Showing posts with label utilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label utilities. Show all posts

Classifieds: Ronald Wastewater District Notice of Public Hearing

Saturday, November 7, 2020


RONALD WASTEWATER DISTRICT 
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON

THE DISTRICT’S PROPOSED 2021 BUDGET AND RATES 

November 10, 2020 at 6:00pm 

Via Zoom Conference

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Commissioners of Ronald Wastewater District will hold a Public Hearing for the purpose of receiving public comments on the District’s proposed 2021 budget and rates.

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Time: 6:00pm. Near the beginning of the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners

Location: Via Zoom conference (any member of the public wishing to join the Zoom meeting, please email the District Administrator, Douglas Wittinger at dwittinger@ronaldwastewater.org for a link to the meeting.) 




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City of Shoreline moves forward with assumption of Ronald Wastewater District

Friday, November 6, 2020

Ronald Wastewater District Headquarters
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The City of Shoreline has started the final process to complete the assumption of the Ronald Wastewater District.

The decision to move forward comes following a recent Washington State Supreme Court decision ruling against the District’s claim that the Point Wells area in Snohomish County was in its service area. The Shoreline City Council had delayed completing the assumption until the ruling was issued.

(See previous article)

The District’s Board of Commissioners will continue to work collaboratively with the City on completing the assumption. Over the next few weeks, City staff will put together a recommendation for the City Council on final steps for completing the assumption by April 30, 2021. 

The City entered into a service contract with the District in 2017 to operate the utility on behalf of the District. Since that time, the District’s Board of Commissioners has continued to approve the annual budget, set rates, and provide oversight for the utility’s capital improvements.

The assumption of the District will be a seamless transition for ratepayers, as the City has been collecting the utility payments and providing services for the utility for the past three years. Bills will come directly from the City following assumption. The City will continue to operate and maintain the wastewater utility.

The State Supreme Court’s ruling issued October 15 essentially says that the inclusion of Point Wells, which is outside King County’s geographic service area, without the involvement of Snohomish County, Olympic View Water and Sewer District, and the Town of Woodway is void because it exceeded King County Superior Court’s adjudicative authority. In other words, King County Superior Court couldn’t make a ruling on the transfer because it was outside of King County’s borders.



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Olympic View Water and Sewer will be the provider for future Point Wells development

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

By Jamie Holter

The long battle over who provides sewer services to a future Point Wells development ended in the Washington State Supreme Court last week. The Court ruled that Olympic View Water and Sewer District, which services primarily Snohomish County, can provide sewer (and water) services to Point Wells if and when it is built.

Shoreline-based Ronald Wastewater had been in a legal battle with Olympic View for more than four years to try to place the area inside the Ronald Sewer District. At issue were future fees to provide services for up to 3,000 households.

Currently Olympic View provides water services to the area, a service Ronald does not provide. Olympic View contracts with the City of Edmonds to manage wastewater. Olympic View looks at providing both water and sewer as an efficiency issue.

The disagreement dates back to the mid-80’s when King County transferred the Richmond Beach Sewer District System to Ronald. However, follow-up legal action has demonstrated that this “transfer order” which affected property in Snohomish County, including Point Wells, into Ronald, was void because Snohomish County and Olympic View were never brought into the process.

What does this mean to Shoreline residents? It means future sewer fees for this possible project will go to Olympic View and not Ronald Wastewater, which is now part of the City of Shoreline. 

The City of Edmonds will receive from Olympic View additional revenue for treating this new flow from Point Wells. That will help all customers in Olympic View, Mountlake Terrace, Point Wells, and Edmonds keep sewer rates lower in the future.



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City of Lake Forest Park offers low income senior / disabled sewer discount

Sunday, November 1, 2020

The Lake Forest Park Sewer Utility offers low-income senior or disabled sewer customers a 50 percent discount on their sewer service.

You must be a Lake Forest Park sewer customer and meet the criteria to qualify for the discount. 

For more information and an application, here: link.



