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Talent holds hearing on proposed utility fees By WENDY SIPOREN Administrator applicants pared to 13 TALENT -- A committee of three City Council members has narrowed the list of candidates for the city administrator post from 80 to 13. Councilwoman Joi Riley thinks that's a lucky number, and she praised the quality and number of applicants. "I'll be really surprised if we don't find the perfect person (from that list). "But we're fully prepared to start over" if none of the applicants work out, she added. "We're not going to settle." Half-hour-long videotaped interviews of those 13 will be viewed by the entire council in closed session over the next two to three days. The selection committee hopes to narrow the list and conduct interviews in January. A decision is expected by February. The city has been without a permanent city administrator since Aug. 13, following the resignation of Preston Polasek just seven weeks after he was hired. Former City Administrator Leahnette York left her position June 25 to take a similar position with Columbia City. TALENT -- The City Council will hear public testimony at 6:45 p.m. today on two proposed new fees that would help the city maintain streets and storm drains. A second public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15. The adoption of a transportation utility fee and a storm drain fee could add an additional $4.84 to $10.32 to monthly utility bills and add an additional $93,000 to $198,500 annually to city coffers. Separate from system development charges, which are paid by developers to cover the cost of expanding system capacity, utility fees may be used to keep systems in good repair. They are paid by all city residents. Under the proposed ordinances, the transportation utility fee could range from $2.86 to $6.62 per month, depending on what types of projects the council decides to fund. The lesser amount would bring in approximately $55,000 annually, an amount equivalent to the current street maintenance budget. The money could go toward repairing potholes, city streets and sidewalks. The first priority would be for maintenance. Any additional funds raised could be used for minor improvements, including new sidewalks and storm drains. The proposed storm drain utility fee could range from $1.98 to $3.70 monthly, also depending on what types of projects were funded. Acting city administrator John Luthy said he will recommend to council members that they adopt the lesser fee amounts and re-evaluate the topic in six months to a year. "I think it's prudent to take a moderate approach," he said. "If they can start to fill in potholes and start cleaning out storm drains, then that's better than where we are now." Medford has charged single-family residences a storm drain utility fee of $2.95 per month since 1984. The fee raises $1.3 million annually for storm drain maintenance. Medford's street user fee, first adopted in 1992, was increased to $2.97 per month for single-family residences in 1998. It provides $2.1 million annually to the city for road maintenance. The city of Ashland charges households a monthly transportation fee of $5.12 and a storm drain fee of $1.93 per month. Phoenix and Eagle Point both charge a street user fee. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA