RUSS has no answers in Mt. Union dilemma

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Bruce Hudson, Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS) executive director, is frustrated. His board of directors is as well.

That level of frustration seemingly is increasing over the organization?s standoff with the City of Mt. Union over unpaid sewer bills. Because RUSS owns the system and is not receiving sufficient payment from Mt. Union residents, there is a possibility that RUSS could default on its loan from the United States Department of Agriculture, which would jeopardize funding for other RUSS projects.

?The USDA won?t get involved until we default on the loan,? reported Hudson. ?If that happens, that puts all of our other projects in jeopardy because it will be much more difficult to receive USDA funding.?

RUSS built a new wastewater system for the community several years ago. Since that time, a number of Mt. Union residents have not paid their monthly bills to RUSS, claiming the monthly fee told to them when the system was built has greatly increased.

According to Hudson, Mt. Union residents? monthly sewer payments are $75.85. He said anywhere from 14-20 households are not paying their bills.

?I don?t know what else to do,? Hudson told his board during its regular meeting Wednesday afternoon. ?I have tried legally and logically to resolve it.?

RUSS has taken Mt. Union to court twice and won both times but that hasn?t put money in its coffers.

The RUSS executive director said he has exhausted his options. ?I don?t think any of the counties are willing to lend us the money to save the system,? he said.

Jefferson County Supervisor Lee Dimmitt said Mt. Union, according to newspaper reports, has a negative balance in its city checking account. ?Even if Mt. Union was willing to take the system, USDA wouldn?t allow it. They (Mt. Union) are going to play this out as long as they can. They are willing to sit down at the table for mediation. We have won every lawsuit, but they have managed to drag this out for three years.?

Dimmitt added, ?under no circumstances would Jefferson County bail them out.?

RUSS would have to charge the paying Mt. Union customers around $250 per month for the service system to meet its monthly expenses on the system, Dimmitt said, which would be grossly unfair to the paying customers. Hudson added that Mt. Union customers would have to be assessed $150 per month just to pay RUSS? legal fees.

?What?s our next move?? asked Deke Wood, RUSS board chairman and Keokuk County supervisor.

?Hopefully, I thought we would have some answers from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), but we haven?t,? Hudson said. ?We have 30 days to figure this out.?

?I don?t have any answers,? Hudson reiterated. ?At some point, we are going to have to cut our losses. We are not looking at shutting the system off but getting RUSS out from underneath it.?

The board tabled any further action on the Mt. Union dilemma until Hudson has conversed with the DNR.

Board members also raised the mileage rate from 41 cents per mile to 57.5 cents per mile (the amount allowed by the federal government) and further moved to follow the federal government?s rate on mileage reimbursement.

Hudson said he has been using his personal car for RUSS business since last winter. ?I don?t mind using it, but it seems like I am going to Des Moines every other week.?

The reason Hudson is using his own car is that the car owned by RUSS is on its last leg. The Ford Taurus has 211,000 miles on it and transmission problems. Hudson said he would like to sell it and get a different company vehicle in the future.

Dimmitt, who has ridden in the RUSS car, said he would not feel comfortable selling it to an individual, considering its mechanical problems.

Following further discussion, the board agreed to sell the vehicle for parts only or to a salvage yard.

In remaining action, board members:

? Approved three pay applications for the Ollie project with a combined total of nearly $175,000.

? Set the monthly customer bill for the Ollie wastewater system at $45.41.

? Approved an engineering agreement with French-Reneker Engineering for the Mooar-Powdertown project. Cost of the agreement is $143,340.

RUSS directors meet again in regular session on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m., in the Henry County Emergency Management Building. The date is a change from the usual meeting of the second Wednesday of the month due to that day being Veterans Day.