A Letter to Lot Owners from the LWA Board of Trustees
February 1, 2005
The Lakengren Water Authority (LWA) Board of Trustees (BOT) has been working to get a new well on-line and to build a new water treatment plant (WTP) for the Lakengren community. The new well is complete and on-line; the construction of the new WTP will begin around May 1, 2005, with an anticipated completion date set for February 2006.
The current plant, built in 1969, was designed to last 25 years. It has survived over 35 years and needs replaced immediately. We are working to do that.
The LWA doesn’t have the cash reserves to pay for the new plant. Our efforts to get a “no interest” loan and grant from the State of Ohio through Issue II was not successful. The Ohio EPA has made $1.7 million ($1,700,000) available to us at an interest rate of approximately 3% for a twenty-year period.
Homeowners and lot owners have paid the availability charge since 1989. As a lot owner, you have a vested interest in having treated water available to your lot in case you ever decide to sell it or build a home on it. You also have a vested interest in the new plant; the water from our wells must be treated and a new plant is desperately needed to comply with Ohio EPA standards. This speaks to your property’s value; if treated water is not available to your lot, it would tend to lose value.
After having a rate study completed by an outside engineering consultant and following their recommendations, the LWA BOT has decided to charge a $6 monthly assessment to all LWA customers including lot owners that pay the availability charge. The first charge on your bill for the new plant will be payable in April 2005.
Your quarterly bill will increase from $32.50 to $50.50. The charge for your lot will be $6 per month, just like everyone else, but since you pay every quarter (three months), your bill will increase by $18 (3 months times $6=$18). This seems to be quite high; but the charge is actually $6 per month, the same amount every customer is paying for the new water treatment plant.
Your support and understanding in this important matter is greatly appreciated. With everyone doing his/her part, we will all have an equal share in a new plant that should serve the Lakengren community for the next fifty years.
An informational meeting on the new water treatment plant will be held at the LPOA lodge on Monday, April 4, 2005, at 7 PM. Interested customers are encouraged to attend.
The LWA Board of Trustees
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