Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ETNA GREEN - After months of negotiation, settlement was reached with the contractor that completed the town's wastewater treatment plant.
Members of the Etna Green Town Council Tuesday signed a mutual release agreement with HRP Construction Inc., South Bend, to close the books on the project. The town agreed to pay HRP a final sum of $36,500. As part of the settlement agreement, the town wrote a letter noting that the work done by HRP was satisfactory and that the only complaint the town held with the contractor was the issue of timeliness.
Throughout the course of the project, the town continually fought with the lateness of the work schedule, which ran five months beyond the substantial completion date. Litigation was threatened for liquidated damages as a result of the lag time for the project to be finished. Town officials repeatedly praised the quality of the work but were unhappy with the time frame in which the work was done.
In related matters, the council signed statements of budget income and equity for 2001 and 2002 as requested by Rural Development, the grant-holder of the project, and signed an amendment to the engineering service agreement to clarify language in a previous amendment, including inserting actual figures where estimates stood before.
In other business, the council voted to place an immediate lien on the former Poulson Ford building, currently owned by Knight Wennerstrom.
The council was ready to sign a 50-year lease Tuesday to maintain a mural painted on the side of the building adjacent to Remembrance Park. The cost of the lease would be equivalent to the amount of overdue sewer bills for the property. However, officials announced at the meeting that Wennerstrom refused to sign the lease and denied even having knowledge of the matter or speaking to town officials. Council member Andy Cook said he personally spoke with Wennerstrom and that he was aware of the town's intentions.
Because the sewer bills remain overdue and the property is for sale, the town opted to place a lien on the real estate.
Town attorney Jay Rigdon also reported that the failure-to-comply hearing in the matter against Randy Borkholder is set for this week.
Borkholder was sued by the town after refusing to clean up his property per town ordinances. He has ignored both town and court orders to remove a partially dismantled mobile home and other debris from his town lot. Rigdon previously said remedies in the matter could range from Borkholder promising the court he will clean up the property to his being jailed.
Town superintendent Barry Baker will look into options for changing the telemetry switches on the town's water system and for purchasing a generator as a backup during power outages.
During a recent power outage, the switches - which are often disabled by interference by low-frequency radio waves - failed, causing the town's water tower to overflow. A fire pump kicked on and drew unfiltered water into the system, leaving residents with brown, rusty water.
Baker said the problem could be eliminated by changing the switches to a higher radio frequency or by converting to a telephone line-based switch. Either option will involve new fees and could be "somewhat costly," Baker said. Also, a generator is needed to keep the system running during an outage. Baker said the town has about a one-day supply of water if the tower is full, but the level of water can't be guaranteed in the event of an outage.
In other matters, the council:
• Adopted ordinances establishing a permit fee fund to receive money for building permits and a promotion fund to make a budget line item for receiving money to promote the town's 150th birthday in 2003. In conjunction with the latter ordinance, the council approved transferring $1,500 from the general fund to the new line item.
• Announced that the State Board of Accounts approved the town's budget after making a cut of $1,559 from the Motor Vehicle Highway fund. The tax rate for 2002 is $0.3592.
• Signed a mutual aid agreement with the Indiana Municipal Electric Association.
The Etna Green Town Council meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in the fire station meeting room. Council members are Eileen Hall, Jeff Klinefelter and Andy Cook.
