The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
Council meets with mobile home park owners to discuss best path forward for meters on properties with multiple residences
The council discusses creating commercial water rates to govern trailer parks and apartment buildings on one meter.
At a workshop last week, the Moorcroft Council came together with mobile home park owners to discuss a different option for single meter properties with multiple residences.
Moorcroft has never put in place commercial rates that differ from residential rates, yet many towns are beginning to separate the for-profit trailer parks and apartment buildings as commercial endeavors.
Councilwoman Heidi Humpal, who owns and operates several rental spaces and has, along with her fellow trailer park and apartment owners, received discounts and other allowances to her rates from the town through the years, subsidizing costs associated with water and sewer investment fees, passionately opposes individual water meters. When speaking to this option, however, she said, "Commercial, to me, is somewhere that generally sells goods and services."
Councilman Dale Petersen explained his position: "You don't make money off your residential house, but you make money off of your apartments and you make money off of your trailer park. That's where I see the distinction between residential and commercial...Your service is housing."
The town has researched the matter and sought information from surrounding municipalities regarding changing the residential auspices under which these rental establishments have operated to commercial, allowing a standard rate through the one meter, thus alleviating the ongoing issue of multiple meters. Mayor Ben Glenn explained the council's consideration of this option, "That's the information we've had through Sundance and some of them, they had commercial rates."
Making this division of rates will also solve the problems of depending on landlords declaring new renters and renters creating their own accounts with the town, etc.
Humpal suggested the council provide a clearer picture of what rental businesses are covered by "commercial". Does the rate adjustment cover only apartments and trailer parks or does it also cover AirBnB rooms? "We really need to narrow down what we're going at here... It's really sticky."
Glenn agreed, "The cleanest answer is a meter at every dwelling and that is what our lawyer has been telling us for ten years."
Sundance's base rate for a one-metered residential property is now $20 and for a one metered commercial property is $54.
No decision was made last Wednesday regarding this issue.
