Mitchell City Council talk adding stormwater fee, increase to tap fees in public hearing
MITCHELL — In the first of two scheduled public hearings, the Mitchell City Council discussed the potential of increases to the city’s water and sewer tap fees, as well as the implementation of a monthly stormwater fee for residents.
The reason for the potential addition of a stormwater fee would be to help the city in applying for grants that could be used for large projects that would improve the city’s stormwater infrastructure, as well as to fund repairs and minor improvements, outside of the larger projects.
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Currently, there are flooding issues in areas of Mitchell during periods of rainfall, due to a lack of stormwater drainage. Additionally, stormwater is making its way to the wastewater treatment facility, unnecessarily utilizing the city’s resources.
According to Mitchell Mayor JD England, the city previously applied for three state grants to help with this issue but were denied each time because they did not have a stormwater fee.
The city would be eligible for a maximum of $600,000 in grants through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. As of now, the exact cost of the project is unknown.
A study was conducted in 2017 which identified problematic areas contributing to the stormwater drainage issues throughout Mitchell, with a total bill around $2.3 million quoted for the necessary improvements. With current levels of inflation, England estimates the cost of the projects today would total around $4.6 million or double the previous estimate.
If the city is denied grants again in the future, Mitchell Clerk Mark Bryant said they could potentially spend from built up reserve funds or utilize a bond to cover some of the repair costs.
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The council did not decide upon an amount for the stormwater fee, should it be implemented. The possibility of a flat fee for residents and a progressive fee for commercial lots, based on the size of their buildings and parking lots was discussed as a possibility.
The topic will be further discussed at next week’s second public hearing on these topics, scheduled for June 28, 7 p.m. at city hall.
Sewer and water tap fees
Increases to Mitchell’s water and sewer tap fees were also discussed at the meeting Tuesday evening. The current water tap fee is $350 and the sewer tap fee is $250.
At the current water and sewer tap rates, the city of Mitchell is not able to cover the costs of setting up the utility services at new residences, England explained to the council.
Mitchell Water and Sewer Superintendent Tyler Duncan recommended increasing the tap fees to at least $875 for water and $350 for the sewer, as those are more in-line with what it costs the city to complete the job, England said.
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When a new home connects to Mitchell’s sewer tap, the homeowner is required to do any digging to connect to the tap. For the water tap connections, the city covers costs of digging, including materials and an estimated five hours of labor.
England told the council that he would work with Duncan before the next session to gather costs of recent tap connection jobs completed by the city to obtain an average cost that can be used to determine fees, with the goal being for the city to break even on such jobs.
Noah Dalton is a reporter in Bedford, IN. He can be reached at ndalton@tmnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Mitchell City Council discuss fee additions and increases with public
