St. Cloud Council Tables SAC, WAC, and TAC Issue Again

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud City Council once again postponed any action on the SAC, WAC, and TAC measure Monday night, but progress is being made.

City staff and the Central Minnesota Builders Association have exchanged various proposals over the past six months. One thing they both agree on is the nearly $250 million in infrastructure needs that St. Cloud faces by 2028.

Public Services Director Tracy Hodel spoke with KNSI News after the meeting and says aging utility systems weren’t designed to service the burgeoning southwest side from 33rd Street South to I-94.

“We’ve got the new Tech High School down there, we’ve got some multifamily development going down there, and a lot of single-family residential growth going down in that area.”

St. Cloud will need to replace pump stations, build a new reservoir, and upsize the water mains like the one that runs below Cooper Avenue. Access to stormwater and wastewater systems is also required. The question is whether new development or existing customers should foot most of the bill.

Hodel talks about some of the changes to the proposal that have been implemented in recent weeks.

“The major changes are related to just extending and increasing the discounts for the multifamily on the SAC and WAC side of things for a development. So, instead of getting a 25% discount on the units, you would get a 75% discount with year one, and then 50% year two, and then down to 25. So you have some years to get ready for it and phase it in.”

The discounts would apply to proposed water and sewer access charges of $3,100 per unit. Already approved projects would be grandfathered in. Water and sewer trunk fees would start at $1,500 per acre and increase on January 1st of 2024 and 2025. The stormwater trunk fee would run between 10 and 12 cents per square foot depending on approval date.

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