Should manufactured (or mobile) home parks receive some kind of discount on their water and sewer bills for the administrative and maintenance costs they incur?
Lake Villa Manufactured Home Community thinks so.
‘What we’re talking about here is a fundamental issue of fairness,? said Dan Myrick, vice president of Christopher Investment Company, which owns Lake Villa.
Last week, Oxford Township officials reviewed the findings of a study performed by Giffels-Webster Engineers, part of which called for raised the Residential Equivalent Unit (REU) allocation of manufactured homes from the current 0.6 to 0.85 per unit.
An REU is a way to equate higher volume water and sewer users to single family homes, which are used as the standard. The single family residence with its value of 1 REU is the basis around which all other facilities? water consumption and sewer usage is estimated.
The study determined the base water consumption for an average residential home in the township is 200 gallons per day or 1 REU.
‘A mobile home uses 85 percent of that,? said Leslie Zawada, a senior project manager with Giffels-Webster.
In terms of actual dollars, assigning manufactured homes a value of 0.85 REU would increase residents quarterly township sewer bills from $37.80 to $53.55.
REUs will also used by the township to determine how much in capital charges to assess Lake Villa when its system is eventually hooked up to the township system. If the park remained at 0.6 REU per unit, the capital charge would be $19.20 per quarter. If it was increased to 0.85 REU, it jump to $27.20 per quarter.
But Greg Christopher, owner of Lake Villa, disputed the 0.85 REU assignment because the study performed by Giffels-Webster only used water usage data taken during the winter over a five-year period.
Christopher argued that by only using winter months, the study did not take in account how much water is used during the summer, which is ‘significantly more.?
But Zawada said data from summer months was not considered because water that’s used to irrigate lawns and gardens does not enter the sewer system. It’s sewer usage that determines an REU’s value, which can also be applied to water use.
Christopher said he had his own water study performed using four years worth of data showing Lake Villa’s water usage ‘every single day.?
His study showed that on an ‘annual basis? the park uses less than the current 0.6 REU assignment.
It was also noted by Christopher that officials shouldn’t adopt the new 0.85 REU assignment without ‘considering other factors that save the township money.?
‘Take a look at these items first before you increase the cost to our people and if they’re valid, give us the credit,? Christopher said.
Although Lake Villa contains 851 housing units, it has only one water meter for the entire park. Therefore, the township and Oakland County send out only one quarterly water and sewer bill.
This results in an annual savings of $2,278 in postage for the governments.
Using his own paid personnel, Christopher bears the administrative costs associated with sending out and collecting 851 bills.
Christopher is also financially responsible for all repairs and maintenance of the park’s internal water and sewer lines (approximately six miles) plus the community’s sewer lift station and generator.
Only the wells and well house which service Lake Villa are owned by the township and maintained by the county.
All the park’s water/sewer infrastructure is owned by Christopher.
‘If you say it’s 0.85 you at least have to look at what we do versus what others in the township do not have to do,? Myrick told officials.
Myrick noted that, according to the county, of the $2.323 per 1,000 gallons that’s charged for sewer services in the township, 61 percent (or $1.423) is for billing, administration and collections.
‘You don’t have that with us,? he said. ‘You have one bill, one collection.?
Of the $1.707 per 1,000 gallons that’s charged for township water, 54 percent (or $0.918) is billing, administration and transportation, according to the county.
Lake Villa customers are charged for leakage in their water system, which other township customers do not have to pay.
According to the county, the township’s system has 10.8 percent leakage (water that does not go through a meter). This loss is paid by all township water customers ? including Lake Villa even though it’s not hooked up to the municipal system yet ? as part of the usage rates.
Once Lake Villa’s water goes through the park’s master meter and enters the community’s system, its residents are billed for 100 percent of any leakage.
‘If we bust a water main in the middle of Parker Lake Drive and the thing goes for an hour-and-a-half before we’re able to shut it down, guess who pays that? We do,? said Myrick.
Myrick noted that asking the township to take into consideration Lake Villa’s costs for the aforementioned items ‘is not even unique.? The Village of Holly gives ‘credits? for administrative and maintenance costs to multiple family complexes (of 20 units or more) served by a single meter and manufactured home parks.
It basically amounts to a combined 20 percent discount off the total number of REUs allocated.
Myrick requested a second study be performed by Giffels-Webster to ‘look into the cost components of supplying these services and determine if we’re right.?
‘I’ll pay for it,? Christopher told officials. ‘We don’t have a problem funding it, if you guys want to tell them to do it.?
‘I think it’s important to look at it because our first concern is equity,? said township Supervisor Bill Dunn. ‘We have to do what’s equitable for everyone to the best of our ability.?
Ultimately, the township board voted 4-3 to direct Giffels-Webster to come up with a cost for a proposed study to see if manufactured homes warrant credits for administrative costs, repairs and maintenance, and leakage.
Treasurer Joe Ferrari voted ‘no? because he wanted to see the ‘same philosophy? applied to other entities ? like apartment complexes such as Park Villa and Independence Village of Waterstone ? which receive a single bill and incur administrative costs spreading it out amongst their residents.
‘Whatever we do has to be universal,? he said.
Officials also voted 4-3 against implementing new REU assignments for facilities that previously had none.
Giffels-Webster’s study determined REU allocations for day care centers (with meals/0.06 per student and without meals/0.04 per student), fire stations (1), group homes (0.30 per bed), landscape nurseries (1 per structure) and public golf courses (1 per nine holes).
Most board members felt it better to wait until the manufactured homes issue is settled before adopting the new REU assignments.
‘I would like to see it all done at once,? Dunn said. ‘I don’t want to do it piecemeal.?
‘This needs to be a clean package,? said Trustee Pat Fitchena. ‘We need to be done with this.?