Hooking up with utilities
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Water, Sewer, Electricity
A trip to the first floor of City Hall, First and Hickory streets, can set most utilities in motion for Ottawa's newcomers.
The city has municipal utilties for water, sewer and electricity. The first thing one sees upon entering City Hall is a service window where each utility account can be registered.
There's no deposit required for new customers. Instead, the city charged a $25 connection fee for residential electrical service and $20 for water connections.
Customers need some kind of photo identification, social security number and for renters, a rent receipt or other proof of moving in.
The city mails its bills on a staggered basis to different parts of the city. Payments may be mailed, paid in person at City hall or dropped into a drop box standing on the west side of the City Hall parking lot. The city also accepts credit cards.
City Hall is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Natural Gas
For natural gas service in Ottawa, contact KPL Gas Service at its toll-free number: (800) 794-4780.
Telephone and Internet
Southwestern Bell holds the telephone franchise for Ottawa, though some other local phone services like Birch Telecom, Feist and Verizon offer alternative local service over Southwestern Bell lines. Lists of those providers tend to change from year to year, but state law requires that those companies and their phone numbers be published in local Southwestern Bell directories.
There are several local long distance services as well.
Ottawa has two prefixes, 242- and 229-, which most local government offices have adopted.
There are also several cellular phone companies with offices in Ottawa, such as Sprint PCS, Simply Wireless and Nextel.
For those who want the Internet, service can be arranged through the phone companies, but there are also several local Internet service providers in town and some of the other county areas.
Cable Television
Ottawa's cable television franchisee is Allegiance Communications, which has an office at 209 W. Second St., 242-7776. Several local businesses also offer packages for satellite television.
Rural Utilities
Arranging rural utility services is a bit more involved than in Ottawa.
Electricity
Kansas City Power and Light serves Franklin County cities other than Ottawa and most of the rural areas.
But rural electric cooperatives, the largest of which is the Lyon-Coffey Rural Electric Cooperative, covers some of the far reaches of the county.
If you don't know which provider to call, the Franklin County Planning and Zoning department, at the Franklin County Office Annex, 14th and South Main streets -- Phone (785) 229-3570 -- can pinpoint which utility serves your property.
Telephone
For the most part, Southwestern Bell and Embarq offer phone services to most rural areas and other cities in the county. Cell phone companies have coverage in most, but not all rural areas in the county. City offices and the county planners can help you if you're not sure.
Water
The other cities in the county have their own water systems or buy water from neighboring water districts.
If you plan to move to a rural part of the county, be sure to check if your area is served by a rural water district. There are several areas in the county that are not covered by water districts, and in some cases, water districts aren't taking new customers or there's a waiting list of years. Again, the county planning department can help pinpoint what water districts might serve your property.
However, if water isn't available elsewhere, check the quality of water from the wells on your property, if any. The Franklin County Cooperative Extension office, located at the county annex, can help you on water testing. The number is (785) 229-3520.
If the water on your property isn't of good quality or there are no wells, you'll have to drill new wells or haul your own water.
Trash Hauling
Ottawa has two local trash hauling services offered to most county residents and businesses.
One is Ottawa Sanitation Service, 242-3227, and the other is T & W Sanitation, 242-0400.
Residents may also haul their own trash to the Franklin County Transfer Station, 3323 Osborne Terrace.
Although some cities require that residents have trash service, there's no such requirement for Ottawans.
Dump costs are $32 per ton for household trash, while construction debris and brush is $22 per ton. Loads must be covered.
Pet Licenses
The city requires that all dogs be registered at City Hall.
For residents, the annual time for registration is from the beginning of the year through Feb. 15.
For spayed and neutered dogs, the fee is $5, while those that are not require a $15 fee. Payments made after Feb. 15 will have a $2 penalty fee tacked onto those amounts each month.
However, for those who are new to town, registration done in July, the mid-point of the year, those rates are split in half.
The city prohibits pit bulls within the city limits.
Driver's License
Most classifications of driver's licenses can be acquired at the Franklin County Office Annex, 1418 S. Main St.
Renewals of drivers' licenses can be done 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Non-commercial class license examinations, including written and driving tests, can be done from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Written examinations for commercial drivers licenses can be done at the Franklin County Office Annex, 14th and South Main streets, but the nearest driving test facility is in Topeka.
Costs vary according to the license classification.
The office can be reached at (785) 242-2521.
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