Bucks County Courier Times from Levittown, Pennsylvania • Page 23

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1971 By Yardley utility BUCKS COUNTY COURIER H'AES PENNSYLVANIA PAGE 2 Water rate hike is sought By ZACHAR STALBERG Courier Times Staff Writer The Yardley Water Company (YWC) filed an application today for a 28 per cent rate increase wilh the state Public Utility Commission in Harrisburg. The increase, if approved, will amount to about seven cents per day on the average residential water bill The company has asked that the new rates become effective April I on service for all customer categories, excluding public fire protection. YWC Manager Ronald H. Moon said the application is the company's first request for a rate adjustment since April. 1952.

with the exception of a surcharge authorized by the PUC in March- Quarterly Bills Kesidential customers of the company now pay an average of $6-53 a month for water sen-ice, according to Moon. The average monthly charge under the proposed new rate will rise to $8.82. The company bills on a quarterly basis. YWC serves 3.910 customers in YanJley Borough, Lower Makefield and Falls Townships, representing a population of about 15.000 people. The bulk of the subscribers-- in Lower Makefield with about 1.000 in Falls and 600 in Yardley.

Customers of the time of 1952 rate increase numbered 1.152. The surcharge was granted to all public utilities by the PUC to enable them to pass on to the customer the taxation of real property imposed by the legislature in January. 1970. The YWC surcharge was originally set at 3.78 per cent but was dropped to 3.46 per cent in December when revenues were higher than anticipated. 'Long Overdue' Moon called the rate request "long and said the pre- ornsville Makefield vioas management of the company "probably should have sought increases" in the intervening 19 years.

YWC was purchased by the American Water Works Co. the nation's largest private industrial water utility, with a million stock transfer on Dec. 31. 1963. Part of the funds from the expected increase will be used to defray the cost of constructing a new filtration plant and purchasing water from the Morrisville Municipal Authority.

The plant, now under design, is to be built off Mill and Edgewood Roads in Lower Makefield Township. It is scheduled for completion in the spring of 1972. Plant' Capacity The plant will be designed for a two-million gallon capacity with expansion to a possible four million in 1978-80 and six million in 1990. "This will require capital investment costs on our part. Capital costs are competitive and an increase in rates is vital in order to build facilities to serve the In Morrisville Flood insurance will be studied By ZACHARY STALBERG Courier Times Staff Writer The Morrisville Planning Commission last night designated Fred Smith, its newly appointed secretary, to contact state and county authorities on zoning requirements for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Smith will study the floodway zoning requirements of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's insurance plan as interpreted by the state Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Natural Resources of the Bucks Coun- ty.Planning Commission. The Community Affairs Department, the coordinating agency for the program in the state, requires the borough "evidence a positive interest in securing coverage" for its residents and "give satisfactory assurances that adequate land use and control measures be adopted" by Dec. 31. 1955 Flood Borough Manager Robert H. Steward told the commission he was interested that areas affected by the 1955 flood especially Delmorr Ave.

south of Bridge St. be specifically zoned as flood planes to quality for the insurance protection. The commission voted to reopen the matter, which had been deferred at its September and December meetings, and unanimously appointed Smith to make the "proper inquiries." In other business, the commission approved the draft of a letter to William C. Williams, manager of the Lincoln Arms Condominium on Trenton which invites the agent to appear before the commission to explain facets of the condominium operation. In a condominium like Lincoln Arms, which was transferred from a rental basis in late November, residents buy an apartment as if it were a single dwelling and own a percentage of the "common elements the lawns, hallways and sidewalks.

The commission is concerned that senior citizens living on fixed incomes will be forced to move as the apartment units are sold. The borough is also concerned water and sewer billing will not be done on an individual basis, but divided among the unit owners. The letter states the commission is "admittedly not directly involved" since there are no zoning changes or structural alterations, but requests a visit from Williams to clarify the confusion and insure protection of borough residents. Rohner Is Chairman Councilman Thomas J. Rohner was elected chairman of the commission and Smith was elected secretary after the present chairman, Daniel R.

Friday, declined to serve another year in the post. Friday had directed the commission for three years. Rohner has been a member of the commission since 1954 and its secretary for 14 years. Smith, who had been serving as an interim appointment on the commission, was named to a full five-year term last week by Borough Council. A request for a special exception to add a fifth apartme'rit to a milti-family dwelling at 236 Washington St.

was denied on the grounds of insufficient lot area, insufficient parking area and substandard ceiling height. Yardley planners mum on shop center The Yardley Planning Commission has reviewed plans for the proposed shopping center across from Yardley Commons and has made a decision on its recommendation to borough council, according to commission chairman Harold Hershberger. He did not disclose the decision but said he expected comment on the proposal at tomorrow night's public meeting of the planning commission. Discussion of the shopping center is not specifically on the commission's published program, which includes as address by Bucks County Planning Board Director Franklin Wood on "What Good Planning Can Do to Benefit the People of Yardley." Question Period It is expected that the shopping center will be brought up during the question-and-answer session which follows Wood's speech and the regular business of the plan ning board. Hershberger said he did not think it was necessary to hold "two public hearings" on the proposal, since council has already scheduled a special session for next Wednesday to consider a zoning change for the 3.891 acre tract on S.

Main SL He added, however, that the commission would not avoid questions on the "spot zoning" application. The request to rezone the land from R-l (residential) to commercial was made Dec. 21 by the property owners. Lower Makefield Township contractor John L. Regler and Falls Township real estate agent Willard L.

Croft, Regler applied for a similar zoning change in January, 1969, which was subsequently denied. First Proposal The original proposal provided for a $500,000 shopping center, which would have included a drive-in bank, a 6,000 square foot office building, a foot food store, 10 retail stores and a one-half acre service station. Regler and Croft have not revealed details of the new project. area. Construction costs are at an ail-time high and continue to rise," Moon said.

The manager and two YWC officials appeared before the Morrisville Municipal Authority laie in November with a request to purchase 700,000 gallons of wa'er a dav this year and substantial quantities of water after the new filtration plant is completed. Rate Scale The authority stated it would provide YWC with a rate scale for the water purchase about Jan. 15. but Borough Manager Robert H. Steward said yesterday that the proposal has not been finalized yet.

"Our engineers are still analyz- the 1970 plant figures. When the study is returned, an offer will be presented to them lYWO." Steward stated. He said he did not know when the study would be ready. YWC now buys about 200,000 gallons per day from Morrisville. "at rates considerably higher than those of Yardley," according to Moon.

Quantities Compared The manager also justified the increase by comparing the water system in 1952. when the maximum daily delivery was 820,000 gallons, to the present maximum dairy delivery-, which is about 22 million gallons. He said labor costs have increased approximately 100 per cent aad operating and maintenance costs have jumped about 300 per cent. Thirty-nine miles of distribution mains have been added, three standpipes have been erected and five new wells drilled since 1952, according to the YWC report- According to state law, the rate increase cannot be approved in less than 60 days and is usually subject to a public hearing. Customers are permitted an opportunity to file complaints on an application prior to its consideration.

The PUC has deferred action on a complaint against YWC by 80 Lower Makefield Township residents who claim the utility- has failed to provide adequate water pressure at their homes. YWC has proposed a settlement but the homeowners have not officially responded. Jt was expected that a solution to the pressure problem in the elevated areas of the township would be a contributing factor to a rate hike request. Courier limes photo by Jay Cmrtord MARCHING-- Morrisville High School Band parades yesterday in Harrisburg at the inauguration of Gov. Milton J.

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