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Classifieds: Special Meeting Notice Ronald Wastewater District Board of Commissioners Workshop

Friday, October 30, 2020


Special Meeting Notice 
Ronald Wastewater District Board of Commissioners Workshop 

As required by RCW 42.30, the Open Public Meeting Act, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Commissioners of Ronald Wastewater District will hold a Commissioner Workshop to review and discuss the draft 2021 Budget, Rates and CIP. 

Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2020 
Time: 6:00 p.m. 
Location: remotely (via Zoom) 

AGENDA 

1. Call to Order 
2. Public Comment 
3. 2021 Budget, Rates and CIP: Discussion and Possible Decision(s) 
4. Conclusion

Any member of the public wishing to join the Zoom special meeting, please email dwittinger@ronaldwastewater.org for a link to the meeting.



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Classifieds: Special Meeting Notice Ronald Wastewater District Board of Commissioners Workshop

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Special Meeting Notice Ronald Wastewater District Board of Commissioners Workshop 

As required by RCW 42.30, the Open Public Meeting Act, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Commissioners of Ronald Wastewater District will hold a Special Meeting to review and discuss various chapters of the draft Comprehensive Sewer Plan, prepared by our consultant. 

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020 
Time: 8:30 a.m. 
Location: remotely (via Zoom) 

AGENDA 
1. Call to Order 
2. Public Comment 
3. Draft Comprehensive Sewer Plan: Presentation and Discussion 
4. Conclusion 

Any member of the public wishing to join the Zoom special meeting, please email dwittinger@ronaldwastewater.org for a link to the meeting.



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AG Ferguson calls on UTC to protect Washingtonians from utility shut-offs amid COVID-19 pandemic

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued a proposal that calls on the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to, among other protections, ban utility late fees and utility service disconnections until at least April 30, 2021. 

These protections ensure vulnerable Washingtonians don’t lose the services they need to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic crisis.

Ferguson issued the proposal to the UTC in partnership with the Sierra Club, NW Energy Coalition, The Energy Project, Front and Centered and Puget Sound Sage. 

The UTC is currently considering how private energy utilities should be allowed to collect past-due utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission will make its final decision after a public meeting on Oct. 6. 

The public is welcome to attend this meeting remotely and participate by phone or Skype. Learn more about the meeting, including how to attend, at the UTC’s website.

“Washingtonians are hurting,” Ferguson said. “This is not the time to put individuals at risk of losing critical services they need, like heat and electricity.”

More information here



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No changes to collection schedules for Labor Day

Friday, September 4, 2020

Put out your collection bins as usual on Monday, September 7, 2020. 

Both Recology and Republic Services work on Labor Day.


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North City Water District Maintenance Facility awaiting electricity

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The North City Water District Maintenance Facility looks like it's complete and the landscaping is filling very nicely.

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

However, District Manager Diane Pottinger says the pandemic has slowed this down considerably. They will not be able to finish the project until Seattle City Light connects the electricity - and they haven't been onsite for nearly two months.

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

North City Water serves the east side of Shoreline and the west side of Lake Forest Park. Their business office building is in the North City Business District and the new maintenance facility is a few blocks south on 15th NE.



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PSE distributes $6 million in bill assistance to customers Impacted by COVID-19

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Puget Sound Energy has additional funds available in its COVID and other bill assistance programs

Assistance for Households

As a provider of an essential service, PSE is providing relief for its customers and communities impacted by the COVID pandemic. 

Since April, PSE’s Crisis Affected Customer Assistance Program (CACAP) has been able to assist more than 10,000 customers with the distribution of $6 million in energy bill credits.

CACAP provides bill payment assistance to customers who, after March 1, 2020, have lost their job, had their hours decreased, or are unable to work due to COVID. Customers may receive up to $1,000 credit on their energy bill. PSE will continue to accept new applications until September 1 for the remaining $5 million available of the $11 million fund.

In addition to CACAP, the PSE HELP program also provides bill assistance to income-eligible customers. Over $8.7 million is still available. Customers can qualify for both CACAP and PSE HELP if they meet the requirements.

“This has been a challenging time for our customers and our communities, and we are looking at all the ways we can help,” said PSE Vice President of Customer Operations and Communications Andy Wappler. 
“Our hope is that through these programs, our customers will find financial relief without worrying about their electricity, heat or hot water.”


