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Martin announces his retirement from Lubeck PSD as the county continues to look at proposed rate increase

By Brett Dunlap 5 min read

PARKERSBURG - The Wood County Commission is continuing to examine information to determine how it will react in regards to a proposed rate increase for the Lubeck Public Service District while also honoring the announced retirement of a long time board member of the PSD.

Lubeck Public Service District Board Chairman Jerry R. Martin appeared before the Wood County Commission on Thursday to present a letter to the commission announcing his intention to retire from the board, effective Sept. 1. He has served on the board for over 23 years.

"I come to the county commission today with mixed emotions," Martin said in his letter. "I feel that my work with Lubeck PSD is never truly finished, but my age and health are starting to make me realize that there may be younger people out in our community with fresh energy, new ideas and a strong willingness to serve the district.

"I have given well over 23 years to my community, serving as Chairman of the Lubeck PSD board for more than 16 years of my time on the board. While I feel that my mental sharpness is as strong as ever, I know it may be time to relinquish the reins."

When Martin was first appointed to the board, he said he would do his best to bring services to as many people as possible, and he feels they have succeeded, according to his letter.

During his time on the board, the Lubeck PSD has extended water lines to Wadesville, New England Ridge, Belleville, Lost Pavement, Ball School Road and soon Pine Run Road, "bringing safe, reliable water and our services to over 1,600 customers," his letter said.

Martin told commissioners that he has continually been learning about how water and sewer systems functions as well as working with people and officials to address problems.

"When I came here, I wanted to see Parkersburg grow and it was in a growth spurt," he said. "I want to see that again."

Martin said he would like to see a data center come to the area for the jobs and the tax revenue it would bring to the area. He even suggested putting one near the hydroelectric plant in Belleville to take advantage of the power generation there.

"Anything to get the people and the jobs we need," he said.

Commissioner Jim Hamric said those centers don't hire a lot of people, but Martin said the ones they do are good paying jobs.

Commission President Blair Couch said the Lubeck PSD has gained a lot of new customers.

"We are to the point where the new customers are going to be few and far between or very expensive," he said.

He credited Martin for his years of service.

"You have served Lubeck and the county well," Couch said.

The commission placed Chris Graham in nomination to fill Martin's spot on the Lubeck PSD. The commission has not approved the appointment yet but the plan is to have the Graham's appointment take effect Sept. 1., officials said.

The commission has been discussing a proposed 30% rate increase for water and a 14% increase for sewer that PSD officials outlined for the commission in June.

The water rate hike would take the bill for a customer using 3,000 gallons a month from $34.35 to $44.73, according to Zachary Dobbins, accountant with Bennett & Dobbins PLLC, who appeared before the commission in June. 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 from Dobbins was to raise water one year and sewer the next by smaller amounts to mitigate the impact.

Commissioners have questioned where the money was exactly going, saying the presented outlines of the proposal did not spell that out specifically.

Couch said the commission has granted Lubeck PSD a number of rate increases, but they were not always what the PSD requested.

The state's Public Service Commission had the people and knowledge to better evaluate proposed rate increases, he said.

Martin said he felt putting the county commission in that position to approve or disapprove PSD rate increases "was not fair."

"In all truthfulness, you guys are a lot easier to deal with than (the Public Service Commission) are," Martin said.

Commissioner Jimmy Colombo described the prepared reports presented regarding the proposed rate increase as "worthless" as they don't offer a lot of details on where the money will go. They were presented with a lot of figures but they need context to understand it.

"We would need to hire someone just to review that just to show us what those things mean," he said. "We have someone just telling us 'give us the money.'

"It is just wrong. You can't convince your residents that just giving (the PSD) the money will fix all their problems. My problem is they don't tie anything together."

Martin agreed.

"You don't study those figures every day," he said. "That is not your job and unfortunately it is thrown in your lap."

A public hearing between the commission and officials with Lubeck PSD is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 13.

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