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Commission looking for more information about proposed Lubeck PSD rate increase

By Brett Dunlap 6 min read

PARKERSBURG - The Wood County Commission is looking for information about how the money from a proposed rate increase for the Lubeck Public Service District will cover and how the money will be spent.

Lubeck PSD General Manager Rocky McConnell appeared before the commission Thursday to discuss a proposed 30% rate increase for water and a 14% increase for sewer that PSD officials outlined for the commission last month.

The water rate hike would take the bill for a customer using 3,000 gallons a month from $34.35 to $44.73, Zachary Dobbins, accountant with Bennett & Dobbins PLLC, said last month. This will help address increased salary requirements now that Lubeck’s treatment plant is a Class III facility, requiring higher credentials for operators, and an $800,000 loan to cover design costs for a future project intended to address a number of issues, plus bond covenants, general inflation and a state-mandated working cash capital reserve, he said at the time.

The sewer rate increase would take the monthly bill for 3,000 gallons used from $60.59 to $69.09, Dobbins said at the time. It’s needed to cover maintenance, bond covenants, the required capital reserve and general inflation, he said at the time.

Public service districts with more than 4,000 customers or $3 million in annual revenue seek approval for rate increases from county commissions instead of the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

The recommendation last month from Dobbins was to raise water one year and sewer the next by smaller amounts to mitigate the impact.

Commission President Blair Couch said Thursday that was a concern for the commission since the PSD would being coming before them yearly to approve some form of a rate increase, whether it is for water or sewer. He acknowledges that the idea behind doing this was so the increase was not done all at once and spread out over time.

Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said he "thinks that is wrong." He wondered if it was an inflationary issue, if it should be handled directly by the state's Public Service Commission.

"I don't think we should reassess your inflationary (issues)," he said. (In the accounting summaries presented to the commission) you do not say one thing about what you are going to be spending that money for."

McConnell said that Lubeck is going from a Class 2 to a Class 3 water plant. That change in designation will require Lubeck PSD to find Class 3 water operators which "will not be cheap," he said.

McConnell said the money is going to cash works and capital reserves, bond covenant payments, debt coverage services, design loan for infrastructure upgrades and general inflation is a sizable part of it in regards to both water and sewer costs.

Colombo said there was a lot of information not covered or identified in the paperwork given to the commission.

"You and your board owes it to your customers to tell them what you are asking them for this money for," he said. "I think it is wrong for your CPA to ask for a yearly increase.

"That hasn't left my mind since then. He is throwing numbers out and people need to know how they will pay for that, because 30% is a hit." Colombo brought up money the commission gave the PSD six years ago to repair a roof that was just recently completed. McConnell said they were able to go with a different company and actually got the price down to do the project.

Colombo said the leadership at the Lubeck PSD is not communicating with their customers well about expenses and what things will pay for.

"An increase every year is just wrong," Colombo said.

Couch said the commission will have to hold a public hearing about this to go over the different concerns.

"We know people need good clean water," he said. "Our concern is how we will handle continual rate increases."

Officials expressed a desire to be able to choose to go to the State Public Service Commission rather than continue to appear before the commission.

A decision will have to be made on the rate increase by the commission by Aug. 22, County Administrator Marty Seufer said.

The commission has set Thursday, Aug 13 as the tentative hearing date.

Colombo wants a better breakdown of the costs and what the additional money will be going towards as well as the applicable laws guiding some of these costs.

"And how it will be better," Commissioner Jim Hamric added.

In other business, the commission approved $3,000 for Carlin’s Battery D to help the Civil War re-enactment group buy a small building to be able to store their cannon. The man who had been storing it recently passed away and the group needed to move it to another location.

Jim Miracle, executive director, said they have been looking at locations to store it and many were "expensive." They were looking at a small building that is made in Youngstown, Ohio which could be transported here and placed for a cheaper price than what they could do in finding a storage space here.

The cost is $3,999. Carlin's Battery D can cover $1,000 and wanted to see if the county could cover the remaining $3,000. Miracle is looking at having the structure placed out at the Wood County 911 Center and placed withing the security fencing. Couch gave him the contact information with the person he needed to talk to to be able to tour the property to see if it would work for what they want.

Miracle talked about gunpowder prices going up and how they have spent around $1,700 for 50 pounds of gunpowder.

"It is the way things are in this day and age," Miracle said.

He said they are working at recruiting people to be in the group. They have 10 people on their roster manning two guns between Carlin's Battery D and the Battery K 1st Ohio group in Beverly, Ohio. He said they really need eight people on a gun.

"We would like to get another six to eight people," he said. "That would be nice."

Carlin's Battery D appears around the area and participates in Civil War re-enactments as well as shooting off the cannon for various events, including recent events at Henderson Hall and recent events for America's 250th Anniversary celebrations.

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