Outside of funding programs, we are working with customers on changing their bill due date, setting up payment plans, waiving late fees, and we are not disconnecting due to non-payment at this time.

To learn more, visit www.pse.com/covidhelp.

Assistance for Community-Based Public Charity Organizations

PSE Foundation launches new competitive grants to aid in response and recovery of COVID-19 pandemic

The program will provide grants totaling $400,000 to community-based public charity organizations throughout PSE’s service and operation areas before the end of the year

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our local communities, the Puget Sound Energy Foundation has revised its standard grant program to allow more organizations to apply with a broader range of qualifying funding requests. This has been a challenging time for Puget Sound Energy customers and communities, and the PSE Foundation is seeking to provide more flexible support for organizations that are stepping up to help.

“We know this is a great time of need for the communities we serve and the organizations that support them,” said PSE Foundation Chairman and President Andy Wappler. “We are living our value to do what’s right and helping how we can.”


The PSE Foundation, which is a nonprofit entity operating independently of PSE but helps the communities PSE services, will provide grants totaling $400,000 before the end of this year in response and recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nonprofit and public charity organizations located within PSE’s 16 county service and operation areas (Chelan, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Garfield, Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom counties) can apply for a grant to be selected through a competitive process; deadlines are August 31 and October 1, with funding awarded in October and December, respectively. Applicants applying prior to the August 31 deadline will automatically be considered in both rounds of funding.

The program will be seeking to fund programs and/or services to ensure community members have access to shelter, food, or personal protection equipment (PPE). Funding will also be considered for organizations that provide these critical services or programs to community members so they can continue to keep doors open by funding deep cleaning expenses, equipment, PPE or other mandated health and safety requirements.

Together, the PSE Foundation and PSE have already contributed more than $1.3 million towards mitigating impacts of COVID-19 across PSE’s service area communities.

The Puget Sound Energy Foundation is dedicated to keeping our communities safe and prepared where PSE serves and operates. The PSE Foundation is a nonprofit organization that operates independently of Puget Sound Energy. None of the funds will ever come from PSE’s utility customers.




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Seattle Public Utilities introduces new water outage map

Monday, July 27, 2020

SPU Water Outage map 


No Water at the Tap? Seattle Public Utilities Introduces New Water Outage Map Tool

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has announced a new tool to help customers: the SPU Water Outage Map.

The map provides a quick view for the public about all water outages, current and scheduled, within SPU’s direct service area. Customers can track the status of a water outage happening in their home, neighborhood, or anywhere throughout SPU’s direct service area, which includes Seattle and parts of Burien, Shoreline, and Lake Forest Park.

Customers can also see how many water outages are occurring or scheduled to occur, where they are located, how many customer accounts are impacted, who specifically is out of water, what caused the outage, and when water will be back on.

The map does not apply to non-service areas.

  • Shoreline is served by two water districts: SPU and North City Water.
  • Lake Forest Park is served by four water districts: SPU, Lake Forest Park Water, North City Water, Northshore Utility District
More information about the map HERE



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Comcast issues in parts of area Thursday evening

Friday, July 17, 2020


Comcast had connectivity issues Thursday evening which affected 2500 customers in our area. TV, internet and phone were all down.

Problems apparently started the night before but had been resolved by 6pm. Then the biggest spike of outages hit around 9pm, persisting until midnight.




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Water main break on Bothell Way repaired

Thursday, July 9, 2020

The break was by the Watercrest Apts

Seattle Public Utilities District repaired a water main break Wednesday, July 8, 2020 near the Watercrest Apartment Homes at 14812 Bothell Way NE in Lake Forest Park. 

They warned that the surrounding areas might experience muddy water coming out of their pipes during repairs.

Discolored water comes from internal pipe rust and sediment getting stirred up. When this happens the water is still safe.

PUD advice for clearing muddy water in pipes:

The water should clear on its own. Try running the cold water for a few minutes to see if it is clearing or still discolored. If the water does not clear, let the water sit for an hour. Then run the water for a few minutes and flush the toilet a couple of times.

