Great Bend City Council meeting at a glance
Here is a quick look at what the Great Bend City Council did Tuesday night:
• Approved revised water and sewer rate ordinances, increasing the cost for these utility services.
• Approved a land lease at the Great Bend Municipal Airport.
Spray Bothers LLC. has requested the lease on one acre of land at the Great Bend Municipal Airport for the purpose of erecting an aircraft hangar, City Attorney Bob Suelter said. The lease will be for a period of 20 years with a lease payment for the land set at $2,400 per year for the first year and the city’s ability to increase the lease by 6% each year over the 20 year period.
The building will remain under the ownership of Spray Brothers which will be responsible for paying taxes levied on the leased real estate and the building, Suelter said. At the end of 20 years, the lease can be renewed on a price to be renegotiated then.
If negotiations are not successful, the building will be removed, or the city can purchase it if a negotiated price can be reached.
• Hear a report from City Administrator Kendal Francis. He covered the impacts COVID-19 has had on city staffing.
• Heard an economic development report from Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden. She focused on her first month on the job and making contacts in the community.
• Approved a tree trimmer license for Brandon Tree Service of Great Bend.
• Approved abatements at: 2019 Holland, Accumulation of Trash/Refuse, Felicity Ann Sharee Chisim; 805 Morton Accumulation of Trash/Refuse, Jennifer Trevino; 2421 12th, Accumulation of Trash/Refuse, John Melton; 2540 8th, Accumulation of Trash/Refuse, Donald and Mary Matthews; 514 17th, Accumulation of Trash/Refuse, WHB Inc.; and 1101 Morphy, Accumulation of Trash/Refuse, Lazaro and Yolanda Guerra.
Great Bend water and sewer customers will have to pay more for those services after the City Council Tuesday night OKed utility rate hikes that will go into effect Oct. 1.
Approved was a 22% increase for water with an additional 3% per year for the next four years. The sewer hike is 33% with the same four-year adjustment.
After discussing the matter at the Aug. 17 meeting, the council agreed, but wanted to allow more time to inform residents of pending changes. It was again taken up Tuesday (the meeting was moved from Monday to Tuesday due to Labor Day).
The council has returned to meetings closed to the public (except for the live stream) due to COVID-19.
The initial intention was to sunset the annual increases after five years, but City Administrator Kendal Francis asked if the council would want to “continue them indefinitely.”
“It makes sense to me,” Councilman Barry Bowers said of keeping the annual hikes in place. “It’s not going to get any cheaper.”
Councilman Cory Urban said that if the increases stop, “we are going to be right back in the same place we are now.” The five years will get the city caught up, but after that, the cycle will repeat itself.
“I see both sides of it,” Mayor Cody Schmidt said. Although he backed the continual increases, he thought it should be revisited in three or four years just to keep the public informed.
But, there was still some reticence on the council to keep raising rates in perpetuity.
In the end, a motion from Councilwoman Jolene Biggs to approve the hikes without a sunset passed 4-3. Voting for it were Biggs, Urban, Bowers and Dana Dawson, and voting against were Brock McPherson, Junior Welsch and Lindsey Krom-Craven.
A closer look at the increases
In the spring, the city hired Ranson Financial of Wichita to perform a third-party analysis of the utility rates. Looking at the results, Francis said changes had to be made. The study revealed that if rates were not addressed, expenditures would exceed revenues by $2.25 million in water and $4.25 million in sewer by 2025.
Here is a break down of the increases for both water and sewer usage rates:
• Water (commercial and residential) – increase 22% from $2.54 per 1,000 gallons to $3.10 per 1,000 gallons, and then 3% each October for next five years.
• Water (hospitals, schools and nursing homes) – $3.10 per one thousand gallons for the first 20,000 gallons billed per month. Thereafter, $1.56 for each 1,000 gallons billed per month.
The base rates for water range from $12.35 per month to $18.91 depending on the size of the meter, which vary from 5/8 inch to six inches. These will also increase each October for next five years.
• Sewer – increase 33% from $3.80 per 1,000 gallons to $5.05 per 1,000 gallons, and then 3.5% each October for next five years.
The base rate for sewer will be $10.03 per month. And, this will increase 3.5% annually for five years.
Some on the council said they have heard from constituents that this would be a financial hardship, especially for those on a fixed income.
But, the systems have been falling behind for the past couple of years, Francis said. The city has tapped reserves to make up the shortfalls, but those will be zeroed out in about three years.
The increases are also needed to needed repairs and upgrades can be made to system, Francis said.
Water rates were last raised in 2017, and sewer rates in 2014.
Another issue
Further review of the rates also revealed that, for unknown reasons, neither the water meter charges nor usage rates for customers in the Westport Addition, which includes the Great Bend Municipal Airport and Industrial Park areas, had not been adjusted since at least 1975. As a result, the usage rates are significantly lower for those customers.
In fact, the city is selling it for less than it costs us to produce it. By ordinance, the rates are 60 cents (customers are actually paying 63 cents) per 1,000 gallons while the city’s cost of producing 1 ,000 gallons of water is $1.11.
“Obviously, it was a city error that got us to this point,” Francis said. So, they want to ease these customers, some of whom use 500,000 to 1 million gallons per month, up to the same level as other Great Bend customers.
Therefore, the city developed a plan to incrementally adjust water rates for Westport Addition customers that will bring them in line with all other users by the year 2024.
So, water rates will range from $1.11 down to 56 cents per 1,000 gallons (with larger volume customers paying less) this year. These will increase to a range of $3.59 down to $1.80 by 2025.
Water base rates here will be the same as the rest of the city and will be adjusted the same as well.
For sewer rates in Westport, the charge shall be the base charge plus $5.05 per 1,000 gallons of water, increasing 3.5% each year on Oct. 1 through 2025.
The base rate is also the same as the rest of Great Bend.
This was approved along with the other increases with the same stipulations.
The city has owned the water system for the city proper since the 1980s. But, it has maintained the Westport system since the property was turned over to the city by the U.S. government (it was developed as an Army airbase during WW II to train B-29 bomber crews but given to the city after the war).
