For purposes of this article the following terms shall have the meanings set out thereafter:

(a)   Existing Service Connection. An existing service connection is one that has been installed prior to the adoption of this chapter and has been duly authorized by existing policies of the City.

(b)   Inspection Fee. A charge made by the City to recover labor costs associated with inspecting service connections.

(c)   New Service Connection. A service connection made for the first time in order to be serviced by a city utility.

(d)   Plant Equity Fee. A charge made by the City to be used to pay debt service toward the water and sewer plants. This equity fee is paid to purchase and reserve capacity and is considered a reimbursement for payments made for additional capacity by the City.

(e)   Public Infrastructure Fee. A charge made by the City to recover the costs of extending the City’s water and sewer public infrastructure from property that was not assessed its share of the costs of such extensions.

(f)    Sanitary Sewer Service Connection. The physical connection made between the City’s Sanitary Sewer System and a point located 5 feet from the foundation of a structure measured along the centerline of the structure’s discharge line.

(g)   Service Connection Standards. A set of specifications establishing construction standards and materials to be used when making service connections as outlined herein.

(h)   Utility Improvement Fee. A charge made by the City to offset future costs of expansion and improvement to its utility resulting from increased demand from additional connections being made to the utility.

(i)    Utility Services. Water, sewer, solid waste (refuse) and any other utility services provided by the city.

(j)    Water Service Connection. The physical connection made between the City’s Water System and the City’s meter.

(Ord. 1144)

Unless otherwise provided, water, sewer, solid waste (refuse) or other utility service shall be terminated for nonpayment of service fees or charges in accordance with sections 15-103 and 15-104.

(a)   If a utility bill has not been paid on or before the due date as provided in this chapter, a delinquency and termination notice shall be issued by the city clerk within five days after the delinquency occurs and such notice shall be provided to the customer by United States mail, electronic mail or by telephone.

(b)   The notice shall state:

(1)   The amount due, plus delinquency charge;

(2)   That service will be terminated if the amount due plus delinquency charge is not paid within 5 days from the date of the notice unless the date on the notice to pay the charges due shall be on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, in which event such notice will give the customer until the close of the next business day in which to pay the charges;

(3)   That the customer has the right to a hearing before the designated hearing officer

(4)   That the request for a hearing must be in writing and filed with the city clerk no later than three days prior to the date for termination of service..

(c)   Upon receipt of a request for hearing, the city clerk shall advise the customer of the date, time and place of the hearing which shall be held within three working days following receipt of the request.

(Ord. 1022; Code 2021)

Following the hearing, if the hearing officer shall find that service should not be terminated, notice of such finding shall be presented to the city clerk. If the officer finds that service should be terminated, an order shall be issued terminating service five days after the date of the order. The customer shall be notified either in person or by mailing a letter to his or her last known address by certified mail, return receipt requested. However, if the order is made at the hearing in the presence of the customer, then no further notice need be given. The hearing officer has a right, for good cause, to grant an extension, not to exceed 10 days, for the termination of such service.

(a)   At the time of making application for water and/or sewer service, the property owner or customer shall make a cash deposit to secure payment of accrued bills or bills due on discontinuance of utility service. Receipt thereof shall be issued to each such depositor.

(b)   The deposit required for residential water service is $40.00 per water meter. The deposit for commercial or industrial water service is dependent on the size of the water meter. The deposit per meter is $100.00 for a ¾” meter; $125.00 for a 1” meter; $150.00 for a 2” meter; $175.00 for 3-4” meters; and $200.00 for 5” or larger meters.

(c)   The deposit so made shall be kept by the city clerk in a separate account and deposited in a fund designated as the “meter deposit fund.” Interest shall be payable at the rate determined by the state corporation commission yearly and credited to the customer’s account December 31st of each calendar year.

(d)   On the second interest payment date following the deposit required above, the city clerk shall refund the deposit of any depositor who is owner of the premises wherein such utility service is being furnished and has not been delinquent in payment of any utility service charge during the past year. Interest due and accrued shall not draw interest.

(e)   Upon the discontinuance of any service at the request of the depositor, the deposit shall be refunded upon surrender of the original receipt therefor together with the accrued interest thereon less any amount due and owing the city for services furnished prior thereto or it may be credited towards the payment of the final bill rendered to the customer.

