Agreement effective March 29, 2019???
Tuesday evening the Kennedale City Council voted 3-1-1 on an agreement with the City of Arlington for the transfer of the daily maintenance and operation of the city water and sewer to the Arlington Water Department beginning on Friday, March 29, 2019. The Council also agreed to the purchase of water from Arlington by a 5-0 vote.? {{more: continue …}}
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According to Leslie Galloway, Kennedale City Secretary and the Arlington City Council approved both agreements in a separate meeting in Arlington on the same night. Arlington is required to have second reading on the necessary budget amendment which should happen next Tuesday, March 26, 2019 before all is complete.?
Agreement highlights ?
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Under the contract terms
- Kennedale maintains ownership of all current assets including the city?s two wells. Arlington will get access to Kennedale?s system which will improve Arlington flow of water/sewage in areas that border Kennedale and eliminate some of their dead-end lines.
- Kennedale will purchase water from Arlington. The city currently buys water from Fort Worth in a contract that will remain in force. Arlington offers the sale of water at a significantly lower price than that of Fort Worth. By the beginning of the second year of the contract the water supplied to Kennedale residents will be approximately 80% Arlington and 20% Fort Worth.
In return …
- Kennedale will get a cheaper supply of water, access to a much larger, more experienced workforce along with a much better equipped department that will eliminate Kennedale’s? need to bid out much of the work on big projects. Current Kennedale Water Department employees have the opporutnity to be employed by Arlington with a comparable or better salary/benefits program.
- Kennedale will see an improved water system as it becomes part of Arlington’s long-term preventive maintenance and upgrade program.?
- Kennedale customers will have a ?better tasting? water as Kennedale eliminates the use of well water over the next year. Users may also see improved water pressure as Arlington?s system operates at a higher pressure than Kennedale?s system.?
- Overall, the City of Kennedale should see a significant savings in the cost of operating the system and Kennedale water users should see a stabilized water rate from year to year. The City of Kennedale plans to use part of the savings realized in this contract to build back-up the reserve fund and to continue to work on projects that are already in the works or have been planned. One of those projects is to make needed repairs to the two wells in Kennedale, so that if and when the are needed, they will be fully functional.?
A way to increase the quality of the product ?
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Kennedale City Council member Rockie Gilley described the agreement this way, ?I look at this as not such much as a way to save money but a way to increase the quality of the product and a way to maintain the current price.? He went on to caution Kennedale water users not to expect ?a drastic reduction in your water and sewer rates.? Saying that there are ?a lot of moving parts [in this agreement]? and he felt that it will take time to really see how it all works out.
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Kennedale Finance Director Brady Olsen however expressed his confidence that Kennedale will realize significant savings in this partnership with Arlington.?Gilley chose to abstain in the voting on the maintenance and operation while council members Jan Joplin, Sandra Lee and Chris Pugh voted for both that agreement and the water purchase from Arlington. Council member Linda Rhodes voted against the M&O agreement but voted for the water purchase along with Gilley.
?A way out …?
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There is way for Kennedale to terminate the three year agreement early which is spelled out in the agreement. It will allow the two cities involved to end the contract if it should be necessary and/or prove to be non-beneficial.
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What this all mean to the Kennedale resident …?
The agreement goes into effect next week on March 28, 2019. However, Kennedale customers will not see any immediate changes. The water will continue to flow without disruption and trash which is not part of the agreement will continued to be picked on the same designated days.?
- Rates ? no change is expected in the current rates which have been lowered twice in the last two years. City officials are saying that there there will be several months of data to help determine needs for the next budget cycle but they are not anticpating any change in the current rate for next year. However, some discussion centered on the potential of lowering the rates charged on the larger meters so that the rates that are charged will be more in line with industry standards. NOTE: Waters Rates will not match what Arlington has for its customers. The rates are separate and unique to Kennedale residents.
- Billing – Fanthom will still be handling the billing system for the City of Kennedale under the current enforced contract. Kennedale plans to discuss a possible buyout of the present Fathom contract. When, and if that happens, Arlington has indicated that they will be able to take over billing.?
- Bill payment – Customers should still pay as they have been by automatic payments, online, by mail or in person at Kennedale City Hall. Once the system has been set up, Kennedale residents will be able to pay their bill in person at any of the locations available to Arlington residents even with Fanthom handling the billing.
- Improvement in water taste – access to Arlington water will not be immediate as Arlington will need to build a transfer system to allow water to flow into Kennedale. Arlington has estimated that it should take 3 to 4 months. Kennedale anticipates the complete system should be fully operational in the first year of the agreement with a mix of Arlington and Fort Worth water flowing to customers with no well water used.
- Who to call ? For maintenance issues, Kennedale residents with a problem an issue beginning March 29, 2019, need to contact Arlington Water Utilities Department. Options? include:?
- Email?- [email protected] (for non-emergency);?
- Phone?- 817-275-5931 (M-F 8 a.m. -5 p.m.)?
- Emergency 24 hour service -?817-459-5900 for water main break, water leak, sewer overflow or water contaimination).?
- In person?- 1100 SW Green Oaks, Arlington or 101 W. Abrams St at Arlington City Hall.
