ATHOL — After it was learned that Orange may be profiting from Athol drinking water provided to households in the Tully section of Orange, the Athol Selectboard on Tuesday approved an increase in the amount the town charges for water used by customers outside town boundaries.
Athol water customers had been paying $4.46 per 100 cubic feet of water consumed last fiscal year, but the town of Orange billed residents of a development in Tully nearly $6 per 100 cubic feet for water being supplied by Athol.
Athol Public Works Director Dick Kilhart was asked by the Selectboard at the July 20 meeting to look into the issue.
“The board asked at the last meeting that we research other communities that do, in fact, sell water to neighboring communities,” Kilhart began. “Those are much, much larger communities: Springfield sells to Ludlow, Worcester sells to Leicester and Paxton, places of that nature. Palmer sells to Thorndike, Bondsville.
“A lot of those are not comparative to what we have. They have thousands of customers that they sell to. We are selling to 46 Orange customers,” he continued.
Kilhart presented a chart illustrating that during fiscal year 2021, which ended June 30, the sale of water to Orange at the rate of $4.46 per 100 cubic feet generated just under $27,000 in revenue for the water department. Kilhart then provided estimates of how much revenue could be generated over the current and two subsequent fiscal years, based on rates recommended to the Selectboard. It shows that amount increasing to $33,000 in fiscal year 2022, $37,000 in fiscal year 2023, and $41,000 in fiscal year 2024.
“That’s a decision that the board makes,” he said. “But the other decision you’ll have to make is would you like that (increase) to be consistent — the same percentage each year — or would you like to start at one rate and potentially increase or decrease it over the course of the next three years. Those are decisions that you make.”
“I’m curious about what we have for liabilities, as far as equipment,” said board member Andy Sujdak. “Do we have a pumphouse down there?”
“No,” Kilhart replied. “Basically, what we do is, we are selling — that’s why I use the term ‘wholesale’ — we are supplying that (water) to a master meter, a compound meter, in a pit the town of Athol owns on this side of the Pinedale Avenue bridge. From that meter pit, it goes under the Tully River into that section (of Orange).
“That water main, those hydrants, those services are all maintained by the town or Orange,” Kilhart continued. “The town of Orange reads those meters and does their billing. We don’t handle that. We are simply selling it in volume to them and they are billing monthly.”
“For informational purposes, so the public knows,” board member Alan Dodge inquired, “how did all this come about? Why do we sell water to that little section of Orange?”
“Earl Drew,” answered Kilhart, “who was a local contractor in North Orange and Tully built that Evergreen development in 1975. That year, Earl and his son, John, approached the town of Orange water commissioners and also approached — it would have been, at that time, the Board of Public Works (in Athol) — and suggested that Athol support his new development with a supply of drinking water to those residents, both for domestic purposes and for firefighting protection.
“The agreement allows for a total of 60 units, and that’s a max,” Kilhart continued. “It’s been questioned over the years whether they could add more, and that agreement has held steadfast since 1975. Right now, it’s 46, and it’s been 46 for some time.”
Kilhart said other homes that have been built in the general vicinity of the original development get their water from wells.
Selectboard member Stephen Raymond motioned that Athol set the wholesale rate for water to Orange, as recommended, at $5.54 per 100 cubic feet for the rest of this fiscal year, $6.19 per 100 cubic feet for fiscal year 2023, and $6.84 per 100 cubic feet for fiscal year 2024. The amounts include a charge over and above what Athol residents pay of 15, 20 and 25 percent each year, respectively.
“That’s pretty typical from what I saw in the research that Mr. Kilhart shared with us,” commented Selectboard Chair Rebecca Bialecki. “It is pretty normal that you kind of ‘upcharge’ that fee. And considering Orange has already been upcharging their own customers for that, I think maybe we should be the ones that benefit from that, and not them.”
Raymond’s motion passed unanimously.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.