City changes mind on water, sewer tap fees
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Jasper's city council reversed its field when it came to residential and business tap fees as they voted to change them back to $250 and $350 after hearing complaints from local residents.

"As I see a city wanting to go forward, and we all want to go in the same direction, I would like to consider that we go back to the original prices," said Councilman Joe Clyde Adams, who motioned for the tap fees to be rolled back to $250 for residential and $350 for commercial properties. The motion was seconded by Tommy Adams.

Councilwoman Gloria Monzingo requested the item be put on the agenda after hearing from residents complaining about the tap fee increase, which was approved unanimously by council in June of 2007.

Monzingo said she compared Jasper's fees to Livingston and believed Jasper should roll back the tap fees back to $500 per tap.

"I know the city will be losing money but I think the $1,800 was too much, too soon," Monzingo said. "I think if we lower it to $500 and gradually go up on the tap fee every year."

Councilman Randy Sayers said he contacted several water districts in the area and found out they contracted out this service.

"They contract it out to two former city employees and they charge $280 for residential or commercial and materials," Sayers said. "I don't see why we couldn't do that either. When you dig a hole, you dig a hole.

"If we lose a little money on it, big deal," Sayers said. "I think we will gain much more in the future possibly."

Councilman Tommy Adams said the city needs to approach the situation by what is "best for Jasper."

"Just because the fees are higher in Lumberton doesn't mean it will work for Jasper," Adams said. "We need to do things that are best for Jasper. I didn't even know what we were charging until a few months ago."

Jasper City Manager Alan Grindstaff explained to council that the water and sewer department is an enterprise fund.

"It only survives off of the revenue that comes in by the rate payers and tap fees that come into that department to pay for operation and maintenance," Grindstaff said.

Grindstaff also reminded council of the chart he showed them showing that the city's water and sewer "went in the hole" for five years during 1994 and 2004.

"Some of those years they balanced and broke even and in some they had a little more revenue than other years," Grindstaff said. "When you put the revenue together for the past 10 years and the expenditures together for the past 10 years and we lost more than $3 million or an average of $316,000 a year.

"What we are trying to do is simply charge actual costs to the city's water and sewer funds to people that are coming into the city," Grindstaff said. "Nothing more. We are not making any money. We are just trying to get where our water and sewer fund breaks even and we are not losing any money. If you reduce the tap fees, the ones who are paying for those new people to hook up are the ratepayers and that's everyone in the city. Yes, there is an increase in property tax and sales tax for the city but that does nothing for the water and sewer fund. It does not get sales or property tax dollars."

Grindstaff said the city has not reduced construction in the city since the rate hike was announced in June of this year. He said the city averages between 18 and 24 residential tap fees a year.

In other action, council tabled any action concerning wastewater services at the BETCO development.

Local realtor Wayne Stephenson spoke on behalf of Robert Hall, who owns land near the development. Stephenson said the city is requiring 10-foot easements on Hall's property around a pressured water sewer line from the BETCO property to the city's sewer lift station.

Stephenson said if the city approved this measure it would set a "bad precedent for the city of Jasper."

Stephenson said the measure would require a private landowner to enter in a joint conveyance of land rights to be used as utility easements and also require BETCO to be responsible for the future maintenance of the utility lines beyond the boundary of the private property.

Grindstaff said this is the normal practice for many area building sewer lines. He pointed out that Village Walk Apartments are responsible from their complex to the lift station, the city takes over responsibility after that.

"BETCO is building those apartments and council approved them to get special low interest funding," Grindstaff said. "But this line is not one that other entities can connect to. It is a pressured line from their lift station to the treatment plan and connecting to a line that would be gravity-fed. No one else would be allowed to tie into that line.

"If the city took over maintenance of that line, we could do it but we would be taking control over a line that solely services those apartments and no one else in the city," Grindstaff said.

He said entities such as Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Pineview Apartments and Village Walk Apartments are responsible for their own lines.

"Yes, they don't go as far but they connect to a city main and we take control at that main," Grindstaff said. "It will just serve the 71 families in that complex."

Tres Davis, vice president of BETCO Development, met with Jasper County Commissioners Monday, Nov. 19 to discuss the $8.5 million dollar project that will be located at 201 Premier Drive.

Davis told commissioners that the city of Jasper has told BETCO they must put in and maintain their own sewer line and that would require easements. He told commissioners that he has never heard of this sort of operation from a city.

"In my opinion, it's a little bit shortsighted," Davis said.