Jasper Utility Service Board: Utility costs increase and no interest in power plant

The Jasper Utility Service Board announced some rate increases coming in 2015.

The board heard that the Indiana Municipal Power Association, of which Jasper is a member, gave the city advanced notice of an electric rate increase coming in 2015.

According to Utilities General Manager Bud Hauersperger, the increase will be between 4 and 5 percent. That increase will be passed on to rate payers in the utilities monthly tracker. The tracker is an electric cost adjustment that is performed monthly to make sure that the city does not begin to lose money on what they pay for the utility compared to what they charge.

No word yet on how much the increase will be on customer’s bills.

Along the same lines,the board passed an ordinance to raise waste water rates by 13.9 percent — about $5 a month for a typical residential customer. The board cited the recent Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Environmental Management mandated installation of the $1.2 million ultraviolet filtration system at the waste water plant as a large factor in the rate increase.

The rate hike was recommended by financial consulting firm H.J. Umbaugh and Associates of Indianapolis and will appear utility bills in April 2015.

USB chairman Wayne Schuetter says that the waste water rates are among the lowest in the area and were kept low while the economy recovered from the slow down.

Ernie Hinkle with the Gas and Water department reports that the Beaver Dam spillway raising project is going to be let out for bids the first of the year. Hinkle reported that the estimated costs on the project would come in over $350,000.00, so the city will have to have a wage determination hearing to set labor rates.

Hauersperger said the lake can remain at winter levels until the project is completed — hopefully by the first of July 2015.

Hauersperger also told the board that they’ve had no interest at all in the Jasper Power Plant for the purpose of leasing or purchasing to generate power. He said the only inquiry they have had is by a salvage company.

“We went through anything we could think of and sent it out to anyone we could think of,” Hauersperger reported.

That included leasing or selling the property to universities or carbon capture research facilities. “We didn’t get any viable response other than salvage companies who will piecemeal the plant out,” he said.

The power plant is undergoing an environmental study at this time. This is being conducted at no cost for the city through a special state program.

The utility board also heard from the business office that a key measure of an improving economy is a lower amount of bad debt write-offs.

The utilities office writes-off a portion of bad debt annually. Business Office Manager Ashley Kiefer reported that the $7,990.58 in write-offs for 2014 is almost $2,000 less than 2013. She told the board that the decline is also down from 2012’s figure of around $12,000.00.

The board approved the debt write-offs.

Finally, the board said their farewells to long time board member and Electric Committee Chairman Ken Sendelweck.

He has been on the board for 17 years, which Chairman Schuetter said was almost a third of the time the board has been in existence. Upon the announcement, the board gave him a standing ovation.

Mayor Terry Seitz, who was in attendance, announced the appointment of Roger Seng to take his place. Seng was also recommended by Sendelweck.