Officials expected to act on user rate impact at Jan. 19 council meeting
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
After a year marked with study, debate and analysis, Whitewater officials are entering 2016 with a plan in motion to allocate $20.7 million toward upgrading the city’s wastewater treatment facility.
After a spirited debate Dec. 15, the Common Council, on a 5-2 vote, agreed to move forward with the upgrade plan, which is expected to result in a sizable user rate increase as 2016 gets underway.
One of the more intriguing aspects of the upgrade plan — allowing outside waste to be processed at the wastewater plant’s biodigester facility — has been placed on the backburner, but is not completely off the table.
During the recent discussion, which included analysis from outside consulting firm Donohue and Associates, council members collectively asserted there was not enough information provided to make an informed decision on the outside waste plan.
In discussions of about two years ago, the outside waste plan was touted as an income generator that could offset some of costs associated with the upgrades to the treatment plant.
For their part, representatives of Donohue and Associates sought bids for the actual construction of the treatment plant. Throughout discussions, the consulting firm asserted the work would hover around the $21 million mark, and the range of bids backed up the projection.
The range of construction bids spanned from $20.72 million on the low end to $22.61 million on the high end. Nathan Cassity, an engineer with Donohue and Associates described the bidders as “a close grouping.”
One of the largest sticking points in the upgrades is the sheer cost of the project and the trickle-down impact it will have on user rates in the new year. Specific rate increases will be revealed and acted on at the council’s next meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19.
“The development of the formal rate package cannot be completed until the scope of the construction is clearly defined,” Tim Reel, Whitewater’s wastewater superintendent, said as the council’s discussion on the specificity of the project got underway.
With firm guidelines for the work now in place, Reel and consultants will hammer together a comprehensive spending plan, which will follow a series of federal guidelines.
“The utility upgrade is being finances through the Clean Water Fund program, which is a federal program administered by the state,” Reel said. “Rates will be developed in order to make necessary payments on the loan over a 20-year period.”
While the rate specifics are not known at this time, they are expected to be noticeable to utility payers. Estimates have revealed the jump, in the year ahead, could go from about $30 per month for the average user to about $45 per month.
Council members voting in favor of the spending plan were Lynn Binnie, Chris Grady, Ken Kidd, Patrick Singer and Patrick Wellnitz. The dissenters were council members Stephanie Abbot and James Langnes III.
