Gas rates in Bainbridge raised after public hearing

Thursday, January 13, 2011

BAINBRIDGE -- The Bainbridge Town Council held a public hearing before their regularly scheduled meeting that allowed the public to comment on the board's proposed ordinance that would raise gas rates in the town.

With no one commenting during the public hearing, the board later passed the ordinance with a final vote of 2-0. Bonnie Osborn did not attend the meeting due to illness.

The board also passed a resolution that allowed them to apply for an OCRA grant for the town's storm water project. The town is required to commit $68,073 in order to apply for the grant.

The town also addressed the excellent job the utilities and services did with clearing the roads of the most recent snowstorm. The town does not have an easy way to salt the roads, but they were able to quickly clear the snow and move it elsewhere.

"The biggest thing since last meeting has been taking care of the snow," said Jim Nelson, member of Bainbridge's planning commission.

The town may also pursue legal action against Rockies Express Pipeline for damages done to the town's street several years ago. The damage done to Washington St. and E. Oak St. has not been repaired since using Bainbridge roads to bring equipment to construction sites. The company has offered to give the town $5,000 for the damages, but estimates to fix the damage run closer to $45,000, leading the town to ask for $20,000 as a compromise.

Rockies Express Pipeline has not returned the town's calls recently, leading to a growing concern that the town will not be fully reimbursed.

"Nothing that is significant to us is significant to them," said town attorney Jim Ensley. "It's going to be a hard number to prove. They did mess this up but to what extent?"

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