Sassy Skelton

Just received our water bill from Meridan Services Metro District, only to find out that our typical water consumption averaging around 23.00/month now produces a bill of over $50.00/month.

Seems that Meridian Services Metro District is now charging for something called a "Water Service" fee, totalling $29.27. More than our actual water usage?

Called up to enquire what this was all about, and got some kind of story about the 'board's' decision to proactively charge to ensure that our future water needs are met.

What?!?! Are they some how producing more water? Are they suing Wyoming for additional water rights? Sounds like a tax to me. Perhaps some Merdian Services executive needed a pay raise?

If it is indeed some kind of fee for future water access, seems to me it should be based on how much water a household consumes, NOT a uniform increase across all customers. Why not pro-rate the water rate to include this 'fee'? Oh, because they would then be charging MORE for water than like sized companies perhaps?

This to me rings of the 'Storm water zone fee' or whatever it was called that Colorado Springs Utilities wanted to charge is customers. A tax is a tax. Calling something a 'fee' ought to come with some sort of detailed page explaining exactly what this fee is supposed to entail.

If Merdian Service Metropolitan District wants to raise rates, at least be up-front about it with your customers. I would HATE to see what happens if the 2000 to 3000 (or more) homeowners in Meridian Ranch pay their MONTHLY $30.00 (which by the way equals some $90,000 per month!!!!!!!!) to Meridian Service Metro District and it winds up in some executives pay check.

Shame on you!

Want to invest in the future? Raise the rates and let the water usage dictate how much our rates go up! An across the board 'fee' is nothing more than a tax! Those who use the most water should pay more towards the future supply. Those without a sprinkler system, and who conserve water should pay less! Those on a septic system where 100% of the water consumed goes back down into the Earth should pay less as well.

My husband plans on attending the board meeting tomorrow in protest...more to come!!!!

Hope to have before/after pics posted of our work. The investors did a brilliant job of updating the property and our staging (leans towards contemporary) was a perfect fit! It can be a struggle when your staging inventory slants one way, and the property to be staged is slanting the opposite direction, but this time was 'the perfect storm'.....for the competitiion anyway!

Pics to come soon!

Just an update....this home was just leased to buy, and I've retrieved all my items. I didn't even get my pics uploaded...here's a sample anyway....

Before:

After:

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Over Christmas we had the unfortunate experience of our Fisher-Paykel washer draining VERY VERY slowly. My husband tried to fix the problem unsuccessfully despite searching diligently on the web for troubleshooting tips.

The kind folks at Fisher-Paykel technical support referred us to a repair source in town. After calling them up we discovered it was going to cost nearly $100.00 just to get them to come to our house. Seems that there is $1.00 per mile surcharge for locations beyond Powers and we live up in Black Forest.

We looked for other options and through ServiceMagic we found Peyton based Sure Tech Appliance Repair. Called them up and got a same day appointment. Mr. Doyle Decker arrived promptly and quickly fixed our problem. Total cost, under $70.00.

If you need an appliance repaired, before you schedule an appointment, I recommend checking our Sure Tech for yourself! The service all makes and models and can be reached at 719-649-0065 or via email at suretech@falconbroadband.net

Just when you might think the holiday festivities are over, here's another annual tradition being held this Saturday in Manitou Springs, Colorado. This annual event challenges participants to design their own devices to throw that holiday fruitcake further than anyone else.

The weather is supposed to be pretty good (40 degrees or so) and the fun runs from 930-2pm in Memorial Park. Come out and get some fresh air and have some fun!

The tenetive schedule is listed below. Additional information can be found on the Manitou Springs website.

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. REGISTRATION

10:00 MEDIA TOSS

10:15 KIDS GREAT FRUITCAKE PERFORMANCE

10:30 KIDS & ADULTS FRUITCAKE TOSS

11:00 - Launch, Hurl, Pneumatic for Distance

11:30 Launch, Hurl Pneumatic for Accuracy

12:00 Catch The Fruitcake

12:30 Crowd Pleaser

We recently had a Boxing Day party with new friends who only just moved to Colorado Spings from Texas in September. Talking with them about suggested things to do and see in Colorado gave me the idea to share this with the ActiveRain and Localism readers.

As is the long-standing tradition, the Pikes Peak AdAmAn Club began preparations yesterday for the midnight launch of fireworks to celebrate the arrival of the new year. Visible from almost all of Colorado Springs on a clear night, seeing the launch of fireworks from the over 14,000 ft summit is a novelty unique to the Springs.

For those local to Colorado Springs venturing out this evening for festivities, local McDivitt law firm is picking up the taxi fare if you have too much to drink and drive home. Remember the alcohol threshold to be considered driving under the influence is pretty low here (something on the order of 1 drink per hour), be safe, don't risk your life or the lives of others and use a designated driver or take a taxi -- especially considering its FREE!

Cheers!

Happy New Year from Staged Right, your professional home staging provider proudly serving Colorado Springs and surrounding areas!