Sparks fly at park board meeting over city charges

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PRINCETON — The Princeton Park Board experienced some drama Monday.

The board finished Monday’s regular open session meeting in the dark, after electricity went out for the second time that day at the Bureau County Metro Center. The Metro Center was shut down about two hours Monday morning due to an electrical storm that hit Princeton.

Also, during Monday’s board meeting, sparks flew between board member Dick Volker and Princeton City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh, after Fiegenschuh proposed the park district start paying for water and electricity used at its parks. (The park district already pays for city electricity and water used at the Metro Center.)

Volker said he was disappointed the city would start charging the tax-supported park district for water and electricity use at the parks.

He didn’t think the idea would go over very well when the public heard about it, Volker said.

In explaining his proposal, Fiegenschuh said the city would work with the park district on a four-year plan to get the utilities paid. The plan would start at 25 percent of the actual electric and water use, then increase each year by another 25 percent, until the park district would be paying 100 percent of its utility use.

The city’s costs are going up and it’s his responsibility as city manager to look for ways to increase utility revenue, Fiegenschuh said.

“I see our wholesale costs going up 5, 10, 15 percent each year and we can’t continue to subsidize any organization in town. I’m of the philosophy that if you use a service, you should pay for it,” Fiegenschuh said. “As city manager, it’s my responsibility to recover revenue where possible.”

Fiegenschuh recommended the park district consider consolidating 12 electric meters at the various parks, down to a possible five meters, since there is a per-meter charge of $6.50.

Last year, those meters ranged in electrical use from $36 to $1,500. Based on last year’s usage on the uncharged meters, the electric cost amounted to about $12,000, Fiegenschuh said.

The city electric department would supply the electric meters and also do the installation work for the park district. There would be an outside meter/installation cost for the water project.

On the water utility side, there are some areas which do not even have meters, Fiegenschuh said. As with the electric costs, the city’s water operation and treatment costs continue to increase, Fiegenschuh said.

After the discussion, board president Gene Englehart said the board will further discuss the matter at its next meeting, including the possibility of passing the additional expense onto patrons by charging a service/user fee.

“We’re  not crazy about this. It will create a financial burden for the district, but we do appreciate the city offering us the graduated scale,” Englehart said.

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