Planned rates will take effect

Published 1:28 pm Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Sewer rates for those who use public utilities in the Town of Kenbridge are set to increase beginning in July, taking place during the upcoming billing cycle.

Robyn Fowler

According to Town Manager Robyn Fowler, the sewer rate will increase by $1.93 from last year’s rate.

The minimum sewer rate for residents will be $44.19 for the first 2,000 gallons, and for residential properties that exceed 2,000 gallons, there will be an increase of $8.09 per 1,000 gallons, Fowler said.

Fowler cited the town’s recently completed pump stations repairs as a reason for the increase. The funding agency involved with the Pump Station Sewer Line Project, which finished renovations in November, required that the town pay the grant provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development (USDA/RD) program.

Fowler said the town, following a public hearing, decided to increase its sewer rates by $1.93 over a three-year period beginning in 2015.

“The funding agency for rural development (USDA/RD) put it as a requirement, so we stretched it out over a three-year period,” Fowler said of the increases

Fowler said this would be the last of the planned rate increases.

Last year, Kenbridge decided to issue up to $511,000 in general obligation bonds to partly fund improvements to the town’s sewer system, including rehabilitating, or repairing, and completely demolishing or rebuilding certain parts of the sewer system.

J. Harman Saunders Construction Inc., the project’s contractor based in South Boston, repaired or completely replaced certain aspects of all of the pump stations in Kenbridge.