Avoid running hot water if the cold water is still discolored. This will minimize filling the hot water tank with turbid water. If you are washing clothes at the time, it is better to stop the cycle while it is full and wait until clean water is available to finish. If you allow the water to empty from the washing machine and go into the spin cycle it is more likely to cause permanent staining to the laundry items.



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Puget Sound Energy update for customers who may be struggling financially due to COVID-19 crisis

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Puget Sound Energy statement for its customers 

Helping Residential Customers:

As a provider of an essential service, we are working to ensure we are here for our customers, our community and our employees as coronavirus impacts the region. Need financial assistance and support for your energy bill? We know some customers might be worried about paying their bills. 

Here are measurable actions we’ve taken on behalf of our customers:
  • We will not be disconnecting customers for non-payment during this time.
  • We received approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for a waiver that allows PSE to waive late fees.
  • We will work with our customers on options such as payment plans and choosing a new bill due date.
  • We have multiple bill payment assistance programs available to income-qualified customers.
  • In order to help our community partners, the PSE Foundation, which is a nonprofit entity operating independently of PSE but helps communities PSE serves, has donated $250,000 to support relief efforts in the community through the Seattle Foundation as well as donating to food banks to cover emergency preparations.
  • We’re here to help during the pandemic.

Helping Small Business Customers:

We know some of our business customers might be worried about paying their bills. Here are measurable actions we’ve taken on behalf of our customers:


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North City Water computers will be offline until Monday morning

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

North City Water District will be upgrading our computer systems to serve you better. 

As a result, online bill pay and pay by phone will be unavailable form 12:00pm Wednesday June 24 until 8:00am Monday June 29.

During this time, you may pay your bill with cash or check at the drive up window, in the drop-box or by mail. 

Please bring your billing statement as we will not be able to look up account balances at this time.



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Disposable wipes are not disposable

Tuesday, June 23, 2020




By Diane Hettrick

Lake Forest Park has joined every city in Puget Sound and probably in the United States in asking residents not to flush so called "disposable" wet wipes down the drain.

The city of Kirkland placed a temporary reader board in the middle of the road for a month telling people not to flush wet wipes.

At a time when people who don't even go out are obsessively wiping down every surface in their homes for fear of COVID-19 germs, they are flushing those wipes down the toilet.

"But it says 'disposable' on the package!"

Here's what happens to those wipes.


They end up in a massive clog in wastewater systems and the utilities - in this case, Lake Forest Park Public Works - have to get them out.

Public Works has responded to a number of sanitary sewer related issues involving disinfecting wipes and other products labeled “Flushable.”Disinfecting wipes, facial tissues, baby wipes and paper towels should be disposed of in the trash.

No wipes in pipes.



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Lake Forest Park: update on May/June 2020 sewer utility payments during COVID-19 response

Saturday, June 6, 2020

From the City of Lake Forest Park

We know that many residents and members of our local business community are financially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. With this in mind, the City of Lake Forest Park has continued a grace period for sewer payments and will not assess late fees for the May/June 2020 billing period. Customers should pay what they can to avoid accumulating a large balance that will be harder to pay off later.

We also want to encourage customers to utilize an online payment system to pay their sewer bills. This can be set up with many banks and credit unions or by using the City’s online payment system.

If you have questions, staff can be reached via Sewer Bills email, or you can leave a message at 206-957-2826. We will return your email or call as soon as we can.



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LFP Water District plant exchange

Thursday, June 4, 2020

In 2019 the Lake Forest Park Water District started an annual plant exchange which was a great success.

There were many participants with a wide variety of contributions!

From now until SEPTEMBER consider taking part in this exchange as you tend your garden, and divide plants. 

Come down and peruse the plants near the entrance gate at the office at 4029 NE 178th St.

In addition to contributions remaining from last year, the District has ‘seeded’ the project with starts of:
  • Evergreen Huckleberry
  • Blackcap Raspberry
  • Salal
  • Fools Onion
  • Nodding Onion
  • Ocean Spray
  • Twinberry
  • Indian Plum

The list of guidelines is short:
  • Identify your donations as best you can with tags.
  • Bring your plants in pots. (We have 1 gallon pots available if you need them)
  • Leave as many plants as you take.
  • Please don’t bring invasive or noxious weed species (see more below)
  • The community of LFP is legendary for its gardens and generosity, let’s share the wealth here!
  • Please practice social distancing during your visit this year.

