Council Discusses Genesis Bethesda Tap Fees

Zanesville City Council held their bi-weekly meeting at City Hall Monday evening.

The Council discussed a variety of ordinances including one that authorized the proper city official to reduce the water and sewer tap fees for the New Genesis Bethesda Campus. Sixth Ward Councilman Andrew Roberts told us a little bit more about it.

“The tap fees are based on consumption, we’re going to move that consumption from the Good Samaritan Campus over to the Bethesda Campus. When you work all that out, its about a $7,000 difference that their going to be consuming more at the Bethesda Campus than what they were at Good Sam. So what this ordinance actually proposed was to basically transfer those taps that were at Good Sam over to the Bethesda Campus.”

Roberts says it’s not moving the tap fees themselves but moving the taps around. Roberts says Genesis has invested a lot in the community, and moving the taps is the City’s way of helping them out in the new expansion. But, Roberts says not everyone in the community feels this is the best solution.

“I think a lot of people have concerns about, you know, we’re waiving these tap fees for a specific business. You know, everybody else has to pay the tap fees. It’s not really that exact same situation. As I stated tonight, if somebody were selling their house or their building, it’s not like their going to vacate their tap because it would make the property completely unmarketable. What their doing, they’ve got the two campuses, trying to consolidate into one, and we’re just helping them out by moving those taps around.”

The first reading of the ordinace was approved tonight. It will go through two more readings at upcoming meetings before a final vote.