This letter is addressed to those who would be Kenai mayor and those who are and who would be Kenai council members.
My husband and I moved to Kenai in 1978 and bought our current home in 1979. We are on one of the few unpaved roads (which is a whole other letter) in Kenai near the middle school.
I have asked mayors and city managers and council members — both current and former this question and have yet to receive an answer.
Why do my water/sewer rates continue to raise with no explanation? Indeed, there is little warning, other than a red notice at the top of the bill stating that the rates have increased.
Our home is un-metered. I am told it would cost the city entirely too much to meter the many homes inside Kenai city limits. So, my family of 2 pays the same rate as a family of more. We, who only take 5-7 showers a week, wash dishes by hand, do 4-5 loads of laundry/week, allow God to water our lawns, and do not wash our cars must pay the same as our neighbors who presumably do all those things and more. (That is, we assume they bathe and wash, but we know they water lawns and wash cars daily/weekly.)
You might well ask why we raise this question. We have seen our water/sewer bill raise from less than $30 in 1990 ($26.99) to over $90 currently ($90.02).
What will you do, those who would be mayor, and those who would be council members? What will you do to stop this exponential rise in water/sewer rates? Do you even know what they currently are and from whence they have come?
The following is a quote from current city manager Rick Koch’s resignation letter to the City Council, dated June 15, 2016:
“As one of the few municipalities to receive funding in the State fiscal year 2017 capital budget, our wastewater treatment plant is scheduled to undergo construction of major operational improvements, which are designed to increase operational efficiency and capacity while decreasing operational costs by as much as $50,000 per year.”
Mr. Koch paints a very pretty picture in his letter of how well the city is doing financially. The only thing he does not mention is that it is on the backs of longstanding citizens.
Will you, future mayor of Kenai, and future/current council members, continue the current rises in water/sewer bills while also continuing to plant — and water — wild flowers that are not Alaskan flowers (so must be planted — and watered — over and over again)?
Will you, future mayor of Kenai, and future/current council members, call for us to hold off on water usage in times of shortages (as in a couple of past summers) while continuing to send water to the fountain in town as well as continuing to water said flowers?
Will you, future mayor of Kenai, and future/current council members, continue to refuse to answer my questions about why my water/sewer bill continues to raise each year?
What will you do?