Fillmore pursuing outstanding water payments

Friday, March 6, 2009

Sewer and water issues were once again the topic at the Fillmore Town Council meeting Thursday as Board President Jeff Osborn and Clerk-Treasurer Wanda Seidler reported on recent actions by the town.

There were 79 accounts with arrearages that were sent letters telling them they needed to pay their bill and offering to make arrangements to do so.

"We had 32 people make special payment arrangements. Twenty-six received disconnect notices and 19 of them paid. Seven were disconnected and three of them paid right away. We shut off two who haven't paid and had one skip out," said Seidler.

In order to have their water turned back on, households have to make a full payment of arrearages, plus pay a $20 reconnect fee. The arrangement made with people with arrearages is to pay their current monthly fee plus $50 per month toward their arrearages.

The next step with sewer issues includes more shut off notices being sent out and taking people to court who do not pay their bills. Another step in resolving the utility issues is the repair of five manholes in town.

"Three of them have water running in them when it rains like an open fire hydrant," said Water Utility Manager Joe Cash. They will be repaired in the next week or two as soon as parts come in.

Osborn also told people attending the meeting that the council was looking into withdrawing from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC).

"Withdrawing from the IURC would help us do something about the water without jumping through hoops to make changes," said Osborn. He gave the example of having to charge households for two units when they only use one.

The board was also asked to share their vision for the town of Fillmore.

"We're losing people. We need more industry or we could have a college," said one resident.

Osborn responded, "We're starting small. First, we're taking care of the utilities. We want to make this a place where people want to live. One of the things we have found is that many people support us but don't get involved. We need more people to get involved."

Resident Steve Bunten brought up an issue he continues to have with water going into his crawl space even after running sump pumps. One of the problems is a stoppage in the tiles across the street from his home. He asked for help from the town in resolving the problem.

The problem appears to be that the stoppage is on private property which means Bunten will have to work with the property owners to resolve the issue.

In other business:

* The board gave a first reading for a firearms ordinance;

* Discussed issues with the town's insurance and agreed to add things like serial numbers for equipment and mowers at the next meeting;

* Asked for ideas that would help the town "spruce up" town hall; and

* Agreed to move forward with posting the Cardinal Way road sign named by students at Fillmore Elementary.

The Fillmore Town Council meets on the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at town hall.

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  • 79 out of how many houses? What kind of percentage are we talking about?

    -- Posted by tjchopper on Sat, Mar 7, 2009, at 8:37 AM
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