Marathon’s new bulk water fee prompts pushback from haulers

A new way of charging for bulk water in Marathon City has provoked a backlash among small-scale customers who end up paying more for pumping the same amount of water as those with larger tanks.

In December of last year, the village’s utility commission voted to change its bulk water fee so that users have to pay $30 each time they fill up their tanks, replacing the flat $30 quarterly charge used in the past. In addition to the $30 access fee, users also have to pay $5.10 per thousand gallons of water pumped from the village’s treatment plant or hydrant.

The new access fee went into effect at the first of this year, but even before it did, village administrator Andy Kurtz anticipated some pushback from the roughly 27 customers who rely on the village for bulk water purchases. A notice was sent out ahead of time, warning them of the fee change.

At a utility commission meeting last week, village president Dave Belanger relayed concerns from village residents questioning the fairness of the new fee structure. He pointed out that someone with a large tanker truck may only have to fill up once a week whereas someone else with a small sprayer may have to come back multiple times, paying $30 each time.

Under the new fee structure, for example, someone with a 10,000-gallon tank would owe the village $81 for filling up the tank once, whereas someone with a 500-gallon farm sprayer would pay $651 for the same 10,000 gallons, simply because it took them 20 trips.

Commission chairman Andy Berens said the commission struggled with that issue before changing the fee in December.

“We really hate to see the local farmers paying that because they’re just trying to keep their animals watered and maybe their shanks sprayed or whatever,” he said. “I don’t know how you treat everyone the same. That’s the problem, I think.”

Because the village bills on a quarterly basis, Kurtz said the billing system doesn’t indicate how many trips to the water plant each individual is making. However, he said village officials can look at the paperwork to figure out how many times each customer is filling up, so the commission can review that data.

“We can say ‘Customer A got 10,000 gallons of water in two shots, and Customer B got 10,000 gallons in 30 shots,’” he said.

Kurtz said the village could then bring this data to its auditor and “validate the interpretation” of the rate structure, with the ultimate goal of asking the Wisconsin Public Service Commission about the issue. The PSC sets the water rates, not the village, but after consulting with the village auditor, utility commissioners decided in December that the village was undercharging its bulk water users.

Kurtz said the village could also ask what the water is being used for and if the users have the option of using a larger tank or getting their water from a different source.

“Do they just come here because they can fill their tank in two minutes versus filling up from their wells at home, which will take a half an hour?” he said.

Commissioners said they just want to make sure the village isn’t “giving the water away” by not recouping the costs of treatment, distribution and billing administration.

“Ultimately, it costs us money to make the water,” Kurtz said.

Kurtz said he would bring back data to the commission’s next meeting about how many trips customers are making, and would also contact the village’s auditor and the PSC.

Other business

The commission approved the purchase of three specialized water meters that will enable the village to remotely disconnect water service at properties with chronic past-due utility bills. Kurtz said the meters will be installed at locations where accessing the water meter is difficult or a single shut-off valve serves multiple units. At $500 apiece, the purchase will cost $1,500, but the meters will be used on accounts with as much $7,500 to $9,000 in delinquent bills, Kurtz said.

The commission approved a $4,850 proposal from Staab Construction to bolt down two 25-foot suction pipes at a lift station in the trailer park. Kurtz said the previous contractor who worked on the lift station, William Reid, did not want to bolt the pipes to the wall, but the equipment at the station has been vibrating excessively ever since. The cost of Staab’s work will be passed onto William Reid, he said, but he expects a legal battle.

“I think we have a path to resolution, but ultimately we’re going to end up in court, unfortunately,” he said.

Kurtz told the commission that the village’s new sewer plant is past 50 percent complete, with a start-up date of mid-July still anticipated. He said some change orders are in the works, including $24,000 in additional conduit that was not anticipated by the engineer. It remains to be seen if the engineer or the village will be responsible for the extra expense, he said.

The commission approved a $670,901 pay request from contractor Market & Johnson for work done on the new sewer plant, along with a $29,900 from engineer Strand Associates. A motion was also adopted to request a disbursement from the DNR’s Clean Water Loan Fund.

Utility superintendent Ken Bloom said the village plans on installing a water heater at the new fluoridation system, which will dissolve the fluoridation tablets faster and release more fluoride into the water distribution system.

Bloom said the Water Environment Federation is providing the village with a free auto water sampler and flow meter, which will replace 30-year-old equipment.