By JONATHAN SNYDER
The Wells County Regional Sewer District board heard back from Mick Cupp about a potential building to purchase at 820 South Bond St. on Monday.
On Feb. 12, the RSD board gave specifications for the new building, including a place to park a vehicle inside and a small office space. It also needs to be about 2,000 square feet.
Cupp, of Cupp Real Estate, came back with the location on South Bond Street, which he owns. Cupp and RSD Supervisor Lewis Brown toured the facility, which was about 2,400 square feet and a garage near the back of the property along with an office space. Cupp said the building would cost about $139,000.
However, the RSD’s main concern was the flood risk of the area.
Brown and Roger Cash, Ossian, mentioned that in 2005 significant rainfall caused the lowlands to flood. However, since then another catch basin has been installed in the parking lot which should ease the issue. Brown further invited the district members to take a look at the location for themselves.
The district also took time to celebrate the progress they had made throughout the past year. They discussed some of the new homes being built in their project areas and how homes that were formerly discharging into a side ditch on County Road 400 North are now connected to the main line, making for a cleaner environment. Board member Andy Stoller mentioned that it’s nice to get a look at the full picture for the year.
In his report, Brown said the RSD should look to hire a part-time helper to transition into a full-time position in the future.
Brown put together a list of requirements for the new hire, which included being good with people, having a driver’s license, being able to lift 100 lbs., being able to fit in grinder stations and not being afraid of getting dirty. Brown then advised the district to put together their own list of requirements and to start looking for any candidates available, with a suggestion to look at high-school kids looking to go into trades.
Additionally, Brown said that the flow meter has been giving lower readouts compared to the actual amount of flow coming through their system. All three stations in Murray, Liberty Center and Craigville are not reading correctly, which prompted Brown to enlist the help of Ferguson Plumbing in Fort Wayne to look into the issue.
Brown further notified the district that the Craigville project only has punch list items left to do. Brown estimates that 40 customers have not connected to the line out of 130 customers in the area. Liberty Center has five more people yet to connect and the Murray project has two people left to connect.
The Kingsland project is also going strong, with the gravity sewer system being fully installed and tested, along with all grinder stations installed. Wessler Engineering’s Levi Morrison noted that grouting, filling the casing with sand, carrier pipes underneath the railroad and manhole lining is what’s left to complete.
Additionally, Brown said the new truck will need new tires before winter.
Morrison also suggested that the RSD and VTF Excavation should look into having the Wells County Highway Department chip and seal all the roads in Kingsland for a new road surface. Morrison mentioned that the current state of the roads is “inadequate,” and a conversation with Highway Supervisor Shawn Bonar suggested that they would be interested in the project.
There were eight SRF claims approved by the RSD. The biggest claim was paid to VTF totaling $874,909. Three of these were for recording fees, which total $433. Two $2,700 claims were also approved, one for Brown’s acquiring of easement payments while he was part-time and one for preparation of grinder easements. An SRF claim paid to Choice One Engineering totalled $1,840, while another claim paid Wessler Engineering $12,127.
Leon Berning, Bruce Stinson and Jon Shady were also present at Monday’s meeting.
jonathan@news-banner.com