(f)    Any security deposit not refunded within three years after discontinuance of service shall be deposited in the utility fund of the city upon compliance with the provisions of K.S.A. 12-822 as amended.

(a)   In the event that any person, except the United States or the state of Kansas, shall fail to pay the fees or charges for such utility services(s), utility service shall be terminated as provided in sections 15-102 through 15-104. The governing body may refuse the delivery of utility service(s), as permitted by law, until such time as the fees and charges are paid in full.

(b)   In the event that any person, except the United States or the state of Kansas, residing, occupying, using or operating on property to which utility service(s) furnished by the city is not paid, the unpaid fees or charges shall constitute a lien upon the property to which the utilities are furnished. The amount of the unpaid fees or charges may be certified by the governing body to the county clerk of the county in which the property is located, to be placed upon the tax roll for collection, subject to the same penalties and collected in the same manner as other taxes are collected by law.

(c)   The lien, described in subsection (b) of this section, shall not attach to property for unpaid utility fees or charges when the utility service(s) have been contracted for by a tenant and not by the landlord or owner of the property to which the utility service is provided.

(d)   In addition to the remedies set out above for collection of unpaid utility fees or charges, the City may submit such unpaid utility fees or charges to the State of Kansas for collection under the provisions of K.S.A. 75-6201, et seq., as amended from time to time.

(e)   If at the time of application for utility service the applicant has an outstanding balance or unpaid fees or charges for utility services provided by the city, the application shall not be accepted until all fees or charges are paid in full.

(f)    If utility service is furnished to leased premises on the application and request of the lessor of the premises all billings for utilities furnished to such leased premises may be made directly to the lessor, and the lessor shall be fully liable for the cost of service furnished.

(g)   All unpaid fees or charges for utility services provided by the city that are turned over for collection, including referral to the State of Kansas setoff program, shall be subject to an administrative fee of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total of the unpaid amount. This administrative charge shall be applied to the unpaid balance prior to referral for collection.

(Ord. 859)

Following are the charges for new service connections to the city’s water and sewer utilities:

(a)   RESIDENTIAL INSIDE CITY LIMITS

For residential and commercial water service located within the RWD#2 boundary add $250.00 to the fees in the table above.

The following additional fees will be charged for all 3/4” to 1” meters only when the City provides any of the services set out below:

Meter                                                               Cost

Meter installation                                              No Charge

Meter Box, lid, cover and frame                         Cost

Meter box installation                                        $75.00

Tap Main                                                          $100.00 plus parts

Trenched service tubing ($25.00 min.)                $6.00/ft plus parts

Bored service tubing ($25.00 min.)                     $8.00/ft plus parts

Meters larger in size than 1” shall be installed by a contractor at owner’s expense under the inspection of the City, which will additionally include, but not be limited to meter, meter installation, meter vaults, meter box, lid, cover and frame.

(b)   RESIDENTIAL OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS. Outside of City Limits residential service connections will be charged a utility improvement fee equal to 1.5 times that charged for inside City service connections.

(c)   The connection charges set out in sections (a) and (b) above cover normal installation only.. Installations requiring special equipment or labor will be charged at cost to the City. All new residential service connections will require payment of an inspection fee, plant equity fee and utility improvement fee. Multiple family residential units will be subject to only one inspection charge per physical connection to the city utility. Installation of service connections by private contractors or homeowners will be allowed provided all other provisions of this article are followed. Multiple family residential units and individual mobile homes having individual meters will be charged 80% of the utility improvement fees, and equity fees based on size of meter. Apartment complexes and Mobile Home Parks having master meters will be considered commercial and will pay commercial rates as listed within the Ordinance.

Residential properties must connect to the City sewer system if there is a main within 200 feet of their property. Residential properties having self contained sewer facilities on their property are exempted from the 200 foot mandatory connection rule as long as their system is operational, and meets all current Kansas Department of Health and Environment standards.

(d)   COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.

