The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 24, 1987, Image 4
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SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C.g !< co DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY 707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D IU < (/) I SALE College Station, Texas 77840 1 block South of Texas & University E ’yrn "JlJi SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE Page 4/The Battalion/Wednesday, June 24, 1987 State and Local New rate structure to increase electric costs for CS residents fTAMU meet Items 2161 fore < Plan intends to make all utility departments self-suffid&imo-i f' <xl bit By Yvonne DeGraw Staff Writer Changes in College Station’s util ity rate structure that raise resi dential rates are intended to make all departments — water, sewer and electric — self-sufficient and attract new business to the area. Linda Piwonka, utilities office manager, says the 10-percent in crease in water revenue and 16-per cent increase in sewer revenue are the first step in a plan that should culminate in five years. College Station City Council ap proved an option that lowers electric revenues by 50 percent of the in crease in water and sewer revenues. However, because electricity gen erates almost 86 percent of all utility revenues, electric rates won’t go down 5 to 8 percent. Instead, electric rates will decline 1.3 percent this year and will actually increase for residential users. The increase in residential rates comes because of three goals the council had, Piwonka says. First, they wanted to make the wa ter and sewer departments pay for themselves. “The water and sewer depart ments have been subsidized and are being subsidized by electric rates,” she says. In the late 1970s, the city decided to build a water system and a sewer treatment system, she says. To do this, the city borrowed money for at least 20 years. An average profit of $5.13 million ELECTRICAL: Average residential use: 921 Kilowatt hours Average commercial use: Small commercial - 914 kwh Medium commercial - 14,300 kwh (53 KW) Large commercial - 264,350 kwh (710 KW) OLD RATE: NEW RATE: COST TCI $74 $75 $109 $1192 $18,517 $104 $1147 $16,764 m WATER: Average residential use: 10,000 gallons Average commercial use: Small commercial - 15,000 gallons Medium commercial - 49,000 gallons Large commercial - 450,000 gallons $18 $20 tos $25 $73 $634 $29 $80 $681 SEWER: Average residential use: Flat rate Average commercial use: Small commercial - 15,000 gallons Medium commercial - 49,000 gallons Large commercial - 450,000 gallons $10 $11 $131 $15 $25 $170 $18 $51 $436 in the electric department from 1985 to 1987 has been offset by an average loss of $2.42 million by the water department and $1.78 million by the sewer department. Second, the council wanted to make customers pay rates that re flect the cost of providing the serv ice, Piwonka says. She says it costs more per unit to provide service to a residential cus tomer than a commercial customer. It will take about five years to reach this goal, she says. The third reason is the impetus for all the changes. The council wanted to encourge businesses to lo cate in College Station. “The council was very interested in being able to be competitive,” she said. “(They wanted to) keep the commercial business that they have and encourage other commercial businesses to locate here. “The businesses look at it as an economic incentive.” A recent study comparing utility rates in 13 Texas cities with similar populations and growth patterns shows that College Station is least competitive in electric rates and most competitive in sewer rates. The same study shows the first year’s rate changes will make the city slightly more competitive in electric rates and less so in the other areas. Piwonka says electric rates are the most important component of the A two-y Hexican-A went tr 11 exanii four years Issor at I ( [Dr. Dwa lie Behavr ifcM, sav? $7M*ctecl wit Btted to t rate structure to most business Ram in At The plan will set the stagefoi^termine sible rate decreases when tJiciS drug us contract with Gulf States UtfaHtts of inh pil es in about five years, bi rienced by says the city hopes to find a with lower rates at that time Kevin Buchman, city cound son from Texas A&M's Government, says he supported rate plan. ■ “It should benefit thestudeiai Irviews ah le parents Little res y inhal; ong Hi: s. But th the long run,” he says. “Electricao discover should eventually go down ifr tiex.H tly wh the way they plan.” Bve on tin He says he was most concrBes. about electric rates becausemosfl 'It is imp dents live in apartments and reliance tin directly pay water and seweri|ended fam face w Group of Aggies accepts invitation to serve on Texas space commission By Gina Goetz Reporter Twelve appointees, half of which are former students and former or present faculty members of Texas A&M, accepted an invitation from Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby to serve on the newly created Space Science Indus try Commission to explore the exist ing Texas space industry. Although the designated chair man, state Sen. J.E. “Buster” Brown, isn’t an Aggie, he said the six Aggie members were not purposely chosen because of A&M’s involvement in the Shuttle’s research, but that it is certainly a compliment to the sci ence-related programs at A&M. They will be assets to the commis sion’s responsibilities, Brown said. “We will identify issues for fur ther development of existing indus try,” he said. “We want to find out the difficulties to space-related activ ities and make recommendations on how to deal with the restraints.” Furthermore, the commission is According to a senate resolution, the commission was established to evaluate the major factors shaping the space science industry, to deter mine the potential of its growth and to recommend ways of supporting existing facilities while attracting a new space science industry in Texas. ent needed to make space a big thing in Texas. Dr. June Scobee, widow of Chal lenger commander Dick Scobee, was among the appointees. Scobee also is chairwoman of the board for the Challenger Center, a national space science education program devel- “I believe strongly the need for national support for the space program. To meet that end, we must begin in our own state of Texas. ” Dr. June Scobee, widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee gram. To meet that end, wemiis gin in our own state ofTexas" Brown said that the membe the commission have not yet bled. The first meeting will be $ time this summer. The senate resolution states the commission will meet qua to study the issues related to and will issue a report on the ingsonjan. 1 of each year. ■Fifty pet adult femal And 20 ] ally obes These fa ion Service to identify the appropriate resources for promoting the space industry, he said. “We want to make the public aware of what we have,” Brown said. “And we hope to attract research dollars.” Oran Nicks, director of the Texas A&M University Space Research Center, said that state involvment is a top priority. “One of our aims is to help our statewide community become more involved in a new field that helps counterbalance the losses that we’ve sustained,” Nicks said. Nicks said it pleases him that the commission has so many Aggies on it. And he said he thinks this indi cates that A&M has played a vital role in the development and on going success of Texas’ industry and oped to continue the mission of the Challenger crew. “The commission has been cre ated in a response to a consensus by Texas’ elected leaders that diversifi cation of the state economy requires a strong research, education and technology base,” Scobee, who is one of the Aggies on the commission, said. “One of the commission’s re- sponsibilties is to recommend ways to make Texas a space science leader in vital areas of education and re search. “I believe strongly the need for pn agents xas A&P |unt said. |ns since 1 A survey an average it suggests that we will have the tal- national support for the space pro- son seru . . . , , — (I exert i The Aggies appointed tothei ^ ht , oss mission include Nicks and v , Dr. Arthur “Skip” Porter,forwHj]^ ( ' rector of the Texas Engineering • periment Station; Dr. Richard' 1 ] nerdi, a former A&M member and the present dirt!® the Texas Medical Center; Griffin, president of the H Chamber of Commerce; an Rains, Texas Secretary of State Other members of the cot sion are Dr. Hans Mark, chi of the University of Texas S)i David Hannah Jr., chain# Space Services Inc.; Dr. Ton Stauffer, president of the Uni' of Houston at Clear Lake; get, president of Space I Inc.; and state Sen. 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