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Show The Newspaper Thursday, April 1, 1982 Page A5 City attorney discusses water rates Editor's note: The following information on the proposed water rates was provided to The Newspaper by City Attorney At-torney Tom Clyde. Over the past week, City officials have had the opportunity oppor-tunity to discuss the proposed water rate schedule with several people, and it is obvious that they are confused about the calculation of their water bills, based on the rate table incorporated into the proposed ordinance. The common mistake was reading down the column, describing total consumption consump-tion and then multiplying that total consumption at a rate set opposite that consumption con-sumption figure. Correctly applied, the water rate graduates, so that 1,000 gallons purchased between be-tween 20,000 and 22,000 gallons costs $2.90, while 1,000 purchased between 8,000 gallons and 10,000 gallons costs only 59 cents. The rate of increase is on a curve, rather than on a straight increase. Actual water billings under the proposed rate structure are as follows: Water per month Bill Under 3,000 gal. $ 7.50 3,000 to 8,000 9.20 8,000 to 10,000 10.38 10,000 to 12,000 12.06 12,000 to 14,000 14.24 14,000 to 16,000 16.92 16,000 to 18,000 20.01 18,000 to 20,000 23.69 20,000 to 22,000 27.87 22,000 to 24,000 32.55 24,000 to 26,000 37.73 26,000 to 28,000 43.41 28,000 to 30,000 51.31 35,000 71.06 40,000 90.81 50,000 130.31 Even though the meters ha-e been in place for several months, most people have not taken the time to read them, and have no idea how much water they have been using in their homes and businesses. The typical home in Utah uses an average of 12,000 gallons per month. This is much lower in the winter months-something months-something like 6,000 gallons, and much higher in the summer months when the typical one-half to one-third one-third acrp' lot, is being irrigated. Usage during the summer months with heavy irrigation tends to peak at 30,000 to 35,000 gallons. Our homes in Park City are not really the typical Utah households; there are Minor injuries reported in Peterson fire A Tuesday evening fire at the Jan Peterson home on Old Ranch Road resulted in extensive smoke damage, although fire damage itself was confined to the basement base-ment and kitchen. The 5:35 p.m. call brought a total of five engines, the first came from the Park-West Park-West sub-station, followed by two from Park City and one each from Summit Park and Deer Valley. According to John Craigle, spokesman for the Park City Fire Protection District, thick smoke throughout the home brought visibility to near-zero and made if difficult diffi-cult to determine the location loca-tion of the blaze. The source of the fire eventual was located in a basement utility room where the blaze had spread up a wall into the kitchen on the first floor. Firefighters also were hampered by dry hydrants along Old Ranch Road, Craigle said. Each engine carries a tank of water which - ' ' : CkitiaWfye Restaurant Open Mott, thru Fri, 11:30 a " ' SM. Sun. Egg T oat 1 extremely small lots in Old Town where use would be more like the use in apartment apart-ment houses, and some very large lots in other areas where the use for irrigation may be much larger than the state average. We have a number of homes in Park City that are used for recreation purposes only, and therefore, stand vacant through some periods of the year. Irrigation uses on these homes may be fairly typical of the state average, but inside use would vary significantly from a typical usage curve for the state as a whole. We are also at a much higher elevation, and therefore need less water for irrigation than people living in Salt Lake County or very hot areas like St. George that may have a similar vacancy pattern to ours. We have meter readings for November of 1981, but no other month. Unfortunately, November is not an irrigation month, so these figures will only be reliable for inside use. All of the examples for residential use are full-time residents who are thought to be fairly typical of the neighborhood they live in. The business uses were also thought to be fairly typical of the businesses they represent. We feel that these examples may be helpful in showing people what their approximate ap-proximate water bills under the proposed rate increase would be: Old Town House No. 1 used 3,360 gallons in November Nov-ember of 1981. The total bill would be $7.84. This house is occupied by a couple with no children living at home. Old Town House No. 2 used 10,116 gallons for a total bill of $11.22. This house is occupied by a widow who lives alone. The unusually high water consumption in this house suggests the plumbing on the resident side of the meter is leaking and in a bad state of repair. Park Meadows House No. 1 used 5,640 gallons for a total bill of $8.52. This , house is occupied, , by a family of four. , , a. ,. Park,,. Meadows House No. 2 used 3,612 gallons for a total bill of $7.84. This house is occupied by a retired couple. Main Street Restaurant No. 1 used 18,228 gallons for a total bill of $21.60. is good for only a few minutes, he said, after which another water source is necessary. Firefighters were forced to set up a "tandem" pumping system to draw water out of a stream nearly a half mile away. Four engines were used in a chain, one pumping to the next to retain pressure. pres-sure. Valuable minutes were lost in setting up the pumping pump-ing system, it was noted. All of the home's occupants occu-pants were safely evacuated, but two puppies out of a new litter of six were apparently lost in the fire, Craigle said. In addition, several firefighters fire-fighters sustained minor injuries. in-juries. A floor collapsed under two firemen, resulting in a bruised hip and a twisted knee. One suffered smoke inhalation, and there were minor bruises and cuts. Thirty-four firemen spent 142 man-hours on the scene. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, as is the hydrant situation in the area, said Craigle. 