Council holds hearings on water, sewer rates, repairs

After Havre City Council held two public hearings, one on proposed rate increases for Havre's water and sewer rates and one on a preliminary engineering report on proposed improvements to Havre's water system, Mayor Doug Kaercher called for a special City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 16, to vote on resolutions necessary before Havre can apply for funding for the improvements.

Kaercher said the resolutions must be passed before the city applies for grants May 19.

During the public hearing before the regular City Council meeting, in response to a question about the size of the increase and whether it is "absolutely necessary," Kaercher said the rate increase would raise people's water and sewer bills by a total of about $100 a year on average, noting it is not a tax increase but an increase in fees for service.

He said the increase is necessary due to the need for upgrades and due to inflation and increased costs such as for chemicals used to treat the water. The last increase was in 2018 and was a bit smaller than this, partly because city planned to do a rate increase every two years but the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the city wasn't able to do an increase then.

This year's increase makes up that amount.

He said he received three comments in writing, one not so much on the increase but on the wording of the notice.

The suggestion said the notice should have listed the amount of the increase, but Kaercher said that is impractical because the bills vary by the amount of water used.

Another suggested the city look for grants, but Kaercher said grants are not available to make up for water and sewer rates. He said they are available for operations, which was discussed in the second public hearing about system improvements.

"We do go for grants when they are available for us," he said.

Another comment Kaercher said he received Monday was flat out against rate increases.

"They are necessary," Kaercher said. "... Chemical costs for treatments of the sewer and the water are going up substantially. Fuel rates are also up quite a bit."

He said the increase for the sewer is not as much for operations but the city is having trouble meeting its income requirement for the bond used for a sewer upgrade, and could miss that by the end of the year. If that happens, the bonds could be recalled at any time.

He also confirmed a question from the audience that the city is required to replace lead water lines, although they actually are owned by residence owners.

Havre Public Works said the city has 185 lead lines it has to replace.

Jessica Salo and Amy Deitchler of Great West Engineering presented during the City Council meeting about a preliminary engineering report on the proposed improvements to Havre's water system.

Salo said the report found that Havre's water treatment plant, which treats water from the Milk River, is adequate except in the case of drought limiting supplies, as the city does not have a backup source.

That will change when the city joins the Rocky Boy's/North Central Montana Regional Water System, she said, which is expected to happen in 2025.

She said the treatment plant, which was constructed early last decade, is relatively new and in good repair, but some repairs and improvements are necessary including to allow the city to join the regional system.

The city also has more than enough storage capacity, Salo said, although some repairs are needed in the west tank outside of Highland Park.

Two Havre tanks, the elevated tank and the tank on the east are more than 50 years old and will require repairs and eventual replacement, but with proper maintenance replacement can be delayed, she said.

She said the city's pump stations are recommended for upgrades to improve redundancy but it is not considered a priority at this time.

She said what are a priority are lead distribution lines, some lines being less than 4 inches in diameter and old, cast-iron lines that are prone to breaks.

Salo said that a phased approach is recommended, dealing with the highest priority areas first, so the work can be done over several years. She presented different alternatives for supply, treatment, storage and distribution, and said the city identified distribution as its highest priority.

In the distribution recommendations, a section of cast iron lines in Highland Park is the highest priority due to the high number of breaks there, and the second is possible as phase two, north of about 10th Street and west of Fifth Avenue and south of 10th Street east of Fifth Avenue.

She said the map will be expanded in the final report to show other possible projects.

She presented two possible funding scenarios for the estimated $8.84 million cost using grants and loans, one which would provide 101 precent of the cost and one which would provide 99 percent. She said the funding can almost $3 million in American Rescue and Recovery Act funds the city has received.