In summary, the article was promoted by a member of the Richard's
family, a landowner where the water system well is located, and the
article asks that the taxpayers contribute $50,000 per year to the water
system debt service and then have water users pay an additional "small"
purchase fee for water used. Presumably this fee is paid to the
landowner although the article is not clear on this point.
It goes on to say: "The entire community of the Mad River Valley
benefits from having healthy, viable business in our town center. We all
have a role to play in the success of our community. Charging a per
gallon user fee is also the best mechanism for promoting water
conservation in our community.
As background, I was appointed to the town's Water Task Force (WTF) by
the select board as the business owners' representative; I co-own
Irasville Business Park in town, a business incubator with 14 businesses
supporting 28 employees. The park has signed up for the water and the
municipal water system is a critical need in expanding our new program
to support agriculture and food value added businesses.
Three members of the Water Task Force, Ray LaRochelle, Darryl Forrest
and I, signed the petition because we wanted to encourage an open
conversation by the townspeople. The conversation should be based on
facts, and we hope the following information will be of help to the
people of Waitsfield.
The Water Task Force understands that the town is in discussions with
the landowners to seek a positive resolution beneficial to the
townspeople, the water users and the landowners. Not by choice but as a
second strategy, the town has initiated a condemnation process as a
timely downtown water system is necessary for our future. Reasonable
legal costs for condemnation are covered by the water system funding and
under state statute the process is clearly laid out and relatively
quick.
Connection to the municipal water system is voluntary and requires
property owners to choose to connect. Today over 70 property owners have
chosen to connect to the municipal water system, many of which are
multi-residential, business or combined residential and business. More
than 250 residences, businesses and other organizations will be served
by the water system; in Irasville and Waitsfield Village this amounts to
63.4 percent of existing water usage being served by the system (based
on WW permit information).
The article asks to "shift approximately 30 percent (roughly $50,000
annually) of the annual debt service cost of the municipal water
infrastructure away from the users and spread the infrastructure cost
out, to be shared by all the taxpayers. (If billed as a flat fee this
would equal roughly $30 per taxpayer, per year)."
The premise set by the select board for the bond vote in November 2008
was that the users would pay 100 percent of the cost of the municipal
water system. Debt service for the system is $147,000 per year payable
over 40 years and the operating plus maintenance is estimated at $40,000
to $50,000 per year. The town of Rochester has a similar system and has
a $40,000 budget for 2011. The Waitsfield annual fee per ERU
(Equivalent Residential Unit) is currently estimated at $850 to $890 (to
be paid quarterly). This user cost is high by Vermont standards for a
new system; traditionally all water service area users would be required
to sign up resulting in a substantially lower user fee.
The article asks to "have the water users pay a small purchase fee for
the water used, comparable to average municipal water user fees across
the state of Vermont. (Specific numbers to be presented and explained at
Town Meeting but, in the order of 0.0028 cents per gallon for
residential and tiered commercial rate starting at approximately 0.0056
cents per gallon)."
Working with the State Water Supply Division the task force has reviewed
water systems ordinances and fees from many towns in Vermont. To be
precise as to how much water the town will use is difficult given that
it is a new system, but the following information should serve as a
minimum for usage.
The average residence uses one ERU of water; the national average usage
per household/ERU is 48,000 gallons per year. Based on discussions with
the State Water Quality Division, the Water Task Force members are
estimating user usage at 40,000 to 48,000 gallons per year.
Approximately 220 ERUs are connecting to the municipal water system.
Based on existing properties in town and along the waterline, the
current maximum service would be 368 ERUs.
While we can estimate the minimum total annual user's usage between
880,000 and 1,056,000 gallons per year, the actual usage will be higher
as it does not include fire protection and leakage.
The initial fee base to users being recommended by the task force
includes an allotment of 40,000 gallons of water to each ERU, after
which the users would pay additional charges for usage over that
allotment.
As I reread the petition, two questions remained open: Is this article
the only request the landowner has and does the "purchase fee" infer
that the landowner owns the water or is this simply a metric for
compensation?
Having a viable downtown business center supports the community as a
whole, and our research confirmed that taxpayers of many Vermont towns
have agreed to pay a proportion of the debt service of municipal water
systems in order that user's charges are sustainable. It is important to
note that while approximately 125 businesses will have connections to
the water, they all pay taxes but not all have a vote.
Finally, the article states, "Voting yes will mean that the town can
avoid the dubious process of condemning 3 to 4 acres of private property
and stop further, unforeseen, lengthy, costly, legal proceedings
against the Town that could cause the Water project to Fail."
It is critical for all involved that this matter is resolved and we
believe that such a resolution should involve reasonable compensation to
the landowners.
The Water Task Force meets every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Yes, we are a
committed group. My email is
