LEWISTON – The storm sewer fees mobile home owners pay will be the same as other residents, councilors agreed Tuesday.

The councilors agreed to have mobile home owners pay $30 per year for storm water utility fees. Those fees will be mailed directly to the residents, skipping mobile home park owners.

Park owners won’t get billed for the storm water utility unless they have vacant lots, offices or show homes.

“They’ll be billed for those spaces,” City Administrator Jim Bennett said. “But if they don’t have any of those, they personally will not receive a bill.”

Councilors adopted the utility fee plan as part of the city budget in June and settled on the details in September. The fee is based on the amount of hard surface on each property, including roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways. Single-family homeowners will pay $30 per year and duplex owners $45 per year. All others, including businesses, churches and nonprofits, would pay 4.4 cents per square foot.

Mobile home parks were included the 4.4-cent category under the original rules, and that led to speculation about bills costing as much as $115 per year per home.

Vote is possible

Some councilors said they were willing to put the matter before voters, even if a petition challenging the utility fails.

“I think it’s time we put this behind us and move on,” said City Councilor Mark Paradis. “I think it’s important we finish the projects we need to before winter.”

A group submitted a petition to the city clerk in October, challenging the utility. If 1,000 voters sign the petition by Jan. 11, it will force the city to suspend the new fees until the vote. That would leave a $1.8 million gap in the budget.

The city responded by freezing new hires and delaying several capital projects.

As of the close of business on Tuesday, 184 people had signed the petition.

Councilors will discuss the putting it to a vote at their Dec. 5 meeting.

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