Chelsea council to revisit sewer agreement at next meeting, approves proposed ordinance for city bond issuances

The Chelsea City Council had two important topics on the agenda for the evening of its Jan. 22 meeting: a sewer agreement with Shelby Ridge Utility Systems (SRUS) and a proposed ordinance involving city bond issuances.

On Jan. 18, the city issued a press release announcing their plans to put the 10-year sewer system agreement to a vote at the council meeting.

According to the press release, the city is concerned that current sewer fees could potentially hinder its “retail and commercial growth and development,” adding that monthly service fees and rate increases have been a point of concern for Chelsea residents. With the proposed sewer system agreement from SRUS, utility rates will be frozen through Jan. 2021 and “limit future adjustments of the SRUS monthly fees and reservation fees to reasonable parameters.”

At the start of the discussion, Mayor Tony Picklesimer assured residents present and watching on Facebook that he would answer all questions about the agreement for as long as it took, also inviting officials from SRUS to come forward.

Councilman Scott Weygand asked SRUS Chief Operating Officer Richard Rich if it would be possible for the council to see an agreement between SouthWest Water Company, which SRUS is a subsidiary of, and a third party accountant before signing off on the official agreement. Rich said no because SRUS will not engage a third party accountant until the agreement between the City and SRUS is executed.

One Chelsea resident, Connie Gilliland, asked Rich if SRUS, Chelsea or both parties would be selecting the third-party accountant for the agreement. Rich replied that the city of Chelsea and SRUS would work together.

Weygand also asked if SRUS had modelled what the rate changes would be over the duration of the agreement to which Rich replied that they hadn’t and that any rate changes would be limited.

Chelsea resident David Krump asked via Facebook Live if the agreement would benefit businesses or homes, and Rich said there would be no difference in the current monthly fee.

Additionally, while going through the contract, it was also noted that there were some areas where language needed to be changed to match what was being stated by Rich: the first was to add if legislation is passed requiring SRUS to be regulated both parties could terminate agreement, and the second, was to add something to ensure numbers provided to the third party accountant are the SRUS numbers as discussed in the agreement. Ultimately, a motion was made to continue the discussion on sewer system agreement at another meeting.

The council also authorized the issuance of city general obligation warrants. The city of Chelsea will receive a little over $9.8 million from the sale of these warrants, which will be used to fund capital projects including additions to the community center, a new fire truck, fire station renovation and some road paving projects. The warrants must be paid off by 2024.

Additional business during the meeting include:

• Approval of a resolution to authorize the installation and maintenance of a street light at the intersection of Highway 11 and Old Highway 280.
• Approval of a resolution to reject all fire station bids.
• Approval of a resolution to authorize Alabama Department of Revenue to collect rental/lodging taxes for the city of Chelsea.
• Approval of a resolution to purchase business licensing software.
• Approval of a resolution to authorize the city of Chelsea to work with the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce for the next year.
• Approval of all annexation ordinances submitted by Sugar Enterprises for a total of 28.8 acres located off of Essex Drive, should they provide proof of payment of fire dues to the Cahaba Valley Fire District.
• Announcement that the city will post a list of addresses that have not yet paid fire dues. Residents can call city hall for assistance with payments.

The next city council meeting will be Feb. 5 with a pre-council meeting set to begin at 5:00 p.m. A public hearing about the rezoning request of High Pointe Properties A-R to PRD will follow the actual council meeting.