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Study's focus will be West Jeff water and sewer finances
(by Sandi Latimer, staff writer - February 03, 2010)
Effective with the March billing cycle, West Jefferson residents will pay a $1 monthly surcharge for water and the same for sewer.
The new surcharge is intended to help offset the rising administrative costs for the department. Village council passed the measure in a 5-2 vote Feb. 1. Council members Doug Eakins and Sheila Nelson cast the “no” votes.
Nelson didn’t want to ask more from residents financially when there are “so many people without jobs.” Eakins said the flat surcharge isn’t fair to all users.
“It’s $2 for each user regardless of how much water you use,” he said. “I would think those who use more would pay more.”
Eakins also expressed concern about the water and sewer department’s financial status overall. The surcharges will bring in an estimated $38,000 combined for the year for administrative costs. Much more money is needed for maintenance and repairs, he said.
“This is a Band-Aid approach,” he said. “If you’re bleeding with legs cut off, you don’t put a Band-Aid on it.”
Councilman Randy Otis talked about the possibility of raising water and sewer rates. The last increase was in 2008.
To determine what direction to take with the department and its rates, council asked Public Service Director Harold Walker to conduct a study of costs and projected revenues. Councilman Cory Coburn asked that it include information about the effect Battelle’s expansion, once its fully operational, would have on the department.
Walker said he hopes to commission an independent company to perform the study and have it ready for council in a couple of months.
Walker did an in-house study several years ago and recommended a series of rate hikes that added up to 41 percent. As a result, the village raised rates 10 percent in 2007, the first increase enacted in 16 years. The village raised rates again in 2008 by another 15 percent. The rates were to be revisited in 2009, but weren’t, Walker said.
“Nobody likes rate increases... I don’t like to see them either, but the reality is that our costs are going up and our infra-structure keeps getting older,” he said.
For example, the village had three water main breaks last month alone, he said: “We normally have six in a year.” The cost to repair a water main break is $1,000 to $1,500, depending on the equipment and manpower needed.
Additionally, at the Feb. 1 meeting, council appropriated $25,000 to the sewer operating fund for a repair project near Battelle’s property, which recently was annexed into the village. The department wanted to be sure the village sewer line Battelle is tying into can handle the research facility’s planned usage.
“What we found was not good,” Walker said. “There’s about a 200-foot section of sewer that’s deteriorated. It’s cracked, leaking, has offset joints. We couldn’t even get the camera through all of it.”
Church annexation
In other business, council adopted a resolution authorizing the village to enter into a pre-annexation agreement with Life in Christ Fellowship Church now under construction on State Route 142.
Under terms of 2007 negotiations, the church property can be annexed without tapping into village water supplies. Pastor Scott Polley said the church spent $63,000 to put in its own water, sewer and septic system. The church expects to hold its first service on March 28 (Palm Sunday).
“We want to be a part of the community,” Polley said. “We are working hard to build relationships.”
Miscellaneous
Council appointed Arnie Booth, an AmeriTech retiree, to the Planning and Zoning Commission to fill the unexpired term of Jim Miles. The term runs through January 2012.
Parks and Recreation Director Jack McDowell got the go-ahead to advertise for bids for a shelter house at Westwood Park.
Army Staff Sgt. Howard Wade Jr. of West Jefferson presented the village with a flag that flew over an air base in Iraq and a certificate that authenticates the flag’s history.
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