No Pikeville rate increase for out-of-town residents planned
By Sam Atkins
Published in News on April 6, 2004 2:02 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Out-of-town residents do not have to worry about an increase in their electrical rates for the time being.
The town board voted unanimously Monday to absorb the 1.2 percent rate hike.
Mayor Tony Medlin established a committee in March that was made up of some commissioners and out-of-town residents.
Commissioner Herb Sieger said the general opinion at the meeting was that the electric rate should not be increased for just out-of-town customers.
Commissioner Lyman Galloway said the 1.2 percent increase is not much and that the town needs the revenue to rebuild its system that dates back to the 1920s. He said they can not hook any more businesses up to the current system because it is basically maxed out on amps.
The current system loses about 20 percent of its power before it ever gets to customers' meters, according to Medlin.
He said the next time there is a rate increase, he will recommend that the 1.2 percent be added to whatever the increase is to make up for the town absorbing it this time.
"You can't absorb but so much," he added.
Sieger said the next time there is an increase, it should apply to all customers, both in town and outside of town.
The town has absorbed two price hikes totaling nearly 5 percent from its power supplier, ElectriCities, over the past year, according to Medlin. The town loses revenue when the increased is not passed on.
Sign ordinance adopted
The board held a public hearing on its sign ordinance and adopted it without much discussion. The board looked over a revised copy of the ordinance, which is about building regulations, and said the only thing that had been changed was one word.
Medlin said it still does not indicate anything about fines or what happens when someone breaks a rule.
"You can't enforce it; you might as well take it and throw it in a trash can," he said.
"This is as useless as what we had before it was written," he added. "If I re-write it, it will have some teeth in it."
The board approved allowing Medlin to rewrite it by June.
Independence Day
The town is still in search of a little Mr. and Miss Independence, up to 8 years of age, to represent the town during its annual Independence Day celebration, which is scheduled for July 3.
It is also looking for a distinguished man and woman citizen. The event is sponsored by the Lion's Club. For more information or to nominate someone, call 242-5126.