For at least the last 10 years, the Warsaw Wastewater Payment Office has been inadvertently billing Walmart for irrigation.
Utility Payment Supervisor Rebecca Jenkins sought approval Friday from the Board of Public Works and Safety to refund the payments made by Walmart for irrigation by crediting Walmart’s wastewater account that the city bills for the Walmart store. The total of the refund is $15,373.25.
“Back in October, I spoke to a representative from Walmart and it was determined that they were being billed for an irrigation-only meter that was set up by Indiana American Water,” Jenkins said.
She didn’t know how long ago that was but it was prior to her employment with the utility department.
“But it was coded by Indiana American Water for us to receive those readings so then they were billed for that water. It wasn’t going down the sewer,” Jenkins said.
She said Walmart was being billed for their store meter and billed separately for their irrigation.
“A lot of companies have just one meter and the storm and irrigation are all in one meter, but they had two separate ones,” Jenkins said.
She said the city’s history only goes back to 2011 because the city changed software in 2010. Walmart agreed to a 10-year refund and asked that the city just credit the refund to their store’s wastewater account.
City attorney Scott Reust told the Board, “Honestly, the city of Warsaw has no interest in billing people for stuff that we shouldn’t bill. I don’t think it was the fault of our billing department, it was coded by American Water that way. But now that we’ve learned of the error, I think it is only fair and legal that you should refund the money the best that we can based on the records that we have. We don’t want to have an unjust enrichment for something that we shouldn’t be charging for.”
Board member George Clemens said based on Reust’s recommendation, it was only fair to refund the money to Walmart. He made a motion to approve the refund and the motion was approved 2-0. Mayor Joe Thallemer was absent from Friday’s meeting.
In other business, the Board approved:
• A pay application from Structurepoint for the Anchorage Road project for $9,511.77. It is an 80/20 Indiana Department of Transportation-funded project, with INDOT reimbursing 80% of each phase of the project over the next four years. The city’s funds will come out of the Economic Development Income Tax, Warsaw Community Economic and Development Director Jeremy Skinner said.
Skinner also presented a pay application from Structurepoint for $123 for the Anchorage Road project. “This is the first right-of-way pay application for right-of-way services,” he said. “We are embarking on the right-of-way section of this project. Hopefully, over the next three to four months, we’ll have all the right-of-way acquired and be ready to let this in late 2022.” The $123 pay application was approved.
• A memorandum of understanding between the city and the Michiana Area Council of Governments for the city to provide $5,000 per year for three years to help fund an active transportation planner with MACOG. The amount is the same the city paid the last three years to help fund the position.
• The final design drawings for the Lincoln Neighborhood sidewalk project. The project is on track to be bid out in early 2022. The cost for the pedestrian infrastructure project is $1.6 million and will improve walkability for students and residents to the west of Lincoln Elementary. The project is part of an 80/20 grant from INDOT awarded to the city three years ago.
City Planner Justin Taylor also presented parcels for the city to permanently acquire for the right-of-way needed for the sidewalk project. The total for the parcels to be acquired is $34,555. Taylor said this was the first batch of nine parcels and there are about seven more the city will need to acquire for the project.
The Board approved the parcels, along with a pay application from The Troyer Group for $5,995 for right-of-way services. INDOT will pay for 80% of the costs.
• An agreement with Regroup Mass Notification for $8,222.19 to provide mass notifications to city residents for 14 months, as requested by Staci Young, assistant to the mayor.
• A contract between the city and VS Engineering for design engineering to improve access to the east/west alley connecting Union and Miami streets south of the Main Street extension, which is the area of the new Gateway Grove residential development The cost is $18,700.
• The renewal of the annual contract between the Warsaw Police Department and Pro Air Inc. for maintenance on the air tanks for the Dive Team, as requested by Police Chief Scott Whitaker. The maintenance fees are paid by each department. The fire department pays $2,540 and WPD pays $1,270.
• The interlocal agreement between Kosciusko County and the city for $30,000. WPD pays the annual $30,000 for maintenance fees as well as access to the county’s records management server. The fire department also has access to the records.
• Signing the sales purchase agreement with Lassus Brothers Oil. Whitaker said on July 19, the Board of Works approved, on behalf of the city, the Lassus Brothers bid for 2022 to provide 87 octane unleaded gasoline and mid grade diesel fuel for city vehicles. The fixed fuel price for 2022 will be $2.576 per gallon for unleaded. Diesel fuel may be purchased, as needed, at the current pump price.
• Change order No. 1 for the traffic signal modernization project at the intersections of Center and Lake streets and Center and Indiana streets. The change order is from Hawk Enterprises Inc. and represents a decrease of $8,905.03. Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon said the change order was for quantity adjustments of items.
Dillon also presented the final pay application from Hawk Enterprises for $70,696.27 for the traffic signal modernization project, which was approved.
• A disbursement of $1,170 to NV Grant Services, which certifies the payrolls for the contractor needed for the city’s State Revolving Fund loan for the wastewater plant expansion, as requested by Utility Superintendent Brian Davison.
Davison also presented a claim of $24,893 from Wessler Engineering for oversight of the wastewater plant expansion, which the Board approved.
• An agreement with Laughing Stock Productions to provide a Santa Claus for the 2021 Light Up the Night event on Dec. 3 to meet and greet with children. The contract is for $330. Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer said the previous person to play Santa Claus is no longer able to attend so she had to find a new one. Reust asked Schaefer to get a written clarification from the previous Santa Claus that his contract is null and void.
• The new hire/change in payroll report as presented by Human Resource Director Jennifer Whitaker. The report includes two new full-time patrol officers, nonprobationary status – Tyler Denniston ($2,354.70 biweekly) and Ryan Connors ($2,266.66 biweekly) with start dates of Dec. 12 – and a probationary full-time patrol officer, Kevin Kyle ($2,310.69 biweekly), with a start date of Nov. 8. Charlotte Poe is also a new hire at the police department as a records clerk ($17 an hour), beginning Nov. 8.
Mathew Trump at the street department obtained his CDL so his pay increases to $17.80 per hour.
• The closure of Grant Street between East Winona Avenue and Smith Street from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 20 for Fellowship Missions Inc.’s Warming Hearts – Healing Souls.
Fellowship Missions Executive Director Eric Lane said the event is their annual banquet and Grant Street is between the two properties Fellowship Missions own. He said they want Grant Street closed so they can do a food distribution and banquet outside.
