NEWTON FALLS — The village has approved adding fixed monthly debt service charges for electric rates that will be paid by residential, commercial, municipal and industrial customers.
Also, officials are looking to make repairs on two dams in the village, and have a new pact for administering a home repair revolving loan program.
ELECTRICITY
City Manager Pam Priddy said the village’s costs to purchase electricity have gone up.
The charges, she said, were recommended by Sawvel and Associates Inc., the electric service engineering consultants for the village. It recommended the fixed monthly service charges necessary for the village to meet its debt service obligations, including the allocated area median income (AMI) annual debt service.
Implemented electric fixed monthly service charges are $4.25 per month for 1,863 residential customers; $15.15 per month for 196 commercial customers; $18.35 per month for 39 municipal customers; and $515 per month for industrial — for two businesses, Bar Processing and Venture Plastics.
Estimated total per month generated is $12,622.
“The debt service will help cover that increased additional cost to purchase electric. It will help us cover the costs of what the city had already incurred for the electric,” Priddy said.
The debt service goes into effect 30 days after the second reading by village council on Jan. 4, which will be with the March billing cycle covering February usage, Priddy said.
Officials said Ohio Edison / First Energy recently announced a rate increase due to supply costs at 20 cents per kilowatt hours. Priddy said the city’s rate is 14.5 per kilowatt hour.
Second Ward Councilman John Baryak said the debt service will help pay the debt off by the end of the year.
Priddy said another study on electric rates will be done later.
DAM REPAIRS
The village is seeing what grants may be available for two dams, which Priddy said are in bad shape and need repaired.
Priddy said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources did a study in 2016 of what needs fixed on the dams.
She said age and the effects of weather and digging animals have done damage, eroding the banks. The dam on First Street has a hole in it.
Baryak said the hole keeps getting bigger because of the force of the water.
“The city owns both of the dams so we have got to do something. Originally when they began removing dams along the Mahoning River we thought these may get removed, but they are not on the list. The dam off First Street is for our water source,” Priddy said.
She said the dam by Veterans Park is not in as bad of shape.
She said the First Street Dam also will have a new canoe launch for the spring. Work will be done in the parking lot by the canoe launch.
“The project was extended to June because of the concrete not being able to be done because of the cold weather,” Priddy said.
HOME REPAIRS
The village has entered into an administrative agreement with Neighborhood Development Services for the administration of the Revolving Loan Fund Home Repair program.
NDS will provide assistance with the administration and implementation requirements for the home repair revolving loan program. Priddy said the program will require residents signing up through NDS, which will let village officials know who was or was not approved.
She said criteria is based on income — such as, someone who can’t afford to get their furnace fixed or repairs needed to the roof of a house.
“Someone can apply for loans but they have to meet certain criteria. They will need to fill out the amount they are requesting. The NDS was predicting eight to 10 projects per year for funding based on the amount of money we have to loan,” Priddy said.
Baryak said the home repair program has been tried before in the village.
“The funds from the small interest loans will generate interest, which allow us to help more people,” he said.
Priddy said there is about $145,000 in the account.
She said the money is paid back over time by the people who receive it and the money comes back into the fund after they sell their home.
“This allows us to reloan the money back out again,” Priddy said.
