Mitchell City Council approves increases to sewer, water tap fees

Noah Dalton, The Times-Mail
·2 min read
Mitchell City Hall
Mitchell City Hall

MITCHELL — Members of the Mitchell City Council voted Tuesday to increase fees for new homes to connect to the city’s water and sewer taps after hosting two public hearings on the topic last month.

Previously, Mitchell Mayor JD England recommended the council vote to increase the fees, as the city has been losing money each time a new home was connected at the previous prices; which were $350 for the water and $250 for the sewer.

More: Midway, fair favorites return to Lawrence County Fair, July 9-16.

Estimated costs to the city for these jobs were around $1,500 for water and up to $1,100 for sewer at the highest estimated cost level.

After some discussion, the fees were increased to $1,520 for water and $1,000 for sewer to help the city come closer to its goal of breaking even on these jobs.

The council also discussed the addition of a stormwater fee for property owners at last month’s public hearings, however further discussion of the topic was tabled until a future meeting because the council was not able to get estimated costs for repairs and improvements to the city’s stormwater infrastructure in time for Tuesday’s meeting.

In other business

Sally Miller spoke to the council on behalf of the Mitchell Parks Board.

The park board has been surveying residents to gather feedback on ways to improve the city’s parks.

So far, 45 have responded to the survey indicating they would like to see changes made such as improvements to the Mitchell City Pool, increased upkeep of city parks, additional sporting equipment and more community events.

Local news: Commissioners OK new health coverage for county employees.

The board meets at city hall on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m.

The council approved multiple invoices to be paid out using American Rescue Plan Act funds.

  • $53,480 will be paid to National Water Service to replace media in two city owned water filters

  • $1,154.96 will be paid to Verizon for iPad devices for use by city employees

  • $8,424,58 and $8,693.75 to be paid to Midwestern Engineers in separate invoices as part of their compensation for assisting the city with their asset management plan.

Noah Dalton is a reporter in Bedford, IN. He can be reached at ndalton@tmnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Mitchell City Council approves increases to sewer, water tap fees