Spanish Fork Press

Debt service is the basic reason for raising water rates in Salem City. At a City Council work session on water rates, City Manager, Jeff Nielsen told the group $21 was needed to cover the base of debt service without any water usage rates added in. That base rate is a requirement of the bond and to cover debt.

The new rate system is divided by categories: Residential without PI; Residential with PI and industrial and commercial rate. Salem city government does not want to make the city inhospitable to businesses because of water rates. The fact senior citizens use very small amounts of water was taken into account. Their total rate is $23, because the rate cannot be set below the base of $21.

Citizens will not see the new rate on their bill until October, the city will read the meters at the new rate in September. Ward added "we're trying to keep rates with only a minimum increase in the future. When the vote came on the rate structure; in regular session, Councilman Brent Hanks voted nay, Council members Lynn Durrant, Stan Greene, Terry Ficklin and Todd Gordon voted aye.

During the council work session they held a long discussion on curb and gutter and how to develop a system that won't just as Councilman Hanks said pass the water on to the next guy and cause problems. As parts of Salem stand now, if one property owner is required to put in curb and gutter, then the runoff water could be shuttled downhill to a neighbor, ponding there. Salem does not have a storm water drain. Most of the city roadsides still have a goodly amount of gravel to absorb rain and runoff. Handling oil laden storm water runoff from parking lots and roads adds to the difficulty of the situation.

During regular session the ordinance setting curb and gutter policy passed with one nay vote --councilman Gordon's. Curb and gutter will not be required in the older part of town unless the entire block is being developed or there is curb and gutter on either side of the newly built home or an extensively remodeled home. The ordinance only affects the older part of town from Fourth North to Fourth South and from Fifth East to Fifth West..

Changing a city ordinance amending R-5 zone was tabled. A developer asked for changes pertaining to the large area of land near the freeway exit. Developer Chris McCandless, who proposed the change, felt the change would make the city better. Councilman Gordon moved to accept the R-5 text amendment as written, the motion died for lack of a second. Councilman Hanks moved to table the item for further discussion, his motion passed.

The council decided to add work session discussion time for Community Center rates which they nearly had set. A citizen complained heatedly about the cost of putting on her piano recitals under the proposed rate system. Council members who heretofore had stood firm on the center rates, decided to discuss the rate structure again in a work session.