A few weeks ago I posted my opinion and request for more dialog between the City and business communities in regards to the drainage fee recently imposed by the Chickasha City Council.  As of now, the fee is still set to go into place on October 1st at the originally proposed rate.  The City Council must take action between now and then in order to change it.  I believe they will.

The most logical action at this moment is to delay implementation.

I was privileged to be invited to a meeting between the City Manager, mayor and City Council members along with 15 members of the business community.  The City has revised the plan originally proposed, which was the focus of the meeting.  It is much better.  It included a lower rate, with a reasonable cap for businesses.  It also included a 50% reduced rate for churches and non-profits, with a cap lower than that established for businesses.  These are great ideas, reasonable compromises and make the fee more palatable.  I do anticipate one more draft of the fee structure before it is ready to be implemented.  This is why the delay is most logical and in my opinion most likely.

No matter what the City Council ultimately decides, it is a guarantee to leave someone unhappy.  Now that the promise of these critical projects to prevent future flooding have been discussed, those affected will be disappointed if the fee goes away altogether, because their hopes of a long term solution go away with it.  There will also be some that will be angry if a fee of any type is implemented.  The City Council will make a decision of some kind.  If you have an opinion on the matter, now is the time to communicate with your City Manager and City Council members.

I am proud that the City and business community have engaged in productive dialog, which I am extremely optimistic will result in a better solution for all.