Noxious weeds -Please help control noxious weeds – King County has information and identification guides including this Citizen’s Guide. You may even be interested in using your smartphone to report noxious weeds. Details here.



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Republic resuming normal guidelines for services in Lake Forest Park

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Update from Republic Services Regarding Service as of May 4, 2020

All of our drivers have been issued face masks, gloves, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Hand sanitizer and disinfecting supplies are also available to employees. 

Our technicians are also following safety procedures at our maintenance facilities to ensure proper social distancing and making sure our trucks run on time.

We are still running all of our collection routes at this time. We have had some concerns with loose materials around the carts and containers.

We are easing some of our temporary guidelines that we had set in place on Tuesday, March 24.

Residential:

Due to more people at home and seeing larger amounts of materials at the curb, we will only collect trash that is stored in Republic carts or personal owned cans. Extra trash must be bagged and set out at the curb or stored in an additional cart or can. Extra charges will occur, as normal, on all extra garbage.

If you have extra recycle, please continue to place it in a cart or can. We will now resume collecting any boxed/bundled/paper bagged material outside a cart or can.

If you have extra yard waste, we ask that it be in a cart or can and we will now begin collecting extra yard waste in bags that are biodegradable lawn bags. Extra charges may occur on yard waste.

Additionally, we are now resuming bulky waste collections.

We will basically be going back to normal guidelines for collection, as outlined in your city or area’s guide.

Commercial:

We continue to ask that you place trash in your container unless it is bagged. We will also resume collection of extras for commercial garbage; extra charges will occur.

If you have recycle, please continue to place all your recycles in your container.

Please contact Republic Services with questions:
  • Commercial: 206-682-3037
  • Residential: 206-682-9730


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Regulators approve COVID-19 bill assistance for Puget Sound Energy customers

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Using emergency authority granted by Gov. Jay Inslee, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) today approved a proposal by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to extend existing bill assistance programs to households that have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PSE’s new Crisis Affected Customer Assistance Program (CACAP) will use $11 million of previous years’ unspent funds from PSE’s Home Energy Lifeline Program (HELP) to aid customers in need without affecting current programs or increasing rates.

This program allows PSE to provide the funds directly to families who would not ordinarily meet the low-income requirements for HELP without having to go through a third-party administrator.

On March 24, Gov. Inslee issued Proclamation 20-23.1, which allowed the commission to use surplus balances in electric and natural gas low-income accounts to assist utility customers throughout Washington state impacted by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I applaud Puget Sound Energy for developing this program so quickly,” said UTC Chair David Danner. “The pandemic has significantly impacted the livelihood of many families in our communities, and many will have trouble paying their energy bills. This program will get bill assistance to people who need it without delay.”

To qualify, the customer’s monthly income must be at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. After approving an application, PSE will issue a credit to the customer’s account based on the household’s energy bills from March through August 2019, with a maximum benefit of $1,000 per household.

PSE electric and natural gas customers facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 can apply through PSE’s online portal at www.pse.com, or contact PSE by phone or mail. Customers must provide proof of income or proof of loss of income to PSE; self-employed customers should provide a self-declaration.

The program will run in parallel to the current HELP program administered by Community Action Partnership (CAP) agencies in partnership with PSE. Customers can continue to seek bill assistance through CAP agencies listed on PSE’s bill and weatherization assistance page.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, PSE had already voluntarily suspended disconnections and late fees for non-payment.

Bellevue-based PSE provides electricity service to more than 1.1 million electric customers in eight Washington counties: Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom.

PSE also provides natural gas service to more than 800,000 customers in six Washington counties: King, Kittitas, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston.

The UTC is the state agency that regulates private, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities in Washington. It is the commission’s responsibility to ensure regulated companies provide safe and reliable service to customers at reasonable rates, while allowing them the opportunity to earn a fair profit.



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