hearing was a chance for affected property owners to give input and ask questions about the scope of the potential project and cost.

In a memo to the council, Pelawa said the proposed district should include not only properties on the site, but any properties that could contribute runoff into the storm system. That included properties east of Co. Rd. 75 on Porter Street, Bittersweet Drive and Sunrise Court that could be served by a combined trunk stormwater system in the future.

During the hearing, a number of residents and property owners spoke about having the entire city share the cost, instead of one area paying for the project.

“We are a non-profit. Assessing a huge tax increase to pay for this project would be extremely difficult for us to afford,” said Becky Brzinski, council president of Rejoice Lutheran Church.

She said when the church built its addition and expanded its parking lot, it was required to add a holding pond, which should have prevented them from contributing to the stormwater problem.

“We feel strongly that the cost of this project should be shared by the City of Clearwater residents, who will also benefit from clean water. This improvement benefits all of Clearwater, and all of Clearwater should partake in the cost.”

Larry Huhn of Driftwood Golf and Fitness agreed.

“It should be a citywide project,” he said. “Many of the properties within your proposed area have already done stormwater ponding as part of their development. And now you want to change that.” 

One of the main issues people had was establishing a stormwater district without a specific project plan in place. 

Pelawa said a plan would come after a feasibility study, which would indicate the scope of the project, potential drainage routes, and the cost.

Councilman Vern Scott said it sounded like a case of the “cart before the horse” because there was no way to know which properties would ultimately be served by a project that hasn’t been designed yet.

He made a motion to table the issue until the council could sit down with the engineer at a workshop and get more information about the project.