Rural homeowners ask Portland City Council for natural gas service

Council members heard repeated pleas from residents of Coker Ford Road, Rapids Road and Oak Drive to extend Portland’s gas service to their homes during a Jan. 5 meeting.

Steven Gerda, a Coker Ford Road resident, presented a petition to the council with signatures from 39 homeowners requesting extension of a gas main in the area. Gerda said electric heat just did not hold up, especially under extremely cold conditions.

“For almost seven years now, my house is just freezing in the wintertime. I’ve looked at the cost of propane and it’s just not worth it,” Gerda said. “I have electric heaters that I run in smaller rooms. I’m tired of being hunkered down in the bedroom for hours because the rest of the house is just so cold. The heat pumps do not work.”

Gerda said the closest gas main at present was about a mile and a half from his home, but that gas was also available just off the other end of Coker Ford Road.

“Evcen those with propane, they said (it) was very expensive,” Gerda said. “I started asking a few neighbors what they thought… Everybody did show great interest in natural gas. Everybody needs to be warm in the wintertime.”

“You’ve got about 50, maybe 70 homes out there,” Director of Utilities Bryan Price told the council members. “We’ve been talking about this in Utilities for some time. This initially came up in 2016.”

Price said the current line stopped at Lear Road and that the department had previously looked at looping down Lear Road and taking it back to Martin Chapel Road and Highway 259.

Price also presented a general cost estimate that contained about 4,200 feet of four-inch pipe and 13,000 feet of two-inch pipe, along with acquiring easements. He also noted that many homes in the area do have propane and would likely choose to connect to natural gas, which is much cheaper.

“Natural gas does have a fund with some money in it that could afford this project,” Price said.

Portland Mayor Mike Callis noted that this was one of two areas in the city that had submitted multiple requests for service previously.

Alderman Brian Woodall asked if it would be necessary to get a certain number of paid commitments (tap fees and connection fees) before starting the project. Price said it was not required but admitted the idea might be a good one.

“It would be simple to send a mailer out to everyone and let them know the City Council is looking at this, and asking if anyone is willing to come in,” Price said. “What we really need to look at doing is growing the natural gas system.”

Callis asked about the timeframe of the project if it were approved, with Price estimating 15 to 18 months.

Gerda noted that while he had spoken to 39 homeowners, he had visited many more residences where owners were not home. He said those he had talked to were interested in gas, even if the city requested a deposit up front.

Callis said the city would put together a notice to homeowners in the area in the coming weeks to gauge the interest for gas in the area.