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Show City to Activate Water Meters in April, Readings Should Mean Higher Bills Most of Park City's residential residen-tial and commercial water users are likely to notice a change in their water bills beginning with their May monthly-statements. For two years the City has been laborously installing meters on water lines supplying residences and businesses, and in April, crews will begin ta) ii'g readings. That means c- users in the future will V t.'?'-ged for the amount of water ;ney use rather than just a flat $5 monthly fee as in the past. A public hearing has been se1 for Thursday, March 18 at 5 p.m. in the Memorial Building to discuss a propos ed rate structure on which future consumer water bills will be based. A current proposal by Community Consultants, a Salt Lake water engineering firm, calls for residential and commercial users alike to pav a minimum $7.50 monthly month-ly 'fee for 3,000 gallons of water. Users will then be charged a unit price for whatever they use above that amount. The price per unit is based on an escalating scale so the more water used the greater the unit price. City Manager Arlene Loble said the rates were structured in that fashion to encourage water conservation. Consultants has recommended recommend-ed substantial increases in water connection fees charged charg-ed new construction. The proposed connection fees are based on the size of the meter or line going into the project. The recommendations recommendat-ions call for the connection fee for a single family home with a 58 to 34 inch meter size to increase from $600 to $1,500; multi-family with a 1 inch meter would go from $400 to $2,000; a hotel with one bedroom units with a 1 12 inch meter would go from $200 to $2,500; commercial com-mercial space with a 2 inch meter would pay a connection connect-ion fee equal to $3,000 while previously they were charged charg-ed only $200 per 1,000 sq. ft., and non-inhabitable space like parking garages would pay $6,000 with a 6 inch meter. They were previously charged 25 cents per sq. ft. City Manager Arlene Loble said the entire revised rate structure is designed to generate $900,000 annually for the City which will make the Water Department self-sufficient. self-sufficient. She added new-construction new-construction will still have to pay a water development fee on top of a connection fee. "The water development fee," she explained, "covers the additional impact of a new unit on the City's water supply, while the connection fee covers a portion of the cost of the City's water delivery system," she said. "The monthly water rates are to cover the cost of maintaining the water deli- . very system and the administration admini-stration of the Water Department Depart-ment including billing costs," she added. Loble admitted the City is making it "very expensive" to build in Park City but added, "it's the only way to insure new construction or development pays its own way for the impact it has on existing city services." The City will continue to offer a substantial break in water rales to senior citizens. In the survey prepared by community consultants there are several proposed rate structures. The low range calls for a fee of 24 cents for each 1,000 gallons used between 3.000 and 8,000 gallons. After that the rate per thousands goes up in 35 cent increments for each additional 2.000 gallons used. For instance if 10,000 gallons are used, the user would pay $7.50 for 3,000 gallons, plus an additional 24 cents per 1,000 gallons used up to 8.000 or $1.20 (5 X 24 cents). Additionally the user would pay 59 cents per 1,000 gallons used above 8,000 or $1.18 (2X59 cents). The total bill for the 10,000 gallon user would be $9.88 per month ($7.50 plus$1.20plus $1.18). The escalating scale tops out at 30,000 gallons after which users would pay $4.44 for each 1,000 gallons used. The high end of the scale proposed by Community Consultants calls for a charge of 83 cents for each 1.000 gallons used between 3.000 and 8.000 with the cost per 1.000 gallons increasing in 18 cem increments in 2.000 gallon intervals after that. The low end scale is more punitive to the heavy user than the high end because the cost goes up in greater increments. According to the low end scale, a single family residence resi-dence in old town with a 1,200 sq. foot lawn would pay an estimated water bill of $101.48 per year if two persons occupy the residence and $138.98 with four. (The figures are based on estimates esti-mates prepared by Community Commu-nity Consultants). On the other hand, according accord-ing to the low end scale, a single family residence in Park Meadows with 8,000 sq. ft. of lawn would pay an estimated water bill of $363.96 per year if occupied by two persons and $490.40 with four. According to the high end scale a single family residence resi-dence in old town would pay $125.58 with two persons and $187.26 with four. The Park Meadows user would pay $332.64 for two persons and $440.22 for four. The Park Meadows user pays less under the high end of the scale because its rate structure struc-ture is less punitive to heavy users. There are also estimates esti-mates for condominium residents resi-dents who pay a shared portion of lawn maintenance. There are several other rate structures proposed which fall somewhere between the low and high end scales which will be discussed at the public hearing. Additionally, Community |