Stormwater rates adopted

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council voted preliminary approval of implementing a stormwater utility rate.

The ordinance was passed on the first reading Tuesday night and it takes two readings of the ordinance before it’s finalized.

With a 4-3 vote, council opted for a plan charging $4 per month to individual residences to fund the federally mandated stormwater treatment plan. The plan requires the city treat water before it enters the lake and also requires cleaning methods such as street sweeping to clear catch basins of debris. It is expected to cost roughly $650,000 annually for the city to run the program, purchase equipment and hire employees. The city received $50,000 in federal grant money to begin the program.

The fee will appear on utility bills.

The fee for commercial property ranges from $4 per month to $124 per month. The fee is based upon how much impervious surface the lot contains.

Impervious surfaces are areas where water does not filter effectively, such as roofs, pools, concrete and gravel.

The $4 residential rate is based upon the average amount of impervious surface per lot. City staff calculated an average of 4,000 square feet.

The commercial rate of $4 is for lots with up to 6,000 square feet of imperious surface, according to a city document. It will cost $8 for lots with more than 6,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet. A fee schedule increases with larger sizes up to lots with more than 240,000 square feet of impervious surface being charged $124 per month.

Previously the council considered charging $3 per month to residential properties with a commercial rate ranging from $3 to $200 per month.

Councilmember Richard Pearce motioned and voted for the $4 rate because it reduced the amount of financial burden to commercial properties somewhat.

Councilmember Dick Deane seconded the motion.

Pearce, Deane, Mayor Ron Covey and Councilmember Jon Lane voted for the ordinance.

Councilmembers Brent Reese, James Liebrecht and Bill Ecret voted against the ordinance.

Covey said he would lobby in the community to increase the residential rate to $5 per month to further close the gap between residential and commercial payments in an effort for fairness.

Liebrecht said the most fair way to fund the plan is to use money from the general fund. He said he would like to see information on how the commercial rates can be lowered if the residential rates are increased to $6 or $7 per month.

Lane said he did not think the commercial property owners should have to bare the brunt of the cost of the program but believed they may have found the most fair way to implement a program to fund the mandate.

“We can’t impose a tax. We don’t have legislative authority to do that,” he said. “We have limited resources to increase our general fund. We’d have to cut something. I don’t know what other options we have.”

Liebrecht said he is concerned the commercial fee could deter businesses from coming to Moses Lake.

“I don’t think this is the route to go,” he said. “I think that if we vote this way, it’s a big mistake.”

Covey said he was also concerned and questioned if the highest fee, $124 per month, could deter businesses from locating in Moses Lake.

City staff advised they did not think it would deter businesses because many other cities in the state already have fees in place or will soon. Many of the fees are much higher than what is discussed in Moses Lake.

Reese said he would rather see the residential rate increased to $5 per month to bridge the funding gap between residential and commercial rates.

City Manager Joe Gavinski said there is no set date to begin charging for the stormwater utility. He explained if the council passes the ordinance on the second reading, it could be months before it is implemented.