Ashland City condo owners are arguing with the Ashland City Public Utilities Department over the sewer charges added to their water bills.
Ashland City Condo Owners Complain
The Ashland City Town Council workshop was held on Tuesday, August 10, 2024. During the workshop, Ashland City condo owners from Ashland Park Condominiums and Hickory Hills Condominiums raised concerns about the sewer fee added to their water bills. According to Joy Corn, an 8-year resident of Hickory Hills with six years of leadership experience in the homeowners association, the town is charging the Ashland City condo owners for a service they do not receive.
Corn says the town required the condominiums to install a Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) system when they were built 24 years prior. The town utility handles gray water from the sewage, but the sludge enters a tank on the property. Up to nine condominium units may be linked to that tank, so they must be periodically pumped. While the town does not service these tanks, it has billed the condominium owners as if it did.
Corn states that Hickory Hills pays $750 per tank. They spend an independent contractor to pump 24 holding tanks on a 2-year cycle. HOA members pay roughly $9,000 annually for the service. Meanwhile, the city water department sends separate bills to each homeowner. They pay a baseline fee of $33 plus water usage and sewer fees. According to Corn, their fees are set up like those of other city homeowners who receive complete services. She says the Hickory Hills residents owe part of the sewer fees for treating gray water and baseline sewer access. However, paying the whole amount is disadvantageous to the homeowners.
Meanwhile, Phil Bales, the HOA president of Ashland Park Condominiums, says their condominiums pay $11,000 annually to pump their tanks bi-annually. According to a November 2020 ordinance, non-residential property owners with a STEP system must pay to pump the tanks and maintain the pumps and control panels. However, the condominium complexes are residential, so the town should either stop charging the whole amount or handle the pumping themselves.
City Response to Complaints
According to Public Utilities Director Clint Biggers, the whole area of that town is only on gray water. They take water off it, and it holds all the solid waste. That waste is what must be pumped. However, they only accept gray water in that part of town. Mayor Gerald Greer also said that the Ashland City condo owners expressed their frustration because they did not receive any notification when the changes were made four years ago. Moreover, they only found out when they discovered raw sewage in their parking lot.
Meanwhile, Ashland City Financial Director Gayle Bowman said she remembers receiving a letter stating that she would notify property owners of the changes. However, she could not find a copy then because she changed work computers and offices multiple times. Vice-Mayor and 3rd Ward Councilman Chris Kerrigan also explained why the town no longer services non-residential STEP systems. While condominiums are residentially zoned, their STEP systems work in the same way as commercial properties.
Kerrigan explains that single-family homes rarely require pumping from the city because the tanks can handle the number of people who live there. The city only pumps the tanks occasionally. However, large condominium complexes require larger tanks. Condominiums and apartment complexes cater to multiple businesses and families in one tank.
The current Ashland City wastewater plant could not pump commercial STEP system tanks. He says that it alters the biological balance in the wastewater treatment plant, making it unable to process the wastewater. It kills and eats away at all of the good things left over. The city is currently building a new system that is made to handle more than what it currently has in anticipation of growth.
Kevin Thompson, 3rd Ward Town Councilman, stated he would consult businesses that service commercial STEP system tanks to understand the costs and where they deliver the sludge. Kerrigan states he understands both sides and that the Town Council would discuss the ordinance further at the October workshop. He says he feels for the Ashland City condo owners and understands it’s a lot of money in the HOA budget. However, it may put a large strain on the other city residents in the long run, and taxpayers must figure out how to handle it. They must pay someone to take the waste.
