Nye County Commissioner Butch Borasky thinks an agreement the commission reached Wednesday with Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada would make the biggest water and sewer supplier in Pahrump more user friendly.

He applauded Commission Chairman Gary Hollis for getting involved in the rate case settlement agreed to between Utilities Inc. and the Public Utilities Commission. Hollis, however, cast the sole vote against approving the Nye County settlement pact.

The county settlement won't prevent a rate increase. Hollis figures the PUC already had a team of financial investors checking the company's books since Utilities Inc. applied for the rate increase last December. Nye County is prepared to present a case at the Nov. 14 PUC rate hearing in Las Vegas.

Utilities Inc. agreed to:

Cover or enclose equalization tanks at the sewer plant on Willow Creek golf course that have been the subject of odor complaints, by June 30, 2008, at a cost of approximately $250,000.

Install 6,900 feet of distribution line, at a cost of approximately $535,000, to eliminate dead-end lines on Blagg Road, Dandelion Street, Pahrump Valley Boulevard, Spy Glass Avenue, Laguna Street and Torrey Pine Avenue by April 1, 2008.

Meet with representatives of Nye County and the PUC every three months for the next two years to discuss water and sewer operations.

File revised water and sewer line extension policies providing customers "a reasonable free allowance" and obligating Utilities Inc. to make investments in water distribution and sewer collection facilities.

Give the county confidential drawings showing its water and sewer lines on county right-of-way.

"It's just the logistical size of the service area. There have been problems in providing infrastructure to people developing their property who are required to sign up to their water and sewer services," Nye County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Kent said in delivering a report on the agreement.

"This has acted as a hamper to development and people being able to utilize their property at their convenience," he said. "This county does not have authority over utilities by legislative fiat with the Public Utilities Commission."

The quarterly meetings were touted by Borasky as a way to discuss problems with water and sewer service.

The extension of dead-end lines is seen as an attempt to cure water pressure, odor problems and other issues.

Paul Burris, vice-president of Utilities Inc., said he wasn't privy to information as to whether the increased costs would be passed on to consumers. Burris has agreed to work with the county in the future.

"My key issue was the smell and the way they handled the treatment plant," Borasky said afterward. "They're going to deal with that."

The other major item was to establish better cooperation with Utilities Inc. and Nye County, he said.

"They agreed in higher-density areas to extend their lines and promote the economic growth that's needed," Borasky said.

The lack of service to new developments like Desert Greens sparked lawsuits in 2005.

Kent said the company expressed a willingness to extend lines, meaning one customer wanting to hook into the system may not have to pay the entire cost of the line extension, only his share.

Commissioners had requested a special meeting Oct. 12, during which they voted against the rate increase application. They didn't discuss the rate hike Wednesday.

The company is asking to increase base sewer rates from $23.60 per month for most residential customers to $44.13.

The base water rate would stay at $9.90 per month, but a tiered rate schedule based on water usage would be established, ranging from 99 cents per 1,000 gallons for using the first 8,000 gallons each month, to $1.67 per 1,000 gallons after that, and $2.54 per 1,000 gallons for using more than 30,000 gallons per month.

Utilities Inc. customers pay 72 cents per 1,000 gallons of water in winter and 82 cents in the summer, on top of the base rate. The company reported 4,186 water customers at the end of 2006.

PUC legal counsel Tammy Cordova estimated the water rates would increase the average monthly bill for a residential customer from $20.68 to $24.82.

It would be the first rate increase since Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada acquired the former Central Nevada Utilities Corp. in 2001.