Winona Presents Proposed Sewage Contract To Warsaw Board Of Works
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Winona Lake Town Coordinator Craig Allebach presented a proposed sewage contract for Warsaw and Winona Lake during Friday's Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.
The meeting was at city hall.
The proposed contract would provide Winona Lake with a template for calculating sewer services for future sewer calculations.
"The purpose of the calculation is to determine a treatment rate for a wholesale-type contract customer," Allebach said.
The template would begin with an annual billing costs of approximately $31 per household divided by the number of months resulting in a monthly rate for Warsaw billing Winona Lake.
Winona Lake currently pays $3.74 per thousand gallons for sewer services that Winona Lake pumps to Warsaw's waste water treatment plant.
A cost of service study was conducted by Umbaugh & Associates for Warsaw and by London Witte for Winona Lake.
Warsaw increased the sewer rate for Winona Lake to $2.08 per thousand gallons.
Winona Lake is requesting to pay an increase of $1.76 per thousand gallons for sewer services, according to Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Retha Hicks.
Warsaw residents are charged $31 per household for sewer services and Winona Lake residents are charged $42 per household.
Council member Joy Lohse said she did not support the $11 difference in sewer charges between the city and town. She said the treatment plant operation should be a collaboration.
"We can find positive results from collaboration to be overall quality improvement, cost saving and efficiency," Lohse said.
The wholesale rate is to cover the cost of treatment since Winona Lake maintains its own sewer collection system and handles all of its administrative duties for its constituents.
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said the board of works will take the contract under advisement and said he will ask the city council to review the contract. Umbaugh & Associates also will review the contract.
"We are requesting the board of works look at our calculations for the sewer rate," Hicks said.
Also during the meeting, Dave Henderson, Wastewater Treatment Utility Facility manager, said the facility was recognized in November by the Indiana Water Environment Association at a conference.
The Warsaw lab received a laboratory excellence award for the fifth year in a row and received safety awards for both utility plants.
The board also approved contracts with Kosciusko Development Inc., City-County Athletic Complex, Warsaw Community Development Corp. and Kosciusko Area Bus Service.
Other contracts approved were with Cardinal Center/Sus Amigos, Warsaw Housing Authority and the Animal Welfare League.
The board also:
n Approved an agreement between the city and Kosciusko County for Munson Car lot parking control.
n Approved a contract between the city and Warsaw Parks Department for winter events.