Commercial and industrial establishments may not connect to a single city utility, unless approved by the City Council. In order to obtain any municipal utility service, such establishment must connect to both the water and sanitary sewer systems if available or within 800 feet. If meter sizes do not match the table above, the utility improvement fee will be calculated at $1.00 per gpm, Water Plant Equity Fee will be calculated at $4.00 per gpm and the Sewer Plant Equity Fee will be calculated at $4.00 per gpm.

(e)   COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. For commercial and industrial properties located outside the city limits, new service connections shall be 1.5 times the new service connection charges for commercial and industrial properties located inside the city limits.

(f)    PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FEE. In addition to the charges set out above, any property located inside the city limits connecting to the City’s water or sewer utility which has not previously been specially assessed for all or a portion of the costs of the water or sewer utility infrastructure to which the property is seeking to connect to shall pay an infrastructure fee as may be established by the City from time to time. For properties located outside the city limits, the public infrastructure fee shall be 1.5 times the fee charged for properties located inside the city limits.

(Ord. 1144)

There will be no charges for existing service connections unless a reconnection to the city system is required due to reasons other than those caused by city construction activity or replacement of existing service. If reconnection to a water meter is required due to replacement of service tubing from a structure to a meter or a new connection to the main is required, a $30.00 inspection fee will be charged. If a sanitary sewer connection is replaced and a re-tap on the city line is required, a $30.00 inspection fee will be charged. Reconnection of water meters for non-payment will not be assessed improvement, or equity fees.

Standard specifications shall be adopted outlining construction methods and material requirements for service connections and connection of service lines to the city water meter. These standards shall be prepared by the Director of Public Works and shall become a part of this code without further action by the governing body. Copies of the specifications shall be printed and bound and may be sold to the public at cost. Copies of the specifications shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk for public review.

No service connections will be allowed until such time as an application for such service has been received and approved by the city. Upon approval of the application all applicable service connection charges are due and shall be paid prior to construction of the connections. When special installation is required and assessment of charges cannot be made prior to construction, the charges shall be paid immediately upon such assessment. If such fees are not paid the city reserves the right to disconnect such service at the point of connection with the city utility.

The Director of Public Works or his or her representative shall make no service connection without inspection. All service connections shall remain exposed until such time as the inspection is made and the installation approved. If a service connection is covered prior to inspection, such connection shall be exposed without expense to the city and shall then be inspected. The city reserves the right to disconnect any service, which has not received appropriate inspection. A forty-eight hour notice shall be given to the City prior to inspection. No inspections will be completed on weekends or holidays.

City personnel will not install sanitary sewer connections or water service tubing from the structure to the meter. City personnel may install the water service connection between the main and meter at the request of the property owner and as work schedules permit such installations. All other service connection work will be performed by the property owner or a competent contractor, all such work to be inspected as set forth in section 15-114.

All meters, meter boxes, tubing between the main the meter and fittings are and remain city property and may be removed only upon written approval by the city.

Any of the provisions of this article may be waived or modified, including connection fees, upon adoption of a Resolution by the governing body. Such Resolution shall state the name of the applicant seeking relief from these provisions, the specific provision(s) being waived or modified and the reasons supporting the granting of a waiver or modification.

Whenever a private fire system is required that is not installed on City property, those wishing or requiring fire hydrants shall install, at their sole cost and expense, a double detector valve servicing the fire hydrants. This installation will require a City inspection with a fee of $30.00.

The City Clerk shall establish funds for Water Improvement Fee, Sewer Improvement Fee, Water Plant Equity Fee, and Sewer Plant Equity Fee to track all incoming revenue from these sources. Monies coming into the Improvement Fee fund shall be used for improvements to the City’s water and sewer mains for replacement or the construction of new lines. The Plant Equity Fees shall be used to pay for water and sewer plant debt service only. The City Council may, by Resolution; direct money from the improvement fee fund to the operations fund should there be deficiencies in revenue in the operations and reserve funds. Said Resolution must be approved by 2/3 of the voting members present.

A fee of $30.00 is hereby authorized to be charged to any water or sewer consumer whose check, given in payment of any bill, fees, charges or other costs related to the providing of water and/or sewer service in the City of Park City, is returned for any reason.

(Ord. 899; Ord. 984; Code 2021)