Divided KMUD opts for lower septic fee
The fee covers the amount charged to customers in and out of the district.
Three of the KMUD customers are based in Kingsland, three others in Marble Falls, one in Bertram and one in Tow, officials said.
KMUD President Mary Ann Hefner, Vice President Larry Denney and Director Chuck Henicke voted to lower the fee, while Secretary-Treasurer Frank Willingham and Director Lorean Sindelar voted against the change during the Monday meeting.
Days before Fiscal Year 2008-2009 began Oct.1, the KMUD board approved a fee hike from $11.05 to $11.60 for each 100 gallons of wastewater received at the facility, based on the assumption that each truck arrived at the facility with a full tank of wastewater.
“I felt the increase from $11.05 to $11.60 was a modest increase,” Sindelar told The Daily Tribune.
However, Henicke, former KMUD general manager Jeff Koska and acting general manager Paul D. O’Brian received negative feedback about the increase from customers earlier this month.
The customers said they can send tanks to another treatment facility in Round Rock and pay $4.50 per 100 gallons or to a facility in Austin and pay $6 per 100 gallons of wastewater, some customers said.
Frequently, customers added, the trucks cannot haul full tanks to the KMUD facility, because the tanks are equipped with a safety valve that prevents loading wastewater at full volume.
Also, after the trucks stop to empty outdoor toilets on a contracted schedule, they have no choice but to deliver partially loaded tanks to the KMUD facility, other customers said. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality does not permit transferring tanks of wastewater from one truck to another, and the commission requires permits for additional tanks, customers said.
“One hauler has indicated he will not return to KMUD because of the volume charge, and another indicated our new rate ($11.60 per 100 gallons at full volume) may cause him to get out of the business,” Henicke told the KMUD board.
After much discussion, the board voted to lower the fee to $8.25 per 100 gallons and “eliminate the full-volume basis of charging” effective immediately, retroactive to Oct. 1.
“I think (the lower fee) is competitive,” Henicke said.
Instead of charging at full volume, KMUD staff will measure the actual volume of wastewater each tank is carrying before it comes to the KMUD treatment facility, Henicke said.
The new fee may help KMUD increase annual demand by 3 percent while receiving higher revenue for the service through the next 15 years, from $8,498 in 2009 to $12,853 in 2023, Denny said.
“That is our goal,” Denny added.
Willingham objected to the lower fee.
“It is not a money-maker,” Willingham said.
When the KMUD board agreed to purchase the treatment facility for $155,000 from Brad Shaw last August, only Willingham objected to the sale.
“(The facility) will wear out before we pay for it,” Willingham said during the Monday meeting.
After the vote to accept the lower fee, the board approved the recommendation from Denny to review the figure every six months, beginning in May 2009.
Also during the meeting, the board voted to purchase for $2,500 one-quarter of an acre of land from Shaw situated between the KMUD septic treatment facility and the future KMUD wastewater plant near FM 2545.
“I think it is good to connect the properties without a third party between the two pieces,” Heincke said.
Sindelar and Willingham voted against the land purchase.
“I am concerned about checking the amount of dump material (at the facility) by KMUD employees, Sindelar said.
“The taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for it,” Willingham said. “It is a waste of money.”
Turning to other matters, Hefner announced TCEQ has renewed the KMUD treatment plant permit until December 2012.
During previous years, the commission has waited until months after expiration to renew the permit, Hefner recalled.
“They are really on the ball,” Hefner quipped, referring to the commission.
Also during the meeting, the board:
n Voted to carry over more than $526,000 from the capital improvement fund for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 to the fund for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
n Accepted an invoice of $13,283 from Elliott Electric Supply Co. for the replacement of starter blocks at the lift station.
n Approved payment of $3,201 to Dianne Wolfington, adminstrative consultant, and $1,479 to James Miertschin & Associates for services rendered for the GIS mapping and database project.
n Approved payment of $1,980 to Skip Newsom, an attorney who represents KMUD.
n Authorized request for bids on a vacuum trailer unit and a new Unit 40 truck.
n Assigned John Hancock Insurance as administrator of the KMUD pension plan.
raymond@thepicayune.com