The Goldendale Sentinel is the official newspaper of Goldendale, Washington and surrounding communities in Klickitat County.

The Sentinel under new ownership

     After 26 years under the direction of owner and publisher Andy McNab, today The Goldendale Sentinel changes hands.
     Effective April 1, 2010, The Sentinel is under new ownership. Lou Marzeles, who has served as the newspaper’s editor for the past year, is co-owner with partner Leslie Geatches, and Marzeles and Geatches now become co-publishers of the newspaper.
     “It’s been an adventure,” Marzeles said of the change. “To come to The Sentinel last April, immediately face some extraordinarily challenging circumstances, feel so supported by this community, and then have the opportunity to become an owner and publisher of this newspaper—it’s just amazing.
     “Since 1879, The Sentinel has reflected the heart of this community,” Marzeles said. “It’s an honor to continue that role and service.
     “I want to express particular appreciation for Andy McNab,” Marzeles said. “For more than two decades, Andy maintained standards of excellence for this newspaper that served it well.
     “The paper’s staff, too, deserves special recognition,” he added. “It’s rare to work with such a pleasant and productive group of people.”
     Along his career path, Marzeles was an editor at The Washington Times in Washington, D.C., and a guest at the White House in recognition of his editorial work. Geatches comes to Goldendale from Sedona, Ariz., with a background in information technology management, having worked for years at Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer. For most of that time, she was based in Saudi Arabia. She has also held distinguished positions at AT&T and Unisys.

City water rates, usage confusion addressed

Lou Marzeles
Editor and Publisher

     The City of Goldendale has a new plan for its water rates to city residents.
     It’s called clearing up confusion.
     “There’s been a lot of confusion about the water rates, how they work, and how information on them was presented to the public,” says city administrator Larry Bellamy. “We’ve seen indications about how much confusion there’s been about the water plan.”
     As an example, Bellamy mentions an assertion made in a recent Sentinel letter to the editor that the city did not inform residents how much water rates would increase. But three different stories in The Sentinel—one on Aug. 20, 2009, one on Sept. 17, 2009, and one on Nov. 19, 2009—reported on the city’s proposed water rate changes, Bellamy points out. He also mentions agendas from five different city council meetings from August through November of 2009 at which the water rates were discussed; some of the meetings included public hearings on the issue.
     “The rate plan really is fairly straightforward,” Bellamy says, “and what people pay for water isn’t likely to be substantially different for most residents.”
     Part of the confusion seems to be in converting cubic feet—the standard measurement for water consumption as read by water meters—to gallons. The current city ordinance states that the monthly water usage schedule is based on 100 cubic feet or fraction thereof for water use.
     After the base water meter monthly fee, the fees for usage are: 85 cents for zero to 750 cubic feet of water; $1 for 751 to 1,500 cubic feet; $1.15 for 1,501 to 3,000 cubic feet; $1.50 for 3,001 to 5,000 cubic feet; $1.75 for 5,001 to 8,000 cubic feet; and $2 for anything over 8,000 cubic feet. But what people want to know is, how many gallons are we talking about here? The aforementioned letter to the editor pointed out that most households use 70 gallons of water per day per person, so what’s the financial pinch based on such usage?
     This should help: One cubic foot of water is 7.48 gallons. One hundred cubic feet of water equals 748 gallons.
     That means that in a household of, say, two people, 70 gallons of water per person per day comes out to 4,200 gallons of water in a month (70 times two = 140, times 30 days). That’s roughly 561 cubic feet. That means your water usage cost, after the base monthly meter rate, is billed at 85 cents per 100 cubic feet. The rest is basic arithmetic.
     “Most people aren’t going to see an appreciable increase in water rates,” Bellamy says. “It’s really the big water users who will see a substantial increase.”
     The rate changes will have their first effect with the next meter reading. Usage billing will occur every other month.
     Bellamy also points out that the rate increases came about for two primary reasons. First is the rising cost of just doing business, with the city operating three wells for water contingency planning and other associated expenses. Secondly, Bellamy says, “The reservoir must be repaired. It may last another five years.” Getting it fixed sooner than later is a key city goal, though Bellamy also suggests that alternate funding to help with that project is a possibility.
     Related to newspaper letters about the city, Bellamy also points out that criticisms about the city using out-of-area contractors to do city construction projects don’t take into account how the process—by state law—has to work. “We’re required to bid out projects,” Bellamy says, and the city must select the lowest bid from a responsible bidder. Many local companies can’t get a bond sufficient to cover the legally required minimum for a construction project. But even when local firms don’t win bids, “there are still local businesses that get subcontracted for work,” Bellamy says.

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