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Home My WebLink AboutResolution - 2024-R0320 - Private Sewer Lateral Ad-Hoc Committee Report And Recommendation - 07/09/2024Resolution No. 2024-R0320 Item No. 7.5 July 9, 2024 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the City of Lubbock (the "City") amended various sections of Chapter 22 "Utilities" of the City of Lubbock Code of Ordinances on October 10, 2023 as Ordinance No. 2023-00119; and WHEREAS, as part of said amendments, regulations regarding the repair of sanitary sewer lateral lines in the public right-of-way were changed to require the property owner to make such repairs; and WHEREAS, due to the effect of this specific change on the citizenry, the City Council of the City of Lubbock (the "City Council") reconsidered the ordinance on April 9, 2024 and adopted an amendment, Ordinance No. 2024-00053, effectively reverting the repair responsibility of sanitary sewer lateral lines in the public right-of-way back to the City; and WHEREAS, as part of the consideration of passing Ordinance No. 2024-00053, the City Council determined there should be a committee to study the repair issue, and determine whether, and to what extent, the owner of the property or the City should perform repairs or replacements of faulty sanitary sewer lateral lines; WHEREAS, on April 9, 2024 the City Council created an ad hoc committee, the Private Sewer Lateral Ad-Hoc Committee (the "Committee") through Resolution No. 2024-R0203, to consider issues regarding the repair of sewer lateral lines in the public right-of-way in the City; and WHEREAS, eleven (11) Committee members were named and appointed on Apri123, 2024 at the regular meeting of the City Council; and WHEREAS, the City Council determined the Committee should convene within two weeks of appointment to study, deliberate, and report back to the City Council on the aforementioned topic, no later than the first regular meeting of the City Council in July of 2024, a written summary of any findings or conclusions reached, as well as any recommendations made by the Committee regarding the subject matter studied; and WHEREAS, the Cc�mmittee did convene beginning on May 2, 2024 and met regularly through July 3, 2024, and at its final meeting, the Committee adopted a final report, said report is attached as Exhibit `'A" and incorporated herein; and NOW, THEREFORE: BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK: THAT the report of the Private Sewer Lateral Ad-Hoc Committee and the recommendations therein are hereby received by the City Council. Said Report is attached hereto and incorporated within this Resolution as if fully set forth herein and shall be included in the minutes of the City Council. 1'assed by the City Council on July 9, 2024 Page 1 of 2 �� I� . /�_ � •� . + . . � �. i ATTE ' : Courtne az, City Secr ary APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: � �� Erik Rejino, Assistant City Manager APPROVED AS TO FORM: f Y elli I,eisure, Senior Assistant City Attorncy ccdocslRGS. Receipt of Ad lioc Se�ver Committee Report 7. I .24 Pagc 2 of 2 Resolution No. 2024-R0320 Private Sanitary Sewer Lateral Line Ad-Hoc Committee Report and Recommendations to City of Lubbock City Council July 3, 2024 -;�--� ` � � � �'r ; : ��._ r - -- �c c .__ .. ,re s — — �ff —...—. . -----• — , ---- . �� - ��------- - -- -- -- ��wr � i _ � � �;.. „ : � -� � ' " � � - � . � � � � -:. � ,+. -_- t� • y. .� � ,�. . i� '. � ;:. t-- T . � ""� �,� {� Page 1 of 4 The City of Lubbock amended various sections of Chapter 22 "Utilities" of the City of Lubbock Code of Ordinances on October 10, 2023, as Ordinance No. 2023-00119. As part of said amendments, regulations regarding the repair of sanitary sewer lateral lines in the public right-of-way were changed to require the property owner to make such repairs. Due to the effect of this specific change on the citizenry, the City Council reconsidered the ordinance on April9, 2024, and adopted an amendment, Ordinance No. 2024-00053, effectively revertingthe repair responsibility of sanitary sewer lateral lines in the public right-of-way, back to the City. As part of the consideration, the City Council determined there should be a committee to studythe repair issue, and determine whether, and to what extent, the owner of the property or the City should perform repairs or replacement of faulty sanitary sewer lateral lines. On April 9, 2024, the City Council created the Private Sewer Lateral Ad-Hoc Committee through Resolution No. 2024- R0203, to consider issues regarding the repair of sanitary sewer lateral lines in the public right-of-way in the City. Eleven (11) Committee members were named to this committee and appointed on April 23, 2024, by the City Council. The Committee convened within two weeks of appointment to study, deliberate, and report back to the City Council on their recommendation, no later than the first regular meeting of the City Council in July 2024. The Committee did convene beginning on May 2, 2024, and met regularly through luly 3, 2024. Committee Members are as follows: Chair District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 District 6 Plumber Plumber Plumber Plumber Jeff Reese, Jaime De La Cruz Drew Landry Jaret "Jet" Seidemann Justin Backus Dale Hansard Matthew Hadley Mark Branscome Eric Hurst Randy Lopez Joe Rushing Attached are final report recommendations from the Private Sewer Lateral Ad-Hoc Committee for City Council consideration. Page 2 of 4 Private Sewer Lateral Ad-Hoc Committee Recommendallons: We find that the City of Lubbock and the Property Owner both have a vested interest and that both should bear financial responsibility. a. Reasoning: i. The Property Owner: 1. Owns the sewer lateral line located in the public right-of-way. 2. Can negatively impact the condition of the line (i.e. grease, tree roots, etc.). ii. The City of Lubbock: l. Administers the public right-of-way, including new and existing franchise utilities. 