RUSS board meets in closed session, discusses Mt. Union

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Union once again occupied a prominent spot on the agenda for Thursday?s monthly meeting of the Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS) Board of Directors.

The board met in closed session to discuss and consider the Mt. Union lawsuit. No motions were made when the board re-convened in open session.

Mt. Union and RUSS have been at odds for a number of years. RUSS built a new wastewater system for the community earlier this decade. However, since the system has been in operation, some Mt. Union residents have refused to pay their monthly bills to RUSS.

The non-paying residents of Mt. Union contend that RUSS significantly raised the monthly fee it said it would charge Mt. Union residents for sewer services. Mt. Union residents? monthly sewer payments are $75.85, according to RUSS officials. Bruce Hudson, RUSS executive director, said that about 14-20 households are not paying their monthly bills.

During the October board meeting, Hudson, who was not at Thursday?s meeting due to illness, told RUSS directors that because RUSS is not receiving sufficient payment from Mt. Union residents, there is a possibility RUSS could default on its loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

If that should happen, all future RUSS projects would be in jeopardy because it would be much more difficult to receive USDA funding, Hudson noted.

RUSS has taken Mt. Union to court twice over non-payment of user fees and won both times but that hasn?t put money into its coffers.

Hudson told the board last month that he didn?t have any answers. He said at some point RUSS would have to cut its losses. ?We are not looking at shutting the system off but getting RUSS out from underneath it,? Hudson told the board in October.

The board wiped the slate clean Thursday on the Ollie wastewater system project by accepting the completion of the project. RUSS will now oversee the running of the Ollie site.

Along with accepting the project, board members approved numerous change orders for the Ollie project. Final cost of the project was $1,638,781.23.

It was a rather quick and smooth project as construction on the system commenced March 26, 2015, and was basically completed earlier this month.

The RUSS board also accepted the rehabilitation of the wastewater system in Argyle. Cost of the rehabilitation was $151,486.95.

Finally, directors approved the issuance of a second company credit card. The company has just one credit card and occasionally the lack of a second card has caused problems when a RUSS employee has taken the card with him/her on a business trip.

RUSS directors meet again in regular session on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 1 p.m., in the Henry County Emergency Management Building on West Washington Street, in Mt. Pleasant.