The Ellettsville Town Council met Aug. 27 to reconsider a water emergency ordinance passed at its last meeting, an amended agreement between the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission and the Town of Ellettsville, and a proposal to post proposed ordinances to the town website before they are considered.
Members present were Dianna Bastin, David Drake, Philip Smith, Vice President Dan Swafford and President Scott Oldham. Also present were Town Attorney Darla Brown and Ellettsville Clerk-Treasurer Sandra Hash.
At the last meeting of the town council, a water emergency ordinance was approved. After receiving comment from the public, Brown decided to put chapter 51 of the ordinance up for amendment or repeal at the Aug. 27 meeting.
“No other entity in the area has passed any ordinance of this sort addressing this issue,” Ellettsville resident Tom Matthieson said, holding a stack of documents pertaining to water policies in other cities in the area.
He went on to say that the ordinance passed was not in accordance with any water conservation plans in the area and accused the town council of not reading the ordinance before voting on it. In particular, he objected to 51.53(c) and 51.53(d) in the ordinance, which state, respectively:
“Before service is disconnected, the Town Water Company shall send written notice of its intention to discontinue water service. The notice shall be mailed via regular United States mail to the customer or property owner at his or her last known address not less than five (5) days before the water service is to be discontinued.”
“Any Town Water Company customer disputing the proposed service disconnection shall have a right to a hearing at which time he or she may present orally or in writing his or her contentions to the Town Water Company superintendent, who shall have the authority to make a final determination on whether the customer’s service will be discontinued. Each customer receiving a notice of intent to discontinue water service shall contact the Town Water Company superintendent to request a hearing within the five (5) day period before the water service is to be discontinued.”
Matthieson stated that the ordinance, as written, could lead to people’s water being shut off because someone, without evidence, reported them for using too much and that the ordinance lacked a proper appeals process as the customer would have to appeal to the same person who made the decision to shut off their water. He asked that the town council repeal the ordinance, but, if they would not do that, to at least scrap section 51.53.
Bastin did not see any issue with the ordinance as written.
“I think it should stay for that one person that is going to push our limits. There is always one person,” she said.
Matthieson said the water emergency itself was questionable.
“If the people we buy our water from declare a water emergency and put restrictions on our water, we pretty much have to follow suit,” Drake said.
Throughout the discussion, there was much reference to what cities like Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Nashville were doing to cope with the drought.
“I understand looking at them for reference, but we are not bound by anyone else’s ordinances,” Oldham said.
The council decided to wait for an amended version of section 51.53 before going to a vote. The originally passed version remains in effect.
Several “whereas” statements were added to the agreement between the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission and the Town of Ellettsville and some phrasing was changed.
The agreement established that Richland Township, which receives fire protection from the Ellettsville Fire Department and has no fire protection of its own, shall assist in paying for replacement fire trucks at the EFD. The funding would come from tax increment financing, which funds the development of the western portion of Richland Township. Twenty-one percent of the calls responded to by the EFD are in that portion of Richland Township, but the EFD does not receive any taxable revenue from the area.
The amended agreement was approved by the council.
The EFD asked for bids on a combination triple pumper truck, a rescue truck, and the equipment to outfit both through The Ellettsville Journal and the Bloomington Herald-Times. It received one bid for the trucks and one bid for the equipment. Both fit within the price range estimated by the town council but were set aside for EFD Chief Jim Davis to look over and report back to the council.
In new business, a suggestion was made that proposed ordinances be put on the Town of Ellettsville website prior to town council meetings to make them easier to access for the public. The proposal was unanimously passed.
The next Ellettsville Town Council meeting will be on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in the EFD conference and training room.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2012. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.