The Frankfort City Council took the final two-steps to increase water rates by 53.6% at its Monday, August 24, 2020, Council meeting. After holding a public hearing on Ordinance 20-13, the Council voted 6-0 approving the new water rate.
The water rate increase will be phased in over 3-years.
After the meeting, Todd Corrie, General Manager of the Frankfort Municipal Utilities, was ecstatic the 3-year process of developing plans for much-needed work on the existing water system was completed.
“I am very happy that this is done, ecstatic,” said Corrie. “It has been a long process. We have been working on this probably for 3-years now.”
Over $13,600,000 is needed to expand and begin repair of the current Frankfort water network. This need is being driven by a forecasted demand in water usage over the next 20-years and the current condition of the system.
Corrie discussed how the new funds will be used.
“There’s going to be an upgrade to the plant. It’s going to go from 6 million gallons to 9 million gallons a day. We are going to finish off something that we call the Jefferson Loop. It is connecting from Jefferson back around to the industrial park off of County Road 0.”
He also added the increase will help in making the plants safer and allow for the replacement of existing water main.
“We’re going to go to an on-site generation for our chlorine. Then, we have money in there to rehabilitate one of the water towers and then be saving money with this to do the next one probably 5 years down the road. Also be in place to replace water mains at a rate of maybe a mile a year is what we’re going to be shooting for and it is all very expensive.”
When asked when ratepayers should expect to see the increase, Corrie said the topic will be discussed at the next Utility Service Board meeting.
“We are going to discuss this at our next Utility Service Board and it (the rate increase) will be sometime between September and October 1st.”
The next USB meeting will be Tuesday, September 8, 2020, at 7 p.m.
