Payment received, shut-off valve removed in Mt. Union

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Union doesn?t dominate discussion any longer at board meetings of the Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS). However, seemingly a meeting doesn?t pass without at least a mention of the Henry County community.

During the board?s regular meeting Wednesday at the Henry County Emergency Management Building, RUSS Executive Director Bruce Hudson informed the board that one shut-off valve had been removed from a property in Mt. Union.

Hudson said the property had been sold and the new owners satisfied the delinquency.

He also said that RUSS has an upcoming court date with a Mt. Union resident over a delinquent account. The court date has not yet been set.

Wednesday?s meeting was a rather ho-hum affair as board members did not have a deep agenda and finished the meeting in less than an hour.

Representatives from Lee County, along with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Hudson had a recent meeting to discuss a possible sanitation system in Mooar/Powdertown. The unincorporated communities are facing a DNR mandate to address the sewer system in the communities (both communities now have septic tanks).

RUSS has been discussing constructing a sanitation system for the communities for some time. The fly in the ointment is that RUSS fears that the monthly user fees would be exorbitant.

?There are some tough decisions ahead, but we are moving forward,? Hudson told his board. ?We should know more next month.?

Hudson said talks are still continuing over the possibility of RUSS managing four other wastewater plants in the area. He said a fifth plant might be added to the list.

?We may have another town coming in,? Hudson noted. ?We have been asked if we were willing to take another one, near the other communities, and I said we would.?

RUSS has been talking about operating the systems for nearly a year and Hudson said negotiations are continuing.

The City of Denmark also has approached RUSS about managing its wastewater system. But once again, Hudson does not know when that might happen.

?Denmark is delaying the vote on what they want to do,? he explained. ?The current plant operator may not be leaving as soon as we thought.?

Work is nearing completion on the replacement of a forcemain discharge line at the Argyle sanitation sewer plant.

The line basically was too small to handle the discharge. The old line was pumping about 23.5 gallons per minute, the RUSS board was told, and the new line is at about 39.5 gallons per minute with no increase in energy usage.

RUSS directors approved a $57,370.40 pay estimate on the project and were told the project will likely be finished by the end of the year.

Final action saw the board approve a $2,350 bid from Randy?s Plumbing of Cantril to repair about 18 feet of sidewalk in Ollie that was damaged during RUSS work in the community.

RUSS directors meet again in regular session Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m., in the Henry County Emergency Management Building.