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.. . . . . . In response to Vice Mayor Ruskin's questions, Senior Engineer Chang said no matter what the City does, the 5th Avenue flooding cannot be solved, only improved. - He said that it was up to the Council to decide on a policy that established the level of flooding the City should try to guard against, accepting the fact that flooding problems brought by a 100-year storm could not be prevented. He said improving and guarding against a 30-year storm could cost $40 million. Senior Engineer Chang said improving the facilities to handle 3-5-year storms would cost about $6 million. City Manager Everett said it was important for everyone to understand the situation and not have unreasonable expectations. He said staff would work to improve the situation, but "the major floods that you had in February, big storms, you are not going to be able to fix. We have to both say that and explain that to people." Senior Engineer Chang said the major problem in the 5th Avenue area was the pumping system that was designed to handle a one-year capacity. He said the transmission and collection systems are two-year systems. He said that in the Bayfront Canal area high tide does have an impact. He described the problems with the pumping system, the existing levee, the tide gates, and the mobile home parks themselves. City Manager Everett advised that staff had told the mobile home park owners numerous times that their pumping facilities were inadequate, but they had chosen to ignore the problem. He said it was a private property issue, but the owners come to - the City for help when the inevitable flooding occurs. Senior Engineer Chang described possible legal problems with only making certain improvements. He said that improving the pump station in the Bayfront Canal would require loss of units in the mobile home park. He said that the Engineering Division had the 1989/90 drawings and designs for improvements to the Bayfront Canal, including an assessment district, and 80-90% of that information could be used today. Senior Engineer Chang said if Council wished to tackle this problem the existing drawings would have to be reviewed by a consultant within a regional context. Senior Engineer Chang explained the 10-30 Year Storm Event Improvement section of the Report, which listed improvements, jurisdictional requirements, and possible costs. He described how moving the floodgates to help Redwood City property would cause flooding in Menlo Park. He summarized by describing Council's options and the resulting consequences. Public Works Services Ingram described the myriad of agencies that would be involved in storm improvement projects, and the environmental and other laws that would come impact what the City could and could not do. - ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING STUDY SESSION MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 MARCH 23,1998 MINUTES Page No. 351 PAGE 6