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Board clarifies water‑meter charges tied to Roots and Branches garden and agrees to modest additional donation request
Summary
The board heard that three spigots installed during reconstruction were metered and assigned to the BID; members agreed by consensus to cover estimated metered water and to reflect a modest increase in donations to Roots and Branches in the next draft budget.
During the Aug. 26 special meeting the board discussed water bills related to garden maintenance by Roots and Branches and clarified how those charges came to be assigned to the BID.
Staff explained that during downtown reconstruction three outdoor spigots with meters were installed at Roots and Branches’ request. When the meters were placed the water department asked who would pay the bills; administration decided the BID would be billed. The staff member said this assignment had not been widely understood by the board before the bills appeared. “When the meters were installed, the water department said, who are these going to who's paying for the bill? And the decision in administration was that the bid would pay the bill,” the staff member explained.
Staff estimated the BID’s metered water portion for Roots and Branches at about $800 for the year in a fairly wet season but warned usage could be higher in dry years. Board members agreed the metered water should remain in the water‑bill line rather than be bundled under Roots and Branches donations and supported a modest increase to Roots and Branches’ operating donation request (the organization had requested roughly $1,990 for the coming year, up from prior-year spending of about $1,137). The board’s support for the additional donation was given by verbal consensus; no formal appropriation was adopted at the meeting.
