EDIE ZUVANICH Special to the Press
Some water customers to see bill increases
HUTTO – Hutto residents who are served by Jonah Water Special Utilities District will soon see an increase in their monthly water bills. The increase reflects Hutto taking over maintenance of the wastewater lines for Jonah customers who are residents of Hutto.
“There is an agreement that [Hutto City Council] approved, also that Jonah approved, where we would transfer the Jonah customers to Hutto. Jonah has been doing all the sewer maintenance for those accounts,” Anne LaMere, interim city director told Council at its Dec. 14 meeting.
“There needs to be a billing agreement put into place and in that billing agreement we need to establish a rate. The rate would be higher than the wholesale rate because we’re going to assume the maintenance.”
The city approved raising the rate charged to Jonah Water customers from $23.87 to $60.38. The news of the impending 150% increase caused a stir on social media, but LaMere was quick to explain there was a false assumption in that argument.
Hutto does not directly bill the Jonah customers, according to LaMere. They bill Jonah Water for the number of customers served. Jonah then adds its own maintenance fee of approximately $23 to customers’ monthly invoices. The transfer of maintenance to Hutto means Hutto’s maintenance fee would replace Jonah Water’s fee.
“If Jonah residents currently pay $47 a month, this would be an increase of $13.38 per month in their bill,” LaMere said. “I’ve seen some Facebook posts where people were throwing out that their sewer bill was going to increase some exorbitant amount, but that is not true.”
The newly approved rate is the same flat rate Manville Water Supply Corp. customers in Hutto pay.
Customers served by city of Hutto water pay an amount based partially on usage.
LaMere said Hutto water customers can see bills ranging from $1 to $359 per month, with most falling between $40-$70.
“In terms of what the effect would be to Hutto, we have been receiving $23.87.
Instead of that we would receive $60.38.
Over a year’s period of time based on the current number of customers that would be an additional $1.4 million for the city,” LaMere said.
According to the contract, the city will pay Jonah $800,000 in the first year of taking over the utility’s Hutto customers. LaMere said the remainder of the extra money brought in from the increased invoices would go toward hiring additional workers to maintain the Jonah sewer lines, and toward infrastructure costs for wastewater treatment, such as construction of the South Wastewater Treatment Plant Hutto is building.
New direct care clinic to open
Dr. Albert Arthur announced that he is expanding his Round Rock-based family medical practice to Hutto. The new location, scheduled to open in January, will be in the Gattis School Medical Plaza, 201 CR 138 Unit 1B.
The practice specializes in direct primary care, which is a form of primary care that focuses on affordability. The clinic does not accept insurance, relying instead on a subscription based model that allows patients unlimited visits for a flat monthly rate and also provides discounted rates on laboratory work and prescriptions. The clinic says their monthly fee is often lower than most monthly cell phone bills.
“At Arthur Direct Care Clinic, we believe that exceptional healthcare should be accessible to everyone. That’s why we offer unlimited clinic visits for your entire family at a budget-friendly price,” according to the clinic’s statement.
Plans range from $39-$99 per month with zero copay and zero deductible for individuals and families.
Developer chosen for Cottonwood Properties
The Hutto Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors named Midway, a Houstonbased commercial real estate development company, as the master developer for the 250-acre Cottonwood Properties.
“Midway is honored to be chosen as the master developer for Cottonwood Properties,” Chairman and CEO Brad Freels said. “Our shared vision with the city of Hutto is to not only impact the local community but also the region by creating a vibrant, mixed-use destination that caters to the needs of the residents and visitors.
We are committed to attracting new amenities and concepts to the area, with a focus on sustainability and walkability, to ensure that the project becomes a thriving hub for the entire region.”
The Hutto EDC Board interviewed four companies as finalists for the project earlier in December, settling on two contenders, and then unanimously voted to select Midway. The winning company boasts more than 50 years of experience developing mixed use destinations.
Hutto EDC and Midway will work together to structure a formal agreement with the hope of having a contract in place by early 2024. The project is expected to be an evolving plan that takes up to ten years to fully activate, with different segments coming online at different times.
“One area that really impressed us was Midway’s stakeholder engagement process,” Cheney Gamboa, Hutto EDC director said. “They have the ability to go as fast as the HEDC needs.
Midway invests so much in their robust planning process that once the plans are complete, the execution moves quickly.”
