Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council adopts emergency ordinance to allow church at 3816 Greenwich Road to tie into city water; tap fee clarified
Summary
Norton City Council on Sept. 2 adopted ordinance 82-20-25 with emergency language to add several waterline projects and allow immediate hookups for the church at 3816 Greenwich Road. Council clarified the tap fee is $12,500 (not $11,600 as previously printed) and said tie-ins are voluntary and may be placed on utility bills.
Norton City Council voted Sept. 2 to adopt ordinance 82-20-25 on an emergency basis, allowing the church located at 3816 Greenwich Road to begin connecting to the city water system and adding several waterline projects to the city code.
Cindy Webble, who identified herself as representing the church at 3816 Greenwich Road, asked council whether the council could waive a second and third reading so construction could begin immediately. "We've been trying to hook up to city water now for quite a while... Is it possible to waive the second third reading?" she asked.
Council members moved the ordinance to the agenda and then voted to waive the second and third readings and to adopt. The roll-call vote on adoption recorded "Yes" from the council members named during the vote: Mister Mowery, Mister Harburg, Mister Lukens, Mister Towsley, Mister Adler, Miss Lee and Mister DeHartport. The clerk called the roll and the ordinance was adopted with all recorded votes in favor.
Ordinance 82-20-25 amends Section 1040.06 of the city code to add the Hametown Road waterline improvements, the State Route 261 South waterline loop, and Grens Road, and it includes emergency language to accelerate implementation. City staff said the ordinance sets the tap rates and allows property owners who request a tie-in to spread the cost by adding the charge to their utility bill.
Council and staff clarified a discrepancy in the packet about tap fees. Council member Mowery called attention to the figures on page 32: "So the 12,500 is the correct number. The 11,600 is not. And then for each year thereafter, it goes up $500." City staