Come Sept.1, the Lake Villa Manufactured Home Community will become part of the Oxford Township water system and residents there will begin paying more for water and sewer services.
However, Lake Villa’s owner Greg Christopher, owner of Christoper Investment Co. in Auburn Hills, wanted residents to know ‘not one penny goes to the park? and in fact, the new arrangement will actually save residents money in the long-run.
‘We’re not doing this to make money,? Christopher said. ‘We’re not making a nickel.?
Four private wells which currently provide water to the park’s 851 units along Lakeville Rd. will become township property thanks to a transfer agreement approved by officials in July.
Christopher essentially gave the wells to the township.
The addition of these wells gives the township water system the additional 400 gallons per minute in capacity it needed to meet future demand.
But some Lake Villa residents are upset and have questions about the reasons behind the well transfer, the new rates they will be paying, why there will be no individual meters and what the benefits are to them, the township and the park’s owner, Christopher Investment Co. in Auburn Hills.
A July 27 letter from Christopher Investment explaining the situation was distributed to Lake Villa residents, but apparently it was not clear and created confusion instead of understanding.
‘I think honestly, in looking at our notice again, while legally correct and in compliance with all the rules we have to follow ? I think we could have done a better job in explaining the ‘whys,?? admitted Dan Myrick, vice president of Christopher Investment.
A new letter written in a question-and-answer format will be circulated to residents in the next week or so.
Barb Bovee, a Lake Villa resident for more than 30 years who voiced many questions at last week’s township board meeting, has been asked to read the letter before it’s sent out and give her input in an effort to help people understand what’s going on, according to Myrick.
Under the new billing system, Lake Villa residents will pay a flat fee of $57 per quarter (every three months) consisting of a $37.80 sewer charge and a $19.20 capital charge. The capital charge is money the township will use to pay off the $17.7 million bond debt for all the improvements it’s currently making to the water system.
On top of the $57 per quarter every unit will pay equally, each unit will pay its proportionate share of the actual water used by the park.
One master meter for the entire park will measure how much water Lake Villa uses as a whole. The Oakland County Drain Commission, on behalf of the township, will then bill the land owner, in this case Christopher Investment, for the park’s water usage.
‘Mr. Christopher is responsible for paying that bill,? according to township engineer Shannon Filarecki, of Rowe, Inc. ‘If someone within the park should choose not to pay their water bill, the township would still get paid by the land owner.?
Christopher will then in turn bill his residents to recoup exactly what he paid the county, no more.
‘There are administrative costs (printing and sending out 851 bills), but we’re eating it,? Christopher said.
‘We’re not making any money on this,? Myrick said.
Each unit’s proportionate share will be determined by dividing the park’s total quarterly bill for water usage as a whole by the total number of occupants in the community, then multiplying the per capita (or per person) cost of water usage by the number of people residing in each home.
Each home site will be charged for at least two occupants as the minimum. Those with more occupants will pay a higher proportionate share. The number of occupants will be determined on the first billing date of each quarterly water period.
Having one master meter instead of 851 individual meters allows Lake Villa to buy water in ‘bulk? and ‘save tremendous money,? according to Christopher.
If each unit had its own meter it would cost each home $29.50 for the first 1,500 cubic feet of water and $0.975 for every 100 cubic feet thereafter.
By having one master meter, the park as a whole gets charged the first $29.50 and all the water after that is $0.975 per 100 cubic feet.
‘Everybody saves a ton of money,? Christopher said.
It’s estimated that a manufactured home uses about 200 gallons (26.74 cubic feet) of water per day or 18,000 gallons (2,406 cubic feet) per quarter.
Based on those estimates, Lake Villa residents will pay $80.46 per quarter ? $57 flat fee for the sewer and water capital charges plus $23.46 for actual water consumption. That works out to $26.82 a month for water and sewer service, which is less than what single family homes in the township pay.
Based on an 18,000-gallon-per-quarter usage, a single family home could expect to pay $133.33 per quarter or $44.44 per month.
Lake Villa residents currently being charged extra rent for water ? under the private well system ? because there are more than two people living in a home will see that charge eliminated effective Sept. 1.
Under the current system, residents pay for water through occupancy charges based on the number of people living in a unit above two people. It’s $10 per month more for each person over two occupants ? three people equals $10, four people equals $20 ? with a maximum of $25 per month.
‘It’s pretty rare you have more than five in a home,? Myrick said. ‘You might get six on occasion, but that’s usually about it.?
In light of the resident’s new responsibility for paying township water and sewer charges as of Sept. 1, there will be no rent increase at Lake Villa for 2007.
‘Lake Villa is consistently ranked as the lowest rent in Oakland County,? Myrick noted.
Christopher said one of the main advantages to Lake Villa hooking up to the township system under the well transfer agreement was the future savings of $3.1 million in tap fees.
If at some point in the future Lake Villa had been forced to hook into the township system because, for example, its private wells became contaminated, it would have cost $3,645 a piece for each of the park’s 851 units to tap into the system.
Filarecki noted being tied into the entire township system gives Lake Villa residents a more reliable water source than the private wells on their own.
‘If you lose power or if the wells go bad at Lake Villa, you have another means or method to provide those residents with water,? she said.
‘I think it makes all the sense in the world to be conservative and not put our residents in jeopardy,? Christopher said.
Still Myrick wished to note Lake Villa’s ‘has had excellent water for 35 years and there’s no reason to believe it won’t stay that way.?
With arsenic levels that are non-detectable and low iron levels, according to Filarecki, Lake Villa’s wells will not require a water treatment facility like other township wells.
Giving the wells to the township also means Christopher won’t have the responsibility of caring for them anymore, which means having to comply with ever-changing government standards. He noted the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality prefers that municipalities control and operate public water supplies such as Lake Villa’s system.