MILLSBORO — Residents of the Winding Creek Village water district have made full use of it since 2017.
They first willed the district into existence, then asked the county to consider another approach, then decided to leave things as they are.
There appeared to be some reluctance, however, as the eventual unanimous vote by County Council on Tuesday was saved by its president, Michael Vincent, who surrendered the gavel in order to second the motion and proceed.
At issue were water meters. When the district was created via referendum in 2017, it was on the basis of a uniform charge and not meters — the county’s standard approach, as project manager Hans Medlarz described.
According to the county, more than 100 were in favor of the district and almost 25 were against in 2017.
In June 2024, after changes to the water district were put out to bid, residents submitted 67 petitions to consider a metered approach. The threshold for action is 50, county officials said.
To change the project at this stage, another referendum would need to be approved.
So, in early August, the county disclosed the results of its investigations of a metered component and the project’s technical requirements.
According to that presentation, without meters, based on a 100-front-foot lot, using 170 gallons per day all year would cost about $3,500 initially, broken down as an estimated one-time fee of $2,130, plus about $1,375 in annual costs. That’s as the system was voted upon in 2017.
In the metered method, the one-time fee would exceed $4,600, with annual costs of $1,686.
Both estimates include a $2,000 one-time payment for plumbing services.
But those numbers don’t apply to all equally. The break-even point, according to the county, is a use of 56 gallons per day, or about 100 days per year for a two-person household. In this scenario, the metered customers would pay $1 more than the per-equivalent dwelling unit price.
According to Sussex County, the average home uses 170 gallons of water per day. Meters also would need to be replaced every decade.
After presenting this information, Mr. Medlarz said a straw poll had been conducted during a public hearing, to see if the attendees were still in favor of changing to a metered system. Nine people out of 30 wanted to switch, he said.
“At this point, we believe it has clearly been demonstrated that metering is more expensive to the vast majority of constituents. Yes, there are some people who can benefit, but the vast majority would not,” he said.
The county charges separately for irrigation of the property, which is not rolled into the initial fee. Mr. Medlarz said he believes a misunderstanding of this structure is what started the debate in the first place.
“You have the choice right now (whether) you connect to request irrigation or not. Because if you do, here’s your consequences: You will be billed for it,” he said. “I think that swung a number of votes from in favor of metering to against metering.”
Still, residents asked for more time for comments, but Mr. Medlarz said he doesn’t think a couple of weeks would make a difference.
“I believe we’ve fulfilled our obligations under Delaware Code, and you can make, and you have the discretion, to decide not to proceed to a referendum,” Mr. Medlarz told the council. “We have a recommendation, based on our findings presented at the hearing and based on the additional results received after the hearing, to not proceed with a referendum.”
Councilman Douglas Hudson then made the motion to accept staff’s recommendation, which was met with almost 10 seconds of silence from his colleagues.
Then, Councilman Vincent handed the gavel to Vice President John Rieley, saying, “You have the gavel. I’ll make the second.”
During a roll call vote, all members chose not to proceed with the referendum, therefore keeping the project as it is.
Most Popular
Comments / 0