City adds $4 stormwater fee

Flooded streets and clogged catch basins caused by the recent rains are why Coeur d’Alene residents must pay a new $4 monthly fee for stormwater improvements and maintenance.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to charge the new utility fee, which will give the city a $984,235 annual budget to repair and expand the existing water collection system, pick up leaves, sweep streets and educate residents about how stormwater has a direct impact on the water quality of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River.

Businesses would be charged based on a formula for how much of their land is covered by pavement or buildings – surfaces that don’t absorb water. The Coeur d’Alene School District, which has the largest amount of covered surfaces, expects to pay about $16,000 a year.

“This is absolutely the time to do this,” Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander said.

City Finance Director Troy Tymesen said the city will probably start collecting the fee in October, the start of the new fiscal year.

Councilman Al Hassell was the only vote against the fee, arguing it’s a good idea but premature. He cautioned the council that the city will eventually have to raise the fee and should consider other ways to pay for stormwater maintenance, such as tacking an extra dollar onto resident’s current sewer bills.

“I still have questions in my mind about whether this is the appropriate way to go about it,” Hassell said.

He wasn’t alone. Two Coeur d’Alene residents who spoke at the council meeting still had lingering questions.

One of them, Tom Margozewitz, showed the council photos of the swale next to his White Pines Drive home that overflowed May 22 during a heavy downpour, causing water to pool up by his neighbor’s back door. He questioned what kind of accountability the city would have for the cash collected from property owners, especially because it’s the city that gave approval to the existing malfunctioning swales.

“Is the city going to rectify all the stormwater systems?” Margozewitz asked.

Tom Messina, Citizens Stormwater Advisory Committee chairman, said that residents will see improvements to many of the city’s 100 trouble spots.

The advisory committee has worked on the stormwater proposal for nearly two years. Initially the committee recommended a $5 monthly fee but during a February public hearing the council, along with residents, questioned how the city would spend the money.

The council praised the committee Tuesday for providing those answers and coming back with a recommended fee of either $4.40 per month or $4 per month. The council voted for $4.

About $311,000 would go toward capital improvements or fixing the existing system of swales, catch basins and pipes, which cause the street flooding and the occasional flooded basement that result in complaints.

Coeur d’Alene’s stormwater system is patchworked across the city and is too small to handle even small storms.

About 100 spots in Coeur d’Alene are prone to flooding. Some of the unfiltered stormwater drains into Lake Coeur d’Alene, the Spokane River and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

Pollutants such as oil, grease, sediment, lawn chemicals and fecal coliform dump directly into the water.

The city is working to meet new federal stormwater regulations under the Clean Water Act within the next five years.

Goodlander asked if it was a better option to pay for these improvements by asking voters to pass a bond, rather than with the new stormwater fee. Because interest rates are at a 28-year low, Tymesen said that would be a good option and the city could use the stormwater fee for maintenance such as catch basin, drywell and pipe cleaning, as well as leaf pickup and street sweeping.

The $4 monthly fee will also give the city $356,360 for these types of maintenance costs.

About $79,000 would go toward water quality protection by enforcing city laws, inspections and monitoring the areas where stormwater drains into the lake and river. The remaining $237,700 would go toward helping people figure out how to improve their current swales, reviewing plans for new drainage systems and educating the public. “This made me feel better that I can now look people in the eye and tell them you are going to get something,” Councilman Woody McEvers said about the more specific plans.