Eric Bartkus Lowell City Council

-Voted no on the water/rate increases required for the $3.3M USDA loan as I thought the below three ideas (from me and residents) should be considered. I realize the 40 year loan at 2.8% is great today if you need to borrow, but the yearly increases are going to be difficult for many residents. The water and sewer rate increases are needed to qualify for borrowing that much money (need a certain level of cash flow for Monroe and Washington loans). I was hoping we would “brainstorm” and find ways to reduce the increases, but it didn’t go that way.

1)Delay the Avery street rebuild and use that $521K on Washington. As mentioned earlier I hope Avery isn’t rebuilt before the proposed Rollaway development trucks damage the road.

2)Use some of the marijuana road money on Washington. A good chunk of the $3.3M is road work. This might delay other roads in the 7 year plan.

3)Use some of the water/wastewater cash reserve on Washington. I don’t think the full 400 days of cash is left after other planning from Mike Burns, but we have more than the 9 months that Warren Creamer recommended.

I certainly want work on Washington to start as soon as possible, but I am trying to keep rates affordable (my Promise 8). I have recently learned that a council member can ask for a work session of council where we “brainstorm” ideas. I should have done this as soon as the rate increase information was received on March 27. I’ll keep learning/working to represent the residents and businesses of Lowell.

Feel free to call me at 616 240 0227 to discuss, email at eric@ericbartkus.com or comment on my facebook page.