CROWN POINT | City residents could see the wastewater portion of their utility bills increase by 61 percent in the next few months.
For a residence using 3,000 gallons of water, that means an increase of $7.19, from $11.79 to $18.98, city financial adviser Greg Guerrettaz said. A residence using 4,000 gallons will see an increase of $9.59, from $15.72 to $25.31.
The City Council unanimously passed the ordinance on first reading. A public hearing on the increase is scheduled for the next council meeting at 7 p.m. April 6 in council chambers of City Hall, 101 N. East St.
The increase is necessary, in part, because the city has lost $1.1 million in sewer tap-in fees due to fewer buildings connecting to the city's system, Guerrettaz said.
"Just like any household, you can't pay the mortgage when you lose $1.1 million," he said. "Good, solid growth had been helping support this community. I have said if it stopped or slowed down we would need a rate increase."
Also at issue is a $35 million clean water mandate from the state that the city must begin tackling in a few years.
Councilman Bob Clemons asked Mayor David Uran about proposed city projects in light of the need for the wastewater utility increase.
Uran said he realized Clemons was talking about a proposed sportsplex and plans for a new police and fire station.
"We may have to reprioritize things," Uran said. "We're not growing."
In other business, numerous people in the standing room-only audience made it clear they were there to hear discussion about apartments proposed for the southeast corner of Summit Street and Broadway, even though the issue wasn't on the council agenda.
Eight opponents spoke against the proposed development, The Preserve at Beacon Hill, valued at $81.9 million. It is set to include 572 apartments, 34,300 square feet of retail space and two commercial outlots adjacent to the Beacon Hill shopping center.
Uran asked the crowd how many people were opposed to the development, and most raised their hands. He then asked how many people had seen the project in its entirety, and all the hands went down.
Uran said the city will be hosting a series of five informal forums to make sure residents have all the facts about the project. He said the dates for those forums will be released in the next few days.
"There was a flier out there that had a lot of misinformation. We want residents to get the facts versus the fears," Uran said.
He said after the next 30 days, if the public's sentiment about the development is the same, he will support that sentiment.
