Redkey looks at ordinance adjustments

REDKEY — Changes to the water ordinance are back in discussion.

Redkey Town Council tabled a proposal to amend the ordinance Thursday.

Council member Gary Gardner proposed an addition that would loosen restrictions set in place last year. He suggested an amendment to give council authority to review requests for adjustments in special cases, such as when a leak cannot be found.

Currently, adjustments are only given for underground or under-home leaks.

The discussion stems from council’s decision Oct. 21 to not grant an adjustment on a more than $600 water bill at Redkey Baptist Church. Town employee Randy Young noted he was not able to find a leak on the property.

Council made changes to its water ordinance in November 2020. According to the current ordinance, any Redkey resident can request a leak adjustment for underground or under-home leaks. Council will only consider the appeal if the following has occurred:

•A water shut-off valve was installed

•Photographic evidence or a written testimony from a contractor attests that a leak occurred

•A town water or wastewater employee verifies the leak has been fixed

In November 2020, council members Randy May and Gardner both voted against those changes.

May later proposed an addition to the ordinance, which was preliminarily approved July 22. (The updated ordinance has not yet been signed into effect.) Per the addition, new homeowners are given a 60-day period to install a shutoff valve and make any other necessary repairs to their plumbing without being fined. During that time period, a certified plumber may enter the water meter pit to turn the water on and off. (Previously only city employees and designated officials were allowed to enter the pit, or the resident would be fined.)

Before the current ordinance was in place, town attorney Wes Schemenaur explained adjustments were up to the council’s discretion.

“It was sort of arbitrary,” he said. “The previous council wanted to have a hard and fast rule they could point to.”

“If you’ve got an $800 water bill, no leaks in your house, (wouldn’t) you want us to at least talk about it?” Gardner asked council members.

Council president Dottie Quakenbush later noted the council is “always willing to listen” and that a change is not required to do so. Still, Gardner added, council would follow the ordinance when making a decision about granting an adjustment.

“The thing of it is, we have ordinances for one reason, and we have to go by that ordinance,” Quakenbush said. “Every time we do something for one person, it changes the ordinance. We just can’t do it. We have got to stick to the ordinance.”

Council member Eric Hammers noted problems can occur without a homeowner’s knowledge, such as a child leaving something on. He said he would also prefer to handle requests without learning the party’s identity to avoid bias and instead go by whether it is covered under the rule.

“We went through this at least twice now,” Hammers said of amending the water ordinance in the last few years.

“It has been, I would say, the biggest argument here … seems like every time somebody has an issue, there’s adjustments or amendments made to the ordinance. We can’t just keep going, changing it up, just to appease somebody.”

Council split 2-2 on the ordinance amendment, with Gardner and May in favor and Quakenbush and Hammers dissenting. (Council member John Pierce was absent from Thursday’s meeting.) It then agreed to table the issue.

Also Monday, council OK’d clerk-treasurer Mary Eley to submit a grant to The Portland Foundation for putting in new floors in the park cabin.

The price tag is around $18,000, Eley said. Plans for new flooring include replacing the foundation to fix cracks.

Although it is seeking a grant from the foundation, Eley explained the town would still need to contribute some funds toward the project. She said Redkey Lions Club has offered to donate a portion of the funds — about $3,000 — and she requested council OK using $2,000 from the park department’s budget. It approved that proposal unanimously.

Council also renewed its insurance for 2022 and will pay $38,602 for its premium in January. It also OK’d a request from Aaron Walters of Barnum-Brown Insurance for the town to contribute $300 more each year for unrecorded structures and buildings, jumping that allotment, if used, from $50,000 to $250,000.

In other business, council:

•Learned council will meet at 6 p.m. Dec. 30.

•Agreed to lay gravel on an alley along Oak St.

•Reinstated two days or 16 hours of police chief Todd Miller’s vacation.

•Paid claims of $150,967.08.