05-09-2023 WS City Council Agenda W O R K S E S S IO N
R IC H F IE L D MU N IC IPAL C E N TE R, B AR TH O LO ME W R O O M
MAY 9, 2023
5:15 P M
C all to order
1.S taff is seeking direction on a proposed increase to electric and gas franchise fees and the streetlight user fee
to help fund right-of-way improvements, sustainability projects, and to cover electricity costs for the streetlighting
system.
2.Refresher on local speed limits, staff's ongoing speed limit study, and an updated staff recommendation for
discussion.
A djournment
Auxiliary aids for individuals with disabilities are available upon request. Requests must be made at least 96
hours in advance to the City Clerk at 612-861-9739.
AGENDA SECTION:Work Session Items
AGENDA ITEM #1.
WORK S E S S ION STAFF RE P ORT NO. 18
WORK SESSION
5/9/2023
RE P O RT P RE PA RE D B Y: Rachel L indholm, S ustainability S pecialist
D E PA RTME NT D IRE C TO R RE V IE W: K ristin A sher, P ublic Works D irector
5/2/2023
O THE R D E PA RTM E NT RE V IE W: C hris L ink, P ublic Works
C ITY MA NA G E R RE V IE W: K atie Rodriguez, C ity Manager
5/2/2023
I T E M F O R WO RK S E S S IO N:
Staff is seeking direction on a proposed increase to electric and gas franchise fees and the streetlight
user fee to help fund right-of-way improvements, sustainability projects, and to cover electricity costs
for the streetlighting system.
E X E C UT IV E S UM M ARY:
Franchise Fees
Per city ordinance, the City of Richfield can only collect up to 5% of each utility's gross revenues. The
amounts collected in 2022 are about 4.13% of each respective utility’s gross revenues. The increase would
add an additional $405,225.35 annually.
Street Light User Fee
Xcel Energy increased electricity rates by 21% in 2022. The current amount collected does not cover street
lighting electricity costs. Staff are proposing to increase the quarterly residential charge from $5.19 to $6.50.
The proposed increase would collect an additional $68,500 annually.
D IRE C T I O N NE E D E D:
Staff are seeking direction on whether the Council would support increasing franchise fees and the
street light user fee and would like this guidance before moving forward with the next steps.
B AC K G RO UND INF O RM AT I O N:
A.H IS TOR IC AL C ON T E X T
Franchise Fees
The City first adopted an Electric Franchise Fee Ordinance and Gas Franchise Fee Ordinance in
December 2003, to be implemented in early 2004. The franchise ordinances included a fee schedule
that incorporated several classifications of properties and the corresponding monthly fee per meter.
Currently residential properties pay $8.20 per month or $98.40 annually, collected by Xcel and
CenterPoint.
Street Light User Fee
I n order to maintain current street light services, the City of Richfield established a Street Light User Fee
in 2009. Currently, residential households pay $5.19 per quarter or $20.76 annually.
B.P OL IC IE S (resolutions, ordinances, regulations, statutes, etc):
Franchise Fees are governed by Richfield Municipal Code, Appendix E.
C.C R IT IC AL T IMIN G IS S U E S:
Staff would like to start the process as soon as possible to help alleviate current budget constraints and to
initiate increases by J anuary 1st, 2024.
D.F IN AN C IAL IMPAC T:
The franchise fee increase would result in the City collecting the maximum allowable share of utility gross
revenues. This increase would reflect a move from 4.13% to 5% of gross revenue collected. Estimated
calculations show an approximate increase per household from $98.40 per year to $117 per year. The
annual franchise fees generated would amount to approximately $2.33 million.
The street light user fee increase would result in a charge of $6.50 per quarter. The annual street light
user fees generated would amount to approximately $339,873.
E.L E GAL C ON S ID E R AT ION:
There is no legal consideration at this time. All outlined legal processes and requirements would be
followed if direction to pursue this effort is given.
