Preston council moves to publish proposed water/sewer fee increases as wastewater plant testing begins

At a Preston City Council meeting, members spent the bulk of the session debating the city's water and wastewater finances, agreeing to publish proposed fee changes for public notice and to hold a public hearing on Dec. 8 to take final action.

Councilmember Dodge opened the discussion of the comprehensive plan's water element by urging the city to make a secondary municipal water source a higher priority (SEG 321-346). Later, Dodge read findings from an AI-generated analysis circulated in council packets that projected the city's system would reach roughly 90% capacity by 2026 and included an estimate that replacing the system could cost about $100,000,000 (SEG 529-539, SEG 530-535). "By 2026, our system will reach 90% capacity," Dodge said, citing the model. City attorney Lyle cautioned the council that the AI'produced report "should not be interpreted as or construed in any way as being actual statements or positions of the city" and warned against relying on it in place of an engineering study (SEG 516-525, SEG 1824-1826).

Wastewater plant status and tests: Wastewater treatment specialist Brian Moss reported that most plant components are substantially complete and that a seven-day "clean water" test will begin the next day to cycle clean water through the new plant, followed by two consecutive 30-day wastewater runs later in December if the seven-day test is successful (SEG 682-736, SEG 741-746). Moss said vendors remain to finish membrane-filter installation and to resolve some communications and electrical connections; those issues might extend commissioning if problems arise (SEG 705-709, SEG 716-722).

Fees and funding debate: Council members discussed a range of proposed connection-fee adjustments and monthly-rate changes intended to help pay debt service and reduce the chance of future large rate jumps. Several council members argued new growth should help pay for new infrastructure; one councilmember illustrated the city's replacement-cost math by dividing a $100 million figure by 2,500 connections to show a per-connection replacement-value of roughly $40,000 (SEG 539-546, SEG 541-544, SEG 1561-1568, SEG 1620-1626). Proposals discussed for the public notice included raising residential water and sewer connection fees (examples discussed: residential connection proposals of $10,000 to $15,000 and doubled sewer connection fees in some categories) and higher commercial connection fees in some tiers (SEG 1618-1624, SEG 1639-1665, SEG 2060-2085). Finance staff (Kelly) told the council that, based on current projections, collecting an additional roughly $25 per month on sewer bills (raising sewer from $65 toward $90) would cover scheduled debt payments in the near term but would mainly address the debt service rather than long-term operations (SEG 2417-2426, SEG 2448-2466).

Council action and next steps: Council members agreed to publish a public notice of the proposed fee schedule changes and set a public hearing for Dec. 8, 2025, to take public comment and a final vote (SEG 2463-2465, SEG 2848-2856). Several councilmembers stressed the figures being placed in the notice are ceilings for discussion at the public hearing and could be adjusted downward at that hearing; city attorney Lyle recommended the council have engineering support available to justify increases if challenged (SEG 2000-2016, SEG 1812-1816).

What council members and staff said: "I think that would be a poor strategy to rely on chat GPT ... instead of an actual engineering report," City attorney Lyle said, urging the council not to treat the AI output as definitive (SEG 1824-1826). "By 2026, our system will reach 90% capacity," Councilmember Dodge said when summarizing the model's projection; the council noted the number is from an AI-generated analysis and must be confirmed by engineering (SEG 534-535, SEG 530-536).

The council asked staff to assemble clearer, visible math for the public showing current reserves, debt obligations and operating expenses ahead of the Dec. 8 hearing so residents can evaluate the proposals (SEG 2791-2799). Staff said the seven-day clean water test would start immediately and that RCI/RCI (vendor name in packet varies in the record) will perform the test without city crews on site; after the seven-day run the city intends to begin the 30-day wastewater tests (SEG 711-723, SEG 730-733).

Why it matters: The council is weighing sizeable one-time connection-fee changes and ongoing monthly-rate increases to fund a new wastewater plant and to plan for a secondary water source; the public hearing will be the next formal step for public input and a decision.

The council set publication of the fee notice and the Dec. 8 public hearing as the next procedural steps; final numbers remain subject to change after engineering confirmation and public comment.