Rate hike draws fire

WASILLA -- A hike in monthly water and sewer bills is too much and for the wrong reason, Wasilla residents recently told the city.

During Monday's Wasilla City Council meeting, a half dozen property owners testified against a proposed rate increase that the city says will help pay for the construction of the new Bumpus water reservoir and extensions of the city's main water and sewer lines.

The change would bump many homeowners' monthly water bill from around $15 to about $25, and sewer from $22 to nearly $30, for a combined rate increase of more than 45 percent. Not only is this simply too much to pay, speakers said, but they argued they won't see any benefits from the investment.

"I don't want to see my rates go up to expand into other areas," Wasilla property owner Cindy Bettine told the council. She said she supports broadening the city's infrastructure, but she said the new users who directly benefit from the expansion should be picking up the bill.

In addition to building the million-gallon, above-ground reservoir tank in the Bumpus recreation area, the city is extending the water main to the Bumpus reservoir on Knik-Goose Bay Road and to the site of the city's multi-use sports complex, to be built on South Church Road.

"We might even be some of those users and then we would be happy to pay," Bettine said. She and others who testified said they already paid their hook-up fees for the system they tapped into and they shouldn't have to pay more each month just so others can get water and sewer service.

"Now we're being asked to buy another system," Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny said. "The last guy who joins gets the free ride."

Kilkenny also questioned the extension of the water main to South Church Road, where Wasilla is building a $15-million sports arena.

"That facility is sucking up every dollar we've got," she said.

Others who spoke weren't as angry about how the money might be used as they were alarmed by the rate of the increase.

Contrary to the percent increases quoted in a recent Frontiersman article, Wasilla resident Bob Olson pointed out that the fee hikes would actually translate into a more than 60-percent increase in monthly water bills for most homeowners and more than 30 percent for sewer.

"It's absolutely outrageous," Olson said.

Property owners who use more water fare better under the proposed changes -- the combined water and sewer bill for a large commercial business that uses more than 250,000 gallons per month would increase by about 20 percent according to the proposal, from $1,900 to $2,285.

At least one speaker argued Wasilla residents shouldn't have to pay for their water at all. In the longest and perhaps most passionate testimony of the night, 84-year-old Charles Nevada told the council that if the cities and borough worked together and used a gravity-fed water system from the Hatcher Pass area they could save considerable money.

"The good Lord puts the snow up there. He puts the water up there," Nevada told the council.

Nevada pointed out that until the city developed its water system, people could simply drill wells and access the water table.

"My question to you is -- Do you own that water? No, Ma'am," Nevada addressed Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller. "The good Lord does … I'm paying for water. I'm paying for sewer. Why?"

Following the testimony Monday night, the Wasilla City Council did not vote on the proposed changes but rather extended the public hearing to the next regular meeting, slated for 7 p.m. Monday, May 12. Copies of the ordinances will be available at the meeting.