Sewer district hires professionals

The Jay County Regional Sewer District contracted with several professionals Monday while it is still waiting for the green light from the United States Department of Agriculture to bid its three sewer projects.
The board hired Muncie attorney Steve Murphy, Dunkirk CPA Rose Morgan, Indianapolis bond counsel Kim Blanchet, and sewer district billing specialist Linda Kiester.
Murphy was hired at a rate of $175 per hour and will negotiate sewer treatment contracts with Portland and Dunkirk. The board ‘s regular attorney, George Lopez of Hinkle, Racster and Lopez in Portland, excused himself from the process since his partner Bill Hinkle represents both cities.
Board president Gerald Kirby also informed the board that the City of Portland had hired attorney James Forcum, Hartford City, to negotiate its contract, since Hinkle is a resident affected by the Foxfire Drive sewer project. Kirby said he is meeting with Murphy Friday to discuss the contract negotiation.
Morgan was hired to handle the board’s general bookkeeping as well as making bond payments. Monthly costs for her services will run around $300 to $500. Morgan said she will begin establishing a book for the board, will produce financial reports for each month’s meeting, and will handle annual audits when that time comes around.
Blanchet, of Barnes and Thornburg in Indianapolis, was hired at a cost not to exceed $19,500 and she will handle all of the legal aspects of issuing tax-exempt government bonds.
Once the board approved her contract, she presented board members with a resolution declaring their intent to reimburse the board’s expenses from the bond issue.
“You can reimburse yourself for the cost you’ve already occurred,” she said, including engineering and other capital expenses, before the board signed the resolution.
Kiester of North Manchester, who does billing for several sewer districts in the state, was hired at a cost of $500 for initial setup, $5 per month per account billed, and $20 per hour for any additional services above normal billing. She will handle all billing and collections for the sewer district and will turn the collected money over to Morgan.
In other business Monday, Ben Adams of Commonwealth Engineers updated the board on the status of the grant/loan package from USDA Rural Development as well as other topics.
Adams told the board that he is just waiting for Rural Development to tell him to bid the project and once he gets that green light, the project can be advertised and bid.
Adams also informed the board that the railroad company is ready to issue a permit to dig under their tracks once it receives a $7,500 check, which the board won’t be able to issue until it gets its funding.
“The railroad did ask me about a month and a half ago if we were still doing the project,” Adams said. “Once we send them a check it’s a done deal.”
Board members also approved writing a check for $50 to pay dues to the Indiana Regional Sewer District Association as well as reviewed and adopted by-laws for the board.[[In-content Ad]]