Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council adopts sewer service charge increases to fund wastewater treatment expansion; rates to rise starting July 2025
Summary
To fund an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, the Andover City Council adopted a sewer service charge resolution that phases rate increases beginning with the July 2025 billing cycle; staff said the project bid came in at about $4.747 million and the city plans to use existing reserves and phased rate increases to finance the work.
The Andover City Council on April 8 adopted a resolution establishing new sewer service base rates intended to help fund an expansion of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The changes take effect with the billing cycle commencing in July 2025.
Rick, a city staff member, reviewed a multi-year planning process that included studies by PEC and Burns & McDonnell and design and bidding work over the past five years. He told council the treatment-plant project bid returned a firm cost of approximately $4,747,000 and noted the city has approximately $17,000,000 in savings available to put toward the project, which reduces the amount of rate increases required.
Staff said the treatment system—the original plant dates to 1977 with a major upgrade in 1996—was approaching capacity, and the city also faces tighter permit limits (staff referenced KDHE permit limits). To respond, staff proposed a phased rate plan that replaces a previously modeled set of $5 monthly increases with a lower schedule: $4 increases in three consecutive years followed by a $1 increase, then a modest 3% annual adjustment thereafter, according to the resolution adopted by council.
Rick described the city’s collection system work—extensive cured-in-place pipe lining (CIPP), manhole lining and other measures—that has kept inflow and infiltration low and reduced treatment volumes. He said the city’s per capita flow estimate is about 70 gallons per day, which staff said is low compared with some peer cities and has delayed the need for plant upgrades. Council thanked staff for long-term planning and for phasing the rate increases rather than facing a single large increase later.
A motion to adopt the sewer service charge resolution passed 4–0. Council did not record individual roll-call votes in the public transcript; the vote tally was unanimous among the four members present.
Why it matters: the rate change funds a multi-million-dollar capital project to expand treatment capacity and to meet future permit requirements; staff emphasized the phased approach was intended to spread the burden and use existing reserves to lower near-term rate impacts.
