More water work in Dunkirk (5/24/05)

DUNKIRK — Continuing problems with the city water system and proposals for improvements were once again major topics for council members at their regular meeting here Monday night.

Mayor Sam Hubbard said that while Leary Construction personnel from Greenfield were painting the outside of the water tower reservoir tank recently, ozone water treatment consultant Peter Conner recommended that the inside of the reservoir tank should be cleaned to remove rust deposits.

This was done about a year ago with about 18 inches of iron sediment found at the bottom of the tank. Hubbard said Leary gave a special rate this time since its crews were already available in Dunkirk. Painting the outside of the tower and reservoir tank cost $21,700, and the cleaning work inside the tank was done for an additional $2,600, Hubbard said.

The mayor also reported that city officials were happy this time to only find about two inches of sediment at the bottom of the reservoir tank. This marked a great improvement, Hubbard said.

In other water-related business, Hubbard noted that last week’s informational meeting on the possibility of having Dunkirk withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission attracted only a handful of attendees but provided some good discussion. However, Hubbard said that he wished more people would have turned out for the Wednesday night meeting.

Also during Monday’s council session, water department superintendent Dace Mumbower and assistant superintendent John Sampley reported about a variety of operating problems at the water plant which have occurred since the last council session. Mumbower said he wanted to thank several people including Greg Buckner and Larry Wright from the Dunkirk sewer department and representatives from Peerless Midwest and Leary for their help in working with city water department employees to correct these problems.

“Yes, we had a lot of help,” Hubbard said.

Also Mumbower reported that consultants from Commonwealth Engineers Inc., Indianapolis, were still in the process of putting together a report about possible improvements to the city’s water system. However, Mumbower said that the Commonwealth representatives and he were now both in agreement that adding polyphosphate chemicals to the Dunkirk water system was not a viable option. “That’s no longer under consideration,” Mumbower said, pointing out that adding polyphosphate chemicals to the Dunkirk system would be a never-ending process, representing more or less a band-aid approach to correcting the situation.

Mumbower said he continues to favor enlarging and improving the water plant’s filtering system as a better and more long-range solution to Dunkirk’s rusty water problems.

In other business Monday night, council members:

•Congratulated Dunkirk Police Department Investigator Dane Mumbower on being promoted to the rank of captain, as recommended by Police Chief Arnold Clevenger and the city board of public works and safety.

•Also congratulated Dunkirk Patrolman Bobby Johnson on successfully completing classes at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Indianapolis.

•Heard a report from Councilman Tom Johnson that the Dunkirk City Pool is scheduled to open Tuesday, June 7.

•Learned that the Dunkirk City Park shelter house was the site of an unauthorized dance over the weekend, and some damage to the building was reported. Johnson said in the future all such dances should be approved in advance by the city park board.

•Listened to Hubbard report that he recently talked to Jay County engineer Dan Watson about the repair work being done south of town on Ind. 167. That work is expected to be finished on Thursday or Friday, Hubbard said, pointing out that Ind. 167 could be open for traffic in time for the Glass Days Festival.

•Noted that the Glass Days Festival would be starting soon. Hubbard said he wanted to encourage all downtown area residents and business owners to try to make their properties “as clean and neat as possible.”

•Were asked by Councilman Craig Faulkner if there were any plans to repair the Dunkirk Union Hall wall or clean up the bricks which had fallen into the adjacent alley. Hubbard said he planned to have the city street department move the bricks to a less conspicuous spot and put up better barricades to block off the alley. Hubbard said that apparently union officials don’t anticipate any actual repairs being made before September.[[In-content Ad]]