Utility rates may be going up in 2022 in St. Cloud, But it’ll be easier to stroll downtown with a drink to worry less about it.
Orlando Utilities Commission, who provides power to much of the city, proposed a pair of rate increases it plans to ask for in the next six months.
The increases are tied to fuel prices, the first proposed fuel price increase since 2009, from 3.07 cents to 3.33 per kilowatt hour, which would raise the average residential bill about 2.3 percent. If necessary, OUC would then raise the price to 4 cents per kilowatt hour, a 5 percent bill increase, in June.
OUC Chief Financial Officer Mindy Brenay said costs are associated with supply-and-demand issues, “Much like we experienced with toilet paper during COVID,” she said, even with tapping into fuel reserves.
The first increase would be effective Jan. 1. The request for the June increase would come in April.
“Nobody likes to see prices increases,” St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell said. “But we appreciate OUC has had such steady prices for so long.”
The good news is, you can soon have a drink in downtown, and stroll the streets with it. At the same meeting, the Council unanimously passed an ordinance creating an Entertainment District in the downtown area, which would allow for the outdoor consumption of alcohol within a defined area and under certain restrictions. The city is partnering with downtown businesses as a way to increase pedestrian traffic to the downtown shops, restaurants and bars.
The district runs from Massachusetts to Florida Avenue and from 9th to 13th Street, considered a “pedestrian friendly segment” of downtown. City officials said this would encourage more events and organized entertainment in that district.
During those events, having a beer, wine or liquor outside will be allowed from Wednesday to Saturday between 11 a.m. and midnight. One drink per person at time would be allowed in up to a 16-ounce clear plastic cup, with registered logos allowed on the cups.
Increased police presence and added surveillance with new cameras made the city open to allowing this district. The ordinance also adds a provision that the city can review it in six months.
This replaces a prior, slightly smaller entertainment that could only be used for city special events. City officials said this new district and rules will help energize economic prosperity downtown.
