Olmsted County Board — Transcript
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Storm Water Management and MS4 Program Annual Report
Authorization of General Obligation Bonds Series 2026A
Rochester City Administrator's Update on City Growth and Regional Issues
Board and Committee Reports
Votes (2)
Public Hearing and Approval of Annual Municipal Separate Storm Water System (MS4) Report
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [0:17:48] · Seconded by Unknown [0:17:50]
The public hearing provided an overview of the MS4 program, its regulatory requirements by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and the annual work undertaken by the Homemstead Soil and Water Conservation District in collaboration with Public Works. Key aspects included defining MS4, the current permit cycle (2020-present), efforts to protect water quality through the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWIP), infrastructure mapping in urban areas, and minimum control measures. These measures include public education, illicit discharge detection, construction site runoff control, and pollution prevention (e.g., street sweeping, sand/salt storage, brining roads). The collaboration with Public Works and efforts towards a self-audit for future MPCA reviews were also highlighted. Public comment was solicited but none was received.
Authorize Issuance and Sale of General Obligation Bonds Series 2026A
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [0:17:48] · Seconded by Unknown [0:17:50]
Wilfredo Roman Catala, CFO, presented the request to authorize $29,350,000 in general obligation bonds. The majority ($26 million) is designated for the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), with the remainder for various organizational projects like squad cars and park infrastructure. Tammy Umdall of Northland Securities explained the bond rating process, the importance of the county's AAA rating, and the competitive bidding strategy to secure favorable interest rates. The financial plan aims for bonds to be structured around the useful life of the financed assets, with proceedings available by October 29th.
Notable Quotes (6)
So today we would like to hold our public hearing regarding our storm water pollution prevention plan for the municipal separate storm sewer system program. Uh it's a requirement of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and it's an opportunity for the public to offer input um as they wish uh regarding our program.
And the whole purpose of it is to protect water quality. Um, as I said, you know, our storm water goes directly to our surface water. So, it's really important we're doing all of our best management practices to prevent uh pollution and contamination.
I'm relatively new to the MS4 program and since I've come on, we've been working to be more collaborative with our public works department and capturing some of the work that they do. They do a lot of awesome work and um a lot of times, you know, we work with a lot of grants and we have to do reporting and that's something that I focus on in my work and how can we take credit for the good work that's happening.
One good thing about the chloride, like I said, we we do brining now, which is a great way to save on the on the um the solid form of of our salt that we that we spread on the roads. But um we don't have any impaired streams here in the southeast for chloride, which is wonderful.
Most of those dollars as you're very familiar will go to support uh the payment of uh equipment needed for the materials recovery facility. So about 26 million of those 29 million will be used for that. Um about 3 million will be used for various projects within the organization. So the first 26 will be paid with material recovery facilities and waste management fees. The other 3 million will be supported with property taxes.
As the county board is well aware, you hold that AAA rating. We expect that to be affirmed, but that is a process and we're in the middle of that right now. So that is the first step that we want to get that bond rating affirmed and these bonds rated. The next step is there is an offering document called the preliminary official statement. That document is very important that lays out your plans. It lays out information on economic development, the strength of your financial management.
Ordinances & Resolutions (12)
Report detailing the county's storm water management activities and compliance with state regulations.
Outlines minimum control measures for storm water pollution prevention.
State-regulated permit defining responsibilities for municipal separate storm sewer systems.
General permit under which the MS4 program is regulated; currently being updated.
County ordinance related to detecting and eliminating illicit discharges into the storm sewer system.
Bonds authorized to fund Materials Recovery Facility equipment and various county capital projects.
Contract for Mill Bituminous Surface and Bituminous Overlay on County Roads 112 and 12-24-154.
Contract for turbine generator service and repair.
Grant funding the Cascade Creek Rain Barrel program.
Rochester Public Utilities' plan for reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity.
Study referenced by Rochester City Administrator showing economic productivity of city land.
Rochester's plan for parks that is getting ready to be updated, with input on trails and transportation.