7 days week, 7 days week, f 11.00 p.ra, .3:001011:00 m, -1 LUNCH SPECIAL Monday - Friday 11:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m. Roll, Chicken Chow Mein, Pork Fried Rice $2.95 v!bbfe mini feottk mvkMs;. This restaurant was open for lunch during the period we covered by the meter readings, but did not have a bar or club. Main Street Restaurant No. 2 used 30,000 gallons for a total bill of $51.31. This restaurant was not open for lunch, but has a bar within the restaurant and slightly larger floor space. Main Street Bar used 69,636 gallons for a total bill of $209.31. This is one of the larger bars on Main Street but not the largest. The fact that consumption con-sumption is more than double that of Restaurant No. 2 suggests bad plumbing plumb-ing within the bar. Again, these are November Novem-ber figures. Outside use would be a very minor factor. fac-tor. Larger installations have larger meters and will be billed at a rate which also allows for the higher base consumption through those meters. The variations in use among these larger meters are too great for any example to be of valid comparison com-parison for the use of those larger users. Those larger users are welcome to come to City Hall and discuss how the rate increase will affect them. At the first public hearing on the water rate ordinance, there were several people who testified that 3,000 gallons a month was not a reasonable base figure. The examples show two households in different parts of town that each used only Commission questions porno mall proposal The Planning Commission met last Wednesday on a proposed mall development which would feature prostitution, prosti-tution, gambling, hard drugs, pornographic magazines and movies, and kinky sex. The project, called Park City Perversions, ran into trouble from commissioners, however, because of problems prob-lems with signage and roof length. V Developer Jock Paveit argued that his project, located at the junction of U-224 and U-248, would concentrate all the red-light businesses in one area. "I don't like that stuff personally, personal-ly, but there's a demand for it," he said. He also asked the commission to zone the area as RX Recreational Obscene. But Commissioner Bill Mammoth said the project's mass was too large. "You've got a problem with that unbroken 150-foot roofline. And just because you put a pair of giant neon breasts halfway across it, doesn't mean it qualifies as a significant break in the facade." Said Commissioner David Rustyson: "I'm not a pimp myself, so maybe you know more about this than I do. But it seems to me that you'd want to put this business in an area that isn't so public I mean, not right there by the highways. You're liable to have a lot of accidents from people driving by there." City Planner Bill Ligety-split Ligety-split pointed out that the material for the signs is a problem. "For the main sign, and for the smaller lighted one that says, 'Don't KK daip.tu.xs. ths. (lountxij Sf2ixit Cowituf 'Pine. clntL)uS Hinicfuc crfccmoiUs slightly more than the base amounts and will likely produce bills during the winter win-ter months of $8 or less. Even the home occupied by the family with children used less than 6,000 gallons in that month and had a monthly charge of only $8.52. Summertime bills in Old Town should not be significantly different from the examples used above. In Park Meadows, Prospector, and Thaynes areas where the lots are larger, it would be reasonable to expect monthly bills for July and August of $50, with June and September being in the range of $30 to $40, assuming reasonable irrigation practices. prac-tices. Many of the automatic sprinkling systems on the market have a 12-hour clock which causes the sprinklers to come on twice a day for whatever interval the timer is set for. The clock tends to be left on whether it is raining or not, causing much larger water consumption than is reasonable, necessary or even healthy for the lawn. We hope to make information available from horticulture experts on proper irrigation of lawns at this elevation. Generally speaking, twice a week should be ample even during the hot summer months at this elevation. The next public hearing on the water rate ordinance is set for April 8th, and interested in-terested parties are encouraged en-couraged to attend. Wait! Get a Piece of the Action Now ! " the material is plastic, which is not allowed by our city sign ordinance," said the planner. "Also, the balcony area provided for the nude contortionist and the trained bear is back-lit, which raises a problem." However, Historic District chairman Tony Jaded said that historically, Park City's brothels often used trained animals, and so the development develop-ment might be considered' historic. "The National Registry Reg-istry usually judges these things by how good the bear is," said Jaded. Commissioner Burned-up Watts commented, "It seems to me that we shouldn't have to consider these things. Why wasn't this handled in staff review?" Ligetysplit replied that several aspects were overlooked over-looked in staff because planner Jennifer Harried kept fainting while reviewing review-ing the plans. The numerous shops planned, he said, include an accessories store called "S & M World" and a pornographic pastry store called "Cookie Bare." The meeting also heard from consultant Nolan Rosex who said the project could be classified as a PUD (Prurient (Pru-rient Use Development.) He also suggested that many transactions will be carried out in back seats in the parking lot, and said V3 of those spaces should be counted as a joint use. Planner Kevin Hoolahoop said the project plans to have only 45 percent open space, although several employees at the project will display 90 percent open space. iim ipillHll ', "''' mmmmm. liipipi li 4i mm "Ease off, Monty. Don 7 take your Commission take them in Sinka Brand instead. " -' ? ; 505 PARK AVE This three bedroom home is reasonably priced to sell with owner financing possible. Located in historical Park City on the quiet section of Park Ave. Low price $106,000 Call Madeline ' ' ill LAND CO. 649-9066 ill $r?t) Robert Young: lumps in Planning L 1 mmm. mmmmmmmm 111 lIliiiliiMlft! 1 WMlBmmmim w L. rii if. |