Parkville sewer rates are going up another 10 percent, bringing sewer bill increases to 30 percent over the past three years.
At the Tuesday, Jan. 15 meeting, the Parkville board of aldermen approved the increase. A public hearing was held, but no members of the public were present.
According to director of public works Alysen Abel, the base fee will go from $15.14 in 2018 to $16.66. The average monthly bill for a four-person household with an average usage of 4,300 gallons per month would go up $4.60.
Before the 10 percent annual rate increases started in 2017, Abel said the annual increases averaged 2-3 percent. After several sewer-related emergencies, rates were bumped up to lessen the impact on the city’s general fund and catch up on deferred system maintenance.
Community development director Stephen Lachky presented an update on his department’s activities, stating residential building permit numbers took a jump in 2018, with 93 permits issued. The previous high was 63 permits issued in 2016.
New construction has been limited to the western side of Parkville, primarily in South National, Thousand Oaks and Cider Mills subdivisions, with some infill development in the Riss Lake area.
Commercial development rises and falls, but all permits have trended upward. In 2015, permits spiked at 246 and in 2018 there were 239 total permits issued.
“It just shows the community is growing,” Lachkey said. “New homes are being built and existing homes are being remodeled. As of right now, we think this trend will continue.”
Also at the meeting, city administrator Joe Parente updated the board on the Sunshine Law requests made by the Citizens for a Better Parkville group. As of Jan. 15, he said, the city had released several thousand additional records to the group.
Parente said city staff has been working to fulfill requests as possible, on a “rolling basis” without neglecting the primary work of city staff.
At the Tuesday, Jan. 2 board meeting, the board approved an agreement with Springsted Incorporated to complete an internal rate of return analysis and a fiscal impact analysis for the recently-approved Creekside development at Interstate 435 and Highway 45. The two analyses are expected to cost $25,000-30,000.
Parente said developer Brian Mertz has requested economic development incentives, prompting the city to perform the analyses.