DECATUR -- The meeting room at Decatur City Hall was full Sept. 19 as the city council held a public hearing to receive feedback from Decatur residents and businesses concerning the proposed wastewater rate increase.
The ordinance went on public display at city hall Sept. 19 and was published in the Westside Eagle Observer.
"The purpose of this public hearing is to allow citizens to voice their views concerning the ordinance to raise the wastewater rates for the city of Decatur," said Bob Tharp, mayor of Decatur.
During the Sept. 19 regular city council meeting, Tharp and James Boston, director of public works, presented information to the city council on the need for the hike.
"The rate hikes would be necessary to aid in refinancing some of the city's past bond issues at a lower interest rate," said Tharp, "and to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant."
The city has four wastewater bonds on the books. These bonds were issued in 2008, 2009, 2010, and a recent one in 2014. The 2008 and 2010 bonds were issued to pay for the construction of the current wastewater treatment facility near Austin Ave. in Decatur.
The 2014 bond was used to purchase the new Actiflo system to upgrade the Decatur wastewater treatment plant. The 2009 bond was issued through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to pay for additional building costs that occurred during the construction of the plant. Both the ANRC and Actiflow bonds are ineligible for the refinancing program.
The city is looking to refinance the 2008 and 2010 bonds in an effort to save money. If the bonds are refinanced, the savings to the city over the lifetime of the loans will be between $700,00 to $800,000.
Once the rate increase is in place and the refinancing complete, the city can upgrade the plant to handle future flow-rate increases.
Some in the community see the plan as rushing into something that is not needed at this time. John Elrod, who represents Simmons Foods, one of Decatur's biggest customers, asked city officials to rethink their plans for the rate increase and plant upgrades.
"We are here, as diplomatically as possible, to suggest to you that there is no emergency, that there is time to plan and, more importantly, there is time for you and your people to sit down with Simmons Foods and look the whole thing through," Elrod said. "This is our request."
Michael Moyers, a municipal finance bond counselor with Friday, Eldredge and Clark, and Bob Wright, the senior managing director with Crews and Associates in Fayetteville, have been working with Decatur on bonds since 2008. They both clarified the status of the current bonds and what the city needs to do to keep them in compliance with state regulations.
Wright believes the city and its citizens and corporate customers will benefit from the rate increase and the benefits it offers.
"This is a very difficult decision for the council to make. Anytime you have to raise rates to the citizens, that's not an easy chore but you are being good stewards to your citizen's money," said Wright. "If you can save $700,000 or so for the citizens and take care of that plant, that takes care of our citizens, Centerton and Simmons."
Over the past three months, the treatment plant has gone out of compliance with state and federal regulatory agencies. In that time, Tharp, together with Boston, Wright, Moyers, the city of Centerton and Simmons have worked together to resolve the issues and get the plant back in compliance.
"Bottom line is when we discharge water into Spavinaw Creek, we have to get it right. We know we are struggling and the plant is struggling," Tharp said. " No matter what has been said or done, I hear lots of opportunities to save money that will go against these bonds."
The city of Centerton approved the addendum to the contract between Decatur and Centerton for the rate increase during its Sept. 20 meeting at Centerton City Hall.
The city of Decatur will hold another public hearing on the wastewater rate increase Oct. 10, at 5:30 p.m., in the meeting room at city hall. The public is invited to attend this meeting. Anyone who wishes to address the council during the meeting will have five minutes to do so. After the public hearing, the Decatur city council will go into its regular monthly session, beginning at 6 p.m.
For more information on the public hearing or the city council meeting, call the Decatur city office at 479-752-3912.
General News on 10/05/2016