• EVMWD Capacity Fee Increase

There was an interesting meeting at EVMWD this morning at 10:00am. I wasn't sure if I was going as blogger guy or as a candidate for city council. As it turns out, a bit of both since you're reading this now. 

I added the red numbers and underline.

Number 1 indicates the current cost per house to hook up a 3/4 inch water line and sewer line. Number 2 is the current proposed rate. A difference of $2590 per new home. Larger supply lines will cost more. One inch was said to cost between 1.5 and 1.7 times what's listed above.

The meeting was more of a workshop dealing with a proposed fee increase. The EVMWD board of directors were in the audience, and not in their normal seats at the dais. 

It also was apparent that much of this information had already been shared with the various agencies/cities involved. Though there were several questions at the end, it seemed more like a formality to me.

The proposed fee increase was NOT something that will be affecting ratepayers, just new construction.

Pro Tip: If you've got a project in the works, and you want to save a few grand per, I suggest getting to it before September 1st. That's when the new fees are set to take effect.

To ensure enough water for those that already live here, and to be able to supply the anticipated growth over the next 20 years, there are several projects that need to be built. One of the reasons why the proposed increase was reissued with a smaller increase is that two additional projects have been removed from the list above. Though they are quite likely to be added back to the list in the coming years.

Most of those that attended were either part of the cities that EVMWD services (Lake Elsinore was represented by Mayor Natasha Johnson and Councilmember Steve Manos; Wildomar was represented by Mayor Ben Benoit and Assistant City Manager Dan York; and a council member from Canyon Lake was there too), or had some other vested interest. 

A look at the cost of developing the new sources of water. It was stated that those costs are only for the actual water supply and that there are also other costs that go along with them. Things like pumping costs, storage costs, transmission costs that are part of the capacity fee, the above is just the water supply piece of it.

In addition to elected officials, there were representatives of the BIA (Not - Bureau of Indian Affairs, but Building Industry Association), and other developers. Groups that aren't too sanguine with proposed increases that will directly affect their industry. The BIA rep asked if this could be phased in over time, but that was basically rejected out of hand.

Many people would suggest that the above might suggest easing back on growth for the time being.

The bulk of the meeting was conducted by EVMWD's Government Relations Officer Greg Morrison. He went over issues dealing with the need to increase the fee. It was also stated that EVMWD wanted this fee increase process to be as transparent as possible. It was also noted that in the past such issues would have been addressed in closed meetings.

It was stated quite clearly that they are raising the capacity fees to prevent the surfacing of the "M" word: moratorium. If you've ever thought that we already have enough development in most of this valley, understand that the powers that be don't agree with you. 

This meeting was to let the cities and developers see why the increase in Capacity Fees is necessary. Two numbers were tossed out when it came to buildout. I heard both 40% and 30%. 

EVMWD can promise service, delivering water to the area, through 2040. Makes me wonder what happens in 2041? (other than the 100th anniversary of the US entering WWII that is)

By delaying the implementation of the fee hikes, it'll be costing the district the difference. 

Currently, according to the powerpoint slide, the district has had to supplement the costs by about $2.4M since 2017. If they delay the increase another 6 months, it'll be another $600K. 

They currently are making up the difference out of their share of the property taxes that we all pay. Money that is supposed to go to other needs.

A ray of sunshine to those of us that are already here.

Lake Elsinore city council member Steve Manos asked, "Have you looked at getting a piece of the water bond that voters approved recently, to help finance the infrastructure? Have you looked at local bonding to finance the infrastructure, defraying the costs over a period of time? We live in an area where the sewer rates are the highest in the region, the water rates are the highest in the region."

Greg Morrison thanked Mr. Manos for his question but basically said that bond measures don't usually go towards new growth/development type projects and that it wasn't an apples to apples comparison. 

He didn't address the issues of our area being charged the highest rates in the region. 

We all need somewhere to live, but I'm going to have a difficult time working up any tears for the developers that are going to see their costs increased in order to add the needed infrastructure the area will need if they build. 

A couple of other tidbits I gleaned from the 45 minute meeting...

The fee will be good for about three and a half to four years from what Greg Morrison said, then another increase will be considered. That doesn't include the yearly indexing that will happen as needed.

My favorite line started this way, "If this fee is adopted..."

Come on, we're all adults, let's don't play make believe here. Of course, it's going to be adopted. It'll happen this Thursday evening at the meeting of the EVMWD board of directors.

For more information about this, the topic has its own website: http://evmwdcapacityfees.com/

Wildomar Rap opinion time

We all hate fees, and the only thing we hate more than fees is higher fees.

At the same time, we don't like having our costs go up because of someone else's business needs (in this case: the developers), or newcomers entering the area.

These are basically developer impact fees, but these are the ones that the water department are charging, compared to the ones that the city charges.

If there were no new development, there wouldn't be the need for increased supply of water or sewer or increased Capacity Fees. If there is going to be continued development, the costs shouldn't be added to the balance of the community that doesn't need them. 

When our homes were built, the costs of infrastructure were added to the price of the homes at that time. If you want to avoid paying 2018 fees, buy an old house.

It's clear that the countless fees that are added to every new domicile in this state are part of the reason why housing costs are in the stratosphere in California (ie, the housing shortage), but it's something that emanates from Sacramento, and I don't see any way to avoid them. 

As for the buildout of the area, it's only going to get more and more difficult to live here as we get near the projected top end.

The freeway is already a mess most of the time, and when another 20,000 people are added to Wildomar (buildout is about 55,000), and another 150,000 people are added to Lake Elsinore, just imagine what that will look like when trying to drive somewhere, yikes!

Like I said at the top of the blog, I wasn't sure if I was going as a blogger or as a potential city council member. If elected, I would be attending many similar meetings like this every week. Meetings that don't always have a direct effect on the average resident in town.

It's just part of the territory, being up to speed with things going on in the region, and it's also the type of thing that would be included in an e-newsletter that I've mentioned in my campaign. If you like this level of involvement, consider voting for me if you're in district 3.

Use this link to visit my campaign website for more details.

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"The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy."
– Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz

The backbone of Wildomar Rap is fusing speed with accuracy, and a soupçon grating humor.

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