Ellettsville council approves water rate hike and pause in new businesses

ELLETTSVILLE — If your water bill comes from the town of Ellettsville, the amount due is going to be about a third more starting next month.

And if you want to build a gas station, a vape shop or storage units in Ellettsville, you'll have to wait a year or so to seek a permit because of a new-construction moratorium for certain kinds of businesses.

That's because the Ellettsville Town Council wants to pause some new construction until the town's new unified development ordinance (UDO) is finished early next year.

During their May 22 meeting, all five town council members voted in favor of the 33% water rate increase. A customer using 4,000 gallons a month currently pays $24.44. The increase brings it to $32.62.

Town manager Mike Farmer said "there are many reasons" the utility department needs more funds.

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He explained the rate increase will help pay for a 10-year plan for infrastructure improvements, including replacing old water pipes. "Some are 50, even 70 years old, and a lot of those need to be replaced and upsized to meet current standards, and for better firefighting capabilities," Farmer said, during the council meeting.

He described a $380,000 project the town will pursue: replacing water lines that lead into Ellettsville from Starnes Road that used to deliver water from deep wells that supplied the area.

He also said the town needs to build a new facility for water department workers and equipment housed in an aged and dilapidated building.

No citizens attend the meeting to complain or question the increase in the cost of water.

Information from town council president William Ellis said it's been six years since the town raised the cost of water beyond annual adjustments when the City of Bloomington, the town water source, adjusted its rates.

"It breaks down to about 4.7% a year from the last increase," Ellis said in a town Facebook post to residents, "a reasonable amount, compared to the rising costs."

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The moratorium on new construction, recommended by plan commission members, also passed unanimously. It affects convenience stores, gas station, storage units, vape shops, paraphernalia stores and adult bookstores.

There was no public comment on the proposal.

The town hired a company to develop a comprehensive plan to direct future development and growth. Plan commission and town council members agree that pausing new construction of some businesses makes sense.

"The town has some businesses and features defined in the current code and also some for which the town had no definition," council attorney Darla Brown said. "So the plan commission thought it might be helpful to have the council issue a moratorium on the building of certain kinds of businesses until the UDO is completed."

Farmer said he supports the move. "I'm not usually in favor of the town telling people what to do, but we need to take time and decide how we want to grow."

Contact Herald-Times reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Ellettsville council OKs water rate hike and pause in new businesses