Utility costs in Palmer could soar

PALMER — Palmer wastewater ratepayers users could end up paying up to 47 percent more for the service by 2022, officials say.

City manager Nathan Wallace told the city council Tuesday night that if voters approved and public works officials required, a $5 million bond would go before the city council for a public hearing planned for July 26.

Officials intend to use the bond to pay for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant, after years of seasonal noncompliance with EPA ammonia regulations at the current plant, Wallace told the city council.

The bond will be issued in three stages: $2 million, then $1 million, then $2 million. Officials also intended to use the bond issuance to seek other funding sources, and said they were applying for a $1-million grant from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

If the city council votes to approve the bond package, Palmer voters will ultimately decide the matter during the Oct. 4 local elections.

Officials intend to repay the bond by increasing monthly wastewater rates. The first increase will be the largest at 19 percent in the first year, then 9.5 percent for each subsequent year until 2022. The standard household user currently pays a $25.87 monthly fee for wastewater treatment up to 500 gallons. If the rate pattern followed the information presented exactly, the same wastewater customer would pay approximately $48.47 per month for the 2022 billing period.

According to Wallace, that would still keep Palmer between Anchorage’s present rate, which is $41 per month, and Wasilla’s current rate, which is $51 per month. The increase rate would also be higher than officials had projected. A 2014 rate study had projected only 7.5 percent increases for the next three years.

Issues with ammonia have been a seasonal concern for years, Wallace said.

“Our lagoons just don’t do ammonia,” he said.

In winter months, when wastewater volume dwindles, ammonia concentrations discharged into the Matanuska River rise above federally-allowed levels. In summer months, when tourists and seasonal residents flock in and volume rises, the concentrations sink below the mark and into acceptable levels.

The city’s draft wastewater treatment facility plan calls for the construction of a moving-bed bioreactor, which will allow the plant to discharge within limits year-round. That project will cost between $12.5 million and $17.3-million, according to the draft plan.

The bond comes on the heels of a completed drinking water project last year, which Wallace said was a success.

The council also voted 5-0 (Mayor DeLena Johnson left the meeting shortly after it started due to an unexpected family emergency, and councilman Richard Best left during an executive session) following an executive session to authorize Nathan Wallace to seek a federal consent decree, an agreement in legal or administrative proceedings allowing the resolution without an admission of liability or criminal guilt. The city has been in talks with the US Environmental Protection Agency about the ammonia emissions at the wastewater treatment plant for months, though council discussion about it is usually conducted in executive session.

Council members said they would like more information before making a decision about the matter. Including a two-page report by Wallace, which was not included in the original packet.

The lone commenter during Tuesday’s public hearing was public meeting fixture Eugene Haberman, who complained about the absence of public information about the measure.

“You’re basically putting something on the ballot with no substantial information explaining the reason for it, the need for it,” he said. “If I went to my father … and said I need $2,000, you need to employ a reason and be specific, and it’s got to be a good reason to be asking for it.”

The draft wastewater treatment plan is available on the Palmer city web site at http://www.cityofpalmer.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={3629CA9D-F5FF-40F5-8D1C-EC51C39D59B1}.

City officials planned to make a hard copy available in the council chambers for public review and comment. An open house for the wastewater plant is planned for July 21, Wallace said.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.