Attorney Andy Boxberger, left, discusses fines for property owners who have failed to connect to the Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District system at the Monday, July 15, board meeting. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

CROMWELL — The Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District discussed property owners in the Eastshore/Northshore area who have failed to connect to the new sewer system at their Monday, July 15, meeting.

According to board attorney Andy Boxberger, there are five or six property owners who are still on their septic systems and have not responded to the district in the 90-day limit given in the last letter sent out. They are required to connect to the Turkey Creek system by Indiana septic elimination law. The fine for failure to connect is $100 per day.

Leniency is given to those who have gotten a permit with a contractor to connect to the system but haven’t had the work done yet.

Superintendent Tim Woodward asked for more time to review the state of individual cases before any fines were issued.

“I’ll try to have a master list of where we’re at by the next meeting, whether they have a permit and they’re not done … I’ve got a stack of notes on my desk and I haven’t had a chance to follow up on any of them,” he said.

The board determined that by the next meeting on Monday, Aug. 19, they will “be in a position to begin $100 fines,” said vice president Bob Dumford.

Boxberger also reported preliminary results from the State Revolving Fund have been released, but the final findings on grand funding for the district will not be available until the next meeting.

In the engineering report, John Magsam of Jones & Henry Engineers gave an estimate of $11,850 for concrete work to expand the plant’s electrical house. This became necessary when new rotors were added to the plant.

In the superintendent’s report, Woodward gave the board stats on Fourth of July weekend, the district’s busiest time of year. It was a record flow at 1.1 million gallons per day for four days straight.

Woodward is waiting for post-holiday flow to go down before investigating a blockage in one of the pipes. During Fourth of July weekend, a clarifier tank was found empty and continued to lose water after it was refilled. Something is preventing water from flowing into the tank, which Woodward plans to investigate with camera line.

Test boring for a new well is scheduled for Tuesday, July 23. The well the district is looking to replace was constructed in 1963. Its levels are being monitored daily. With recent rains, the water level is at 42 feet above the well screen.

A generator at Buttermilk Point is having problems getting started. The 20-year-old generator will still run but has to be started manually each day.

Sewer line locates are still happening in the area. The district performed 177 locates in the past three weeks in the Southshore area.

The plant’s screener, which filters sand, rocks and debris from the water, was recently serviced. It was recommended to put new brushes on the screener for $5,000. Woodward opted to install the brushes with the district’s own labor. The device should be up and running again with the next few days.

Lastly, the board approved accounts payable for the past month at a total of $486,653.31