A proposed ordinance from Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority to increase sewer rates to help pay for wastewater improvements and renovations is headed to the City Council after action by the Committee of the Whole at Thursday night’s meeting.
General Manager Derrick Watson gave an overview of the expansion and renovation project at the Hammond-Wood Wastewater Treatment Plant in Hopkinsville.
He said they are also putting in a new disinfection system, a new sludge press handling system, among other improvements.
He added the low bid was $50.5 million and with planning design and contingency the total cost would be $53.3 million dollars. Watson said he felt that was too high to bring before City Council and they went into the project to see where they could cut costs.
In addition, he said HWEA also offered up $3.3 million of its own sewer money into the project to buy down the indebtedness to a final loan amount of $45 million. He also said the indebtedness would be shared by the Hopkinsville and Pembroke sewer systems.
Watson explained the proposed monthly rate adjustments are from a study of rate metrics conducted by HDR out of Louisville which is then recommended to HWEA. He said the current rate for Hopkinsville sewer service customers is $32.71. He added the monthly flat rates would increase roughly by $2 beginning in January 2022.
In Pembroke, the proposed monthly flat rate increase is roughly $3.
He said the project is important because it’s an investment in the community and the future, and without the rate increase HWEA could not do the project.
The Committee also heard reports from the Pennyroyal Arts Council, Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library, and Human Rights Commission. Following the reports, Councilwoman Amy Craig made a motion to use prior year revenue to help the organizations and proposed funding the Arts Council and the library $50,000 each along with $10,000 to the Human Rights Commission. The motion passed unanimously and now goes to City Council.
