Council plans to adjust rules

REDKEY — Water adjustment requirements may be opening up.

Redkey Town Council voted Thursday to move forward with amending its water ordinance so that the town would cover any water adjustment — each resident would be allotted one adjustment each year — requested because of a leak.

Currently, the town will cover one water adjustment each year for residents if there is a leak under the house or underground, explained town employee Randy Young.

Council member Brenda Beaty mentioned an issue with a resident’s water meter that occurred on a Friday. She asked what can be done by the town to prevent a resident from incurring an extra fee for a leak over the weekend in similar situations, with Young noting they could shut off the water until the next business day. But if the leak is the town’s responsibility, he added, the resident wouldn’t be charged for the extra water usage.

Council member “Watermellon” Jim Phillips proposed the town pay for any water adjustments caused by a leak.

“I’m making a motion — a leak is a leak,” he said. “When you get a $100 and some water bill, you know you’ve got a leak, and you’re going to fix that leak.”

Floyd Life, Beaty and Phillips — Dave Dudelston dissented and Chance Retter was absent — voted to move forward with adjusting the ordinance.

The discussion stemmed from a resident’s question about how much money the town makes on water bills each month. 

Because of debt from past work on the water tower and wastewater system, explained council member Brenda Beaty and Young, the town isn’t profiting much from its water rates. 

Town officials suggested grants and loans might be needed to cover project costs. Town attorney Wes Schemenaur said council may want to start incrementally raising its water rates each year.

“Then you won’t have the super big jumps that you have,” he explained. “The reason why your rates have gone so astronomically high so quickly is because nobody wanted to raise the rates.”

Wastewater rates didn’t have an increase for 28 years, noted Young. 

Also Thursday, Beaty noted Indiana Department of Environmental Management has granted “enforcement discretion” regarding the town’s failure to meet deadlines for creating a plan to deal with two combined sewer overflows (CSO) in violation of IDEM’s restrictions. Redkey has until Dec. 31 to update its CSO Long Term Control Plan, which should address how it plans to address the two CSOs. (One starts near Union Street, and the other originates in a rural part of the county just north of town and lets out near Main and George streets.) Young encouraged the town to come up with a plan soon, noting the ongoing master utility study — it should be completed by summer — will name the CSOs as a priority project but won’t create a plan for their removal.

Council also heard about Thriving Communities, a grant program available through Norfolk Southern railroad.

Community coordinator Nate Kimball explained the grant, if awarded, would allot $50,000 to Redkey. (According to the grant application guidelines, the program is intended to promote economic development, support community life and provide equal access to amenities.) Applications will open April 1.

In relation to Jay County officials’ $3.9 million contribution toward a project aimed at installing nearly 400 miles of fiberoptic internet throughout the county, Kimball also shared information with council about how to conduct broadband speed tests and challenge data accrued by the Federal Communications Commission. 

Residents may visit broadbandmap.fcc.gov to ensure the information about broadband availability — location and speed — is correct for their address. The website also includes links to challenge that information. To conduct a speed test, visit connectingindiana.com.

In other business, council members Dudelston, Phillips, Beaty and Life:

•Discussed whether to allow chickens in town limits. Beaty said she plans to research and review information put together by former council member Gary Gardner.

•Heard from Bob and Alicha Miller, two Tennessee residents planning to move into town. Bob Miller questioned the cost to hook up to the town’s water and wastewater lines, with Young and Dudelston noting that per the town’s water ordinance the resident must pay to bring the services to their property.

•OK’d clerk-treasurer Gloria May to continue utilizing Pam Collett’s training services as needed. (Collett worked with former clerk-treasurer Mary Eley before retiring in December. She previously served as clerk-treasurer of Hartford City.) 

•Approved the following: a request from Citadel Supply owner Brooks Fugiett to vacate the alley between his business (9096 W. Indiana 67) and Jasper and Mary Abernathy’s property at 9114 W. Indiana 67; a request from Mark Leavell to close the downtown portion of High Street from the evening of Aug. 9 to the evening of Aug. 11 for the Gas Boom Days festival; purchasing fireworks with more than $1,200 in donations for the Fourth of July weekend festivities.

•OK’d contracting with SBS for services provided by certified water operator Matt Corwin — he has been working for the town for at least seven years and recently took a job with the company — while Young pursues training to become a certified water operator, which he said will likely take one year.

•Was reminded by Schemenaur about a state requirement to livestream and archive meetings online by July 1, 2025. He pointed out Redkey’s park cabin where council meets each month does not have internet access and encouraged them to look into the matter as soon as possible.

•Discussed inviting Jay/Portland Building and Planning director John Hemmelgarn to council’s next meeting to talk about what the town needs to do to enact zoning restrictions.

•Asked Schemenaur to pursue legal action against the town’s two “worst” ordinance violators who have not paid fines.

•Decided to seek bids for mowing services in 2024.

•Made $69.30 in water bill adjustments.