2. Is tasked with overseeing the overall safety and health of the Lubbock community. 3. Routinely permits or allows the operation of equipment for purposes of public services and maintenance of and within the public right-of-way. iii. This recommendation will allow City of Lubbock pipeline maintenance crews to commit resources, that were previously diverted, back to maintenance on the public water distribution and public wastewater collection system. b. Split: i. This committee recommends that the City of Lubbock continue to fnancially participate in private sewer lateral line replacement within the public right-of-way. The City's financial commitment should be a one-time subsidy not to exceed $2,500 per existing individual private sewer lateral line located in the public Right-of-Way. This one-time subsidy would be paid directly to the plumber or contractor on behalf of the property owner. ii. This committee recommends that the property owner is financially responsible for the remaining balance 2. We find that currently orangeburg represents an extremely high percentage of the number of repairs and replacements. However, there are other materials that require repair and replacement. This committee recommends that all pipe materials are eligible for this subsidy. 3. We find that there are many possibilities that can contribute to sewer line issues such as grease, foreign objects, tree roots, collapse, separation, etc. This committee recommends that eligibility for the subsidy is contingent upon failure of the pipe structural integrity, including collapse, root damage, joint separation, and excluding failures due to inappropriate materials introduced into the pipe resulting in a blockage of flow. Pipe strikes and warranty failures are not eligible for subsidy as these would be covered by the contractors who performed the work through a claims process. 4. We fnd that there are significant challenges and liabilities when working in the public right-of-way. This committee recommends that only privately licensed plumbers or TCEQ approved contractors with a Class III collections license that are registered with the City of Lubbock Right-of-Way Department shall be allowed to work within the public right-of-way on private sewer lateral lines. 5. We find that there are signifcant challenges and liabilities when working in the public right-of-way and in city streets. This committee recommends that all asphalt and concrete paving repairs be funded and performed by the City of Lubbock. Page 3 of 4 6. We find that our recommendations will increase the need for additional City administration. This committee recommends that City Council provide the appropriate City resources to adequately implement this program, including resources related to administration, inspection, and public education. 7. This committee unanimously believes that "residential" and "commercial" property owners should be treated differently. This committee recommends that only residential properties are eligible for this subsidy. 8. This committee is aware that some property owners may not be able to afford and cannot qualify for financial assistance for sewer lateral repair or replacement under the existing Community Development program. This committee unanimously recommends that the City of Lubbock adopt a low-income fnancial assistance program to assist these property owners in the cost above the City of Lubbock's one-time subsidy. 9. We fnd that numerous property owners were "caught in the gap" between the changes in city ordinance. This committee recommends that City Council consider a reimbursement not to exceed $2,500 per lateral line as recommended above for those property owners that replaced and funded their private sewer lateral line between January 8, 2024 and Apri129, 2024 when the City Ordinance required such. 10. This committee finds the recent changes to the ordinance were poorly communicated, resulting in considerable public misunderstanding and misinformation on this topic. This committee recommends that City Council consider implementing a thorough process to provide public education on and communication of this topic including education efforts related to sewer lateral line maintenance on behalf of the property owner. 11. This committee finds that it would be prudent for these recommendations to be reviewed annually with the City Budget process to make necessary changes due to economics, development, construction methods, and materials. The committee endorses this report and its recommendations and will discuss such with the City Council at their request. � I � i �Y\� � � ` ' - .� - i �w L. Wood �rankditi�.�, Division Director of Public Works Staff Liai on Page 4 of 4