FAIRHOPE – Natural gas service fees could go up for Fairhope residents under a proposal being considered by the City Council.
At a work session on Jan. 11, Terry Holman, Gas Department assistant superintendent, said a connection fee of $300 would help the city pay for the cost of installing services. He said the charge would be similar to connection fees for other services.
“The water’s always charged, the sewer, the electric. The gas is never charged,” he said. “I think that really needs to be done to get a little bit of our money back, at least pay for the supplies.”
Holman said the department has done about 400 gas connections a year since 2015. He said the cost would not add a significant amount to what property owners pay to have gas in their homes.
“So far, talking to people, nobody has a problem with the $300 service charge, especially when they do the gas piping,” Holman said. “It costs them $2,000 or $3,000 just to have their house piped so they’re not going to buck at having a $300 service for their appliances.”
The proposal would also increase reconnection fees to up to $100.
“You’ve got a guy on standby who goes out there, that’s a two-hour call out and $28.50’s just not cutting it for what the charge is now,” Holman said.
The plan also calls for additional charges for new services if the lines extend more than 250 feet from city gas lines. The proposal would charge $2 a foot, but Holman said that price could be reduced if council members wished.
“I would like to see that down to $1,” he said. “Some people live 1,000 feet off of the street and that gets kind of costly. The pipe costs us about $1 a foot, 90 cents, 80, 90 cents a foot.”
Mayor Sherry Sullivan said the plan had been reviewed by Terry Mitchell of Jackson Thornton.
“He agreed with everything,” she said. “He thought this was a good start for us, very conservative, but he did mention that he would recommend on the meter deposits for rental properties that we also add manufactured homes to that at $150.”
Council President Jack Burrell said he did not like increasing fees, but users should pay for the service they receive.
“We don’t like doing this,” Burrell said. “This is the worst part of the job. It really is, but at the same time, we have to run our utilities like a business.”
Councilman Robert Brown said he agreed with the proposal. “I think it’s a great idea to charge for the service,” Brown said. “It’s past due.”
