development upset with
Freehold Twp. water rates
Town holding up its end of
water deal
Residents of Colts Neck
development upset with
Freehold Twp. water rates
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — When members of The Grande at Colts Neck Association expressed concern over what they said were high water rates in their development to the Colts Neck Township Committee, the governing body drafted a resolution that essentially blames Freehold Township for causing the problem.
The resolution passed by Colts Neck officials states that the residents of the 286-home development off Hunt Road — some of whom purchased their homes at below market prices under guidelines established by the state Council On Affordable Housing — have complained about the water and sewer rates they are being charged by Freehold Township through the S.B. Water Company Inc., Cherry Hill.
The resolution states that residents of The Grande pay their water and sewer bills to the water company which is charged a high rate by its provider, Freehold Township.
"In fact, the residents of The Grande are paying far more than what the residents of Freehold Township are paying, and thus are being treated unfairly by Freehold," the resolution states.
It adds: "S.B. Water and Sewer Company has agreed to pass on any savings in water and sewer rates that it obtains from Freehold."
Needless to say, the resolution passed by the governing body in Colts Neck prompted a response from Freehold Township Administrator Thomas Antus.
In a letter to his Township Committee, Antus said he had conducted research on the claims made by Colts Neck and reviewed the history of the water rates agreement.
He explained that Colts Neck satisfied a portion of its Mount Laurel affordable housing obligation by approving construction of The Grande in the early 1990s.
The development is in Colts Neck, but right on the Freehold Township border.
At the time, Colts Neck refused to consider providing water and sewer service to the development, Antus said.
Freehold Township was then sued to provide the public utilities. Because state-mandated affordable housing was involved, a court ordered Freehold Township to provide water and sewer service.
As a result, the township entered into a developer’s agreement with the developer of The Grande, Dirage, on May 29, 1992. Part of the recorded agreement spelled out the utility costs to the development, he further explained.
The agreement stipulates that since Freehold Township is selling water to a private company (S.B. Water and Sewer Company), it is charging that company commercial rates, based on the size of the meter, which in this case is 6 inches.
The difference in cost between the commercial rate and single-family home rate using a 5/8-inch meter is $1.04 per thousand gallons ($1.83 for single-family homes vs. $2.87 for commercial customers).
Antus’ letter states that in the interest of being fair, Freehold Township does not include a 10 percent surcharge for providing service out of the municipal boundary.
According to Antus, S.B. Water Company takes the rate it is charged by Freehold Township ($2.87 per thousand gallons) and adds an additional $1.45 per thousand gallons, thus billing The Grande residents $4.32 per thousand gallons. On top of that, S.B. Water Company charges its customers a quarterly "meter fee" of $27.33. This results in an additional cost of $109.32 per year to each customer, Antus said.
Freehold Township Mayor Raymond Kershaw said, "We are treating the customer (S.B. Water Company) the same way we are charging every other commercial customer. S.B. Water Company adds 51 percent to the rates. We have the wells, we deliver the water and implement the state requirements. S.B. Water Company just delivers it to the people at The Grande."
In his letter, Antus reminded the committee members that the resolution adopted by Colts Neck is the latest in an ongoing series of complaints filed by residents of The Grande.
In October 2001, he received a letter from state Sen. John O. Bennett, who had been contacted by residents of The Grande concerning the water rates they were paying.
Antus said he forwarded a copy of the applicable section of the developer’s agreement and explained that the water company was, in effect, a commercial account of Freehold Township.
According to Antus, Bennett’s office must have been satisfied with his response because he did not hear any more about it.
In February 2002, he again received a letter from The Grande about a water rate increase imposed by Freehold Township. Again, the Colts Neck residents said Freehold Township should be charging The Grande residents the residential rate charged to Freehold Township customers.
Antus said he responded by informing the association’s representatives that the water rate increase was the first in Freehold Township since 1985, and he reminded them that all parties had entered into an agreement, and that Freehold Township was simply adhering to the terms.
"At the time, I was unaware that S.B. Water Company charged such a substantial add-on charge," Antus said.