The city of Ocean Shores now has a new system that will allow residents to pay their water bills online.

The system became active last week at the following address: https://oceanshores.merchanttransact.com/

Finance Director Angela Folkers proposed the system to the City Council last May 23, calling it user-friendly with options that allow up-to-date account access, payment options such as adding multiple accounts to one payment, or auto alerts. The system saves customers from writing checks and the cost of postage, and saves the city for those who go paperless.

The city processed 3,500 credit card payments last year. An online payment option had been available, but it came with a transaction cost to use the service.

“We always hear that people are dissatisfied with the service,” Folkers told the council.

One of the key decisions in the new system was its security. “Our concern was that it have good enough firewalls to take people’s credit cards and keep them on file,” said Mayor Crystal Dingler.

“We feel comfortable now that people’s information is protected,” Dingler said.

One of the complaints that some customers had was that bills would go to their Ocean Shores residences and then be forwarded on to where they might be living for the winter. By the time the bills finally arrived, they would be late on their payments.

Now bills can be checked online at any time. As presented to the council, the system will cost about $11,000 to finish out the year, and about $25,000 a year after that.

Marijuana moratorium

Now that the City Council has imposed a new 6-month moratorium on any new marijuana-based business, co-op, growing or processing operation within city limits, Mayor Dingler has asked the Planning Commission to continue studying several issues.

That comes after the Planning Commission twice voted in favor of motions to send the issue back to the City Council.

“I have a few more questions for them,” Dingler said.

The mayor noted the commission had collected some valuable information, but specifically wanted more research before reporting back to the City Council. The Planning Commission is expected to address the City Council on Sept. 12 about the issue of allowing residents to raise a small number of chickens within city limits.

The goal then would be to have the Planning Commission report back on the marijuana issue at the Sept. 26 council meeting, Dingler said.

“I wanted to keep those things separate,” Dingler said of two of the key issues before the Planning Commission.

The next Planning Commission meeting is set for 2 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Library meeting room. Dingler said she wanted the commission to consider issues such as whether new marijuana businesses should be restricted from certain locations.

“Where do we want something like that to be?” she said. “There were people who asked whether it should be in mall, and they felt strongly that it should not be chiefly in a mall (Driftwood Plaza). So I wanted guidance on those sort of things.”

What have they found out there? If they already have that information, great. But if they don’t, can they get it, because it will come up.”