05.01 and 05.02 - Complaints about High Water/Sewer Bills

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September 27, 2006 To: Pequot Lakes City Council Re: Sewer usage charges for lawn sprinkler system at 4467 Griffin Circle, Pequot Lakes, MN. From: Larry and Kandy Leege Note: Please present this letter at the City Council Meeting scheduled for October 3, 2006. The problem we would like to bring before the Council is being overcharged for sewer usage when someone has a residential lawn sprinkler system. We are aware that on 9/5/2006 the Council adopted a"Summer Sewer Fee"policy for existing sprinkler systems which will be in effect next sprinkling season. We are requesting a credit of $199.10 on our water/sewer account for the excessive sewer charges appearing on our June, July, and August 2006 billings. We have lived at 4467 Griffin Circle since May 2005. The sewer usage bill was not a problem in 2005 because the land developer/contractor who sold us our home did not install the sprinkler system and lay sod until mid to late summer 2005. We hardly used the sprinkler system in 2005. We first noticed a problem on our sewer bills in June, July, and August 2006. We called City Hall on several occasions complaining about the problem, and also spoke with Brett Twardy on several occasions. We were always treated courteously, but were repeatedly informed that our only recourse was to install a separate water meter for the sprinkler system at an installed price of approximately $400 to $500. We did not do this because of the expense. Enclosed is a copy of our water/sewer"Bill History" which City Hall provided to us. Our water/sewer bills are low(except for the summer months when the sprinkler is used) because we are only part-time residents of Pequot Lakes. We own businesses in Brainerd and Duluth, so we commute between the two cities each week. We are only at our Pequot Lakes home on an average of three (3)nights per week and we work during the day. Based upon our Bill History, our average sewer usage bill is $15.50 per month. In 2006, our June sewer usage was $55.65, July was $41.90, and August was $148.05, for a total of$245.60. Our average sewer usage for three (3)months is $46.50 (3 X $15.50). There was an overpayment of$199.10 for the months of June through August 2006. A few weeks ago, we discussed receiving a credit on our account with Brett Twardy, but he indicated that he did not have the authority to give a credit. He suggested that we either attend the City Council meeting or write a letter to address this matter. Because of our work schedule, we chose to write this letter to ensure that this matter got addressed at the October 3 meeting.