ALTE R N AT IV E(S):
None
P R IN C IPAL PAR TIE S E X P E C TE D AT ME E TIN G:
None
AGENDA SECTION:Work Session Items
AGENDA ITEM #2.
WORK S E S S ION STAFF RE P ORT NO. 17
WORK SESSION
5/9/2023
RE P O RT P RE PA RE D B Y: Matt Hardegger, Transportation E ngineer
D E PA RTME NT D IRE C TO R RE V IE W: K ristin A sher, P ublic Works D irector
5/2/2023
O THE R D E PA RTM E NT RE V IE W:
C ITY MA NA G E R RE V IE W: K atie Rodriguez, C ity Manager
5/2/2023
I T E M F O R WO RK S E S S IO N:
Refresher on local speed limits, staff's ongoing speed limit study, and an updated staff
recommendation for discussion.
E X E C UT IV E S UM M ARY:
Public W orks staff seeks to use this work session to provide a refresher and update to the City Council on the
status of local speed limits after the initial October 2022 work session, including staff's updated proposed
recommendation for discussion.
Staff recommend a default speed limit of 25 mph City-wide with exceptions for one 30 mph road and one 35
mph road. Alleys would remain at 10 mph. Making an official speed limit change will require a subsequent
council meeting with corresponding resolutions and ordinances.
D IRE C T I O N NE E D E D:
Staff is seeking direction from City Council on the updated recommendation.
B AC K G RO UND INF O RM AT I O N:
A.H IS TOR IC AL C ON T E X T
I n 2019, the Minnesota Legislature gave cities increased authority to set local speed limits. This
legislation does not include County, State, airport, or private roads.
All Minnesota cities that set local speed limits must:
Do it in a "consistent and understandable manner"
Do it "based on the city's safety, engineering, and traffic analysis"
Provide "appropriate signage"
Consider "methods to effectively communicate the change to the public"
Since then, some cities in the metro have evaluated their speed limits and made changes. Richfield staff
was directed to evaluate our current traffic landscape and make a recommendation on whether our
speed limits should change.
From 1998 to 2001, the City of Richfield (as a part of our legislative priorities) supported legislation for a
25 mph urban speed zone. In 2018, the City's pedestrian plan included a measure to "Pursue
legislative policy changes to allow for reduced speed limits on residential streets". Under current
State statute, the default speed limit for any local road is 30 mph and for any alley is 10 mph.
Historically, speed limits have been set based on the 85th percentile speed, the speed where 15% of
people travel faster. I n the past ten years, there has been building evidence this method is outdated. A
study by the National Transportation Safety Board found that there was no evidence equating to lower
crash involvement when setting speed limits using the 85th percentile. The current recommended
changes to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTC D) state that the 85th percentile should
apply only on freeways, expressways, or rural highways. The MUTC D still awaits an update after public
comments were taken in 2020 and 2021.
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NA C TO) released guidance on setting local
speed limits in 2020. As a part of their guidance and recommendations, most urban streets are
recommended to have a speed limit of 20 mph or 25 mph depending on several factors. The maximum
recommended speed limit for urban areas is 35 mph, for roads with low activity A ND low conflict
density.
B.P OL IC IE S (resolutions, ordinances, regulations, statutes, etc):
Changing speed limits requires an ordinance clarifying the Richfield Municipal Code as well as other
housekeeping resolutions.
C.C R IT IC AL T IMIN G IS S U E S:
None
D.F IN AN C IAL IMPAC T:
Speed limit changes are included in the 2023 C I B and 2024 C I P for an overall total cost of $200,000.
The costs include new signs, traffic signal re-timing and modifications, and a public education
campaign.
E.L E GAL C ON S ID E R AT ION:
Changing speed limits requires an ordinance clarifying the Richfield Municipal Code as well as other
housekeeping resolutions.
ALTE R N AT IV E(S):
None
P R IN C IPAL PAR TIE S E X P E C TE D AT ME E TIN G:
None
AT TAC H ME N T S:
D escription Type
E xisting S peed L imits Map B ackup Material
S taff Recommendation S peed L imits Map B ackup Material