The council meeting for the Town of Taylor was held Thursday, Jan 25, with nearly two-dozen people in attendance to address items on the agenda that could potentially affect local residents.
The council held a public hearing for a new building project that includes six two-story, three-bedroom fourplex buildings that will be located on the 100 block of South Highland. Initially these units would be rental properties but there is potential for them to be available for sale and owned privately in the future as the market demands.
It was noted that these would not be low-income housing but intended as a rental option for working families. “These are higher end units,” said building official and zoning administrator Allen Davis. Davis presented the plans and a site map to the council. The Planning and Zoning Commission have already approved this project.
Local residents were on hand to ask about water concerns. It was discussed that for some residents in the Rolling Hills area water pressure is already horrible. Town employee Jeremy Peters said, “I think there is a way that we can get everyone on top of the hill on the existing booster system.” The town indicated that it will address this issue and that this addition of residential properties should not cause additional water problems but there are no guarantees.
The residences will be built in three phases with two units being built at a time. The council approved this project unanimously.
The next item to consider was the liquor license request by Hot Pizzas, LLC on behalf of Pizza Hut. Hot Pizzas, LLC requested a series 12 liquor license that would allow them to sell types of spirits to be consumed on the premises.
The council discussed concerns that the new Pizza Hut location does not serve fountain drinks so it was unclear why they would want to sell alcohol. Another concern was how they would keep the alcohol separate from Taco Bell that occupies the same building. There were no representatives from Hot Pizzas, LLC to answer any questions or concerns. The council decided to table the issue until more information can be obtained.
Resident Laree Call brought forth a request concerning her utility bill charges that would consume most of the meeting. Call was asking for a variance for her property on Centennial Blvd. to reduce the cost of her utility bills.
Call took the podium stating that in addition to her home on their 12.5-acre property, over the years they had added a small guest home and then a small duplex. All of these properties are hooked to one water meter and it is unclear how many of the four dwellings are hooked to the sewer line. The Calls gave the town an easement to run the main sewer line along their property line.
Until recently the Calls were only billed for one sewer fee and one water fee. The code for the town indicates that utilities be billed per unit not per meter or sewer hookup. When the town realized that the Calls had four structures on one meter and/or sewer hook up they then started billing the Calls for all four instead of the one water and sewer fee.
As the council and Town Manager Gus Lundberg all tried to sort this out there were more questions than answers. It was unclear when all of these properties were actually built and what information was given to the Calls when they granted the town the easement. It was also unclear why they were charged for so long at the cheaper rate.
Council member Fay Hatch said, “There are 30 other people who are in this same situation.” The Calls are not the only residents that are billed per dwelling because Town Code specifies per unit not per meter or connection. Hatch himself indicated that he too is billed like this for a duplex that he owns that has one meter.
Town Manager Lundberg indicated that if this variance was granted it could be as much as $3,100 per month in lost revenue from other residents that would want the same variance. The town estimates that the Calls would owe the town approximately $20,000 if they were to pursue the many years that the property was not billed properly. The town is not pursuing that and simply caught the error and began billing at the proper rate.
Call conveyed that this is a hardship for her and her elderly husband. Council member Jason Brubaker admitted that he has compassion for her and the situation but that this is about adherence to the code.
It is believed that the Calls were in compliance at one point as far back as 40 years ago but the timeline is unclear. At some point it is possible that the town was not informed as each dwelling was hooked to town water and sewer services.
Council member Lynn Dewitt got very passionate about this issue. “That’s the whole thing, now we are getting into people’s lives. That is their house and all I want to know is how many water meters and sewer connections they have,” said Dewitt.
Regarding the Call’s bill, Mayor David Smith said, “The issue is you have four residences and you were paying one sewer and one water fee. That is the reason you are here today. Which is what we are required to do.”
After nearly an hour debating the facts and asking questions, the council was split. No variance was made and the motion died for lack of a second. Mayor Smith told her she was free to bring this up in the future.
Another public hearing pertaining to the replacement of a home addition with a single-wide mobile unit was also on the agenda. Local resident Luis Alcantar requested that a small addition that was made to a double-side mobile home, that he intends to purchase, be replaced with a singlewide mobile home. This issue had to be tabled for a later date because it had not gone through Planning and Zoning Commission.
In closing, Town Manager Lundberg provided an update on the $2 million loan that the town has secured for sewer plant improvements. The loan rate has been locked in and they chose a 10-year loan rather than the 15-year loan to reduce interest charges.
The sewer treatment plant improvements will go out to bid Feb. 21 and a mandatory pre-bid meeting is slated for March 9.
Navajo County Manager Glenn Kephart took the podium to thank the town for always partnering well with the county. Navajo County and Taylor recently worked together with the crack sealing of roadways throughout Taylor. The county allowed the town to use their equipment for approximately four weeks.
The regularly scheduled council meeting for Feb 1 has been cancelled. The council will not meet for its regular meeting again until at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 1.
