Speedway manager presents stormwater user fee proposal; public hearing set for Jan. 12

Town Manager Grant Kleinheinz presented the second reading of Ordinance No. 14-20 on Dec. 22, 2025, proposing a stormwater user fee intended to shift stormwater costs onto users and generate targeted ongoing revenue for system maintenance.

"The fee for residences is $1 for administrative cost and $2.77 per month for a total of $3.77," Kleinheinz said, describing the residential charge as a little over $40 annually and noting businesses would pay a larger amount based on acreage and impervious area. He said the proposal aims to yield about $500,000 annually, while earlier analysis considered a broader revenue target of roughly $1,400,000.

The nut graf: The council opened discussion on the fee’s fiscal necessity and timing. Kleinheinz said the town has been using wastewater, general and riverboat funds to cover stormwater expenses and that a dedicated fee would direct those costs to stormwater users. He announced a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. in the Allison Meeting Room; the ordinance’s third reading is anticipated at the Jan. 12 council meeting if the council elects to proceed.

Councilors and staff pressed for historical and practical context. President Nick Sturgeon said he and residents want to know how prior fees collected during the 2012 sewer/storm separation were spent. Kleinheinz said those earlier fees likely serviced bond debt taken for separation and diversion projects and that the bond has largely been paid off; he described the current proposal as based on a two-year study and backed by the town’s stormwater board.

Councilor Vince Noblet stressed ongoing maintenance needs for buried storm system infrastructure, saying neglect can require full replacement rather than routine cleaning. Several councilors framed the matter as a balance between fiscal responsibility and the political difficulty of adding new fees.

Kleinheinz said there will be substantial public outreach — notices in the lobby, posts on the town website and a Q&A — to explain how the fee was calculated and how the revenue would be used. He noted the ordinance is written so future councils could revisit rates, but no immediate plan to raise rates was presented.

Next steps: the town will advertise the Jan. 12 public hearing and collect public comment; the council may table the ordinance after the hearing or move forward to a third reading and final vote.

Quotes in this article come from the public meeting transcript and are attributed to speakers as named in the record.