Fribis Engineering presented the results of their three year study of our sanitary sewer system at the work session last Thursday.
Basically what it comes down to is it will cost approximately $9 million to repair and replace existing damaged sewer pipes, which includes $1.2 million to add those on septic systems to the sewer system.
What does that equate to each of us individually? If the burden is placed solely on the citizens, a $5 - $10 hike in our residential monthly sewer bill.
I believe that is an unjustified burden considering the "pet projects" the City is proposing to fund in the near future. I believe there are other options, which don't include low interest loans from the state. We need to look internally at the City's spending habits and extraneous projects to determine what can be trimmed or eliminated.
It has also been suggested our business license fee schedule should be revamped. I believe this is a viable option and have looked at this in the past. But I think any changes should be in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and businesses of Arnold. As it stands, smaller businesses pay an unfair amount compared to the larger businesses in town.
Another option may be looking at corporate sewer rates, but I lay caution on too many of these type of proposals. If we place too great a burden on our businesses, the onus we place on them to cover the residential costs will become a deterrent for businesses to locate in Arnold and eventually drive current businesses away.
Just so it's clear, I will not vote to discontinue City funded trash pick up as that would add an additional $7 - $15 a month to our overall cost of living in Arnold. That doesn't make sense since it would be less expensive to pay the additional $5 - $10 charge for the sewers.
Fribis will be distributing their report by the end of July so that council will be able to examine the issue more deeply and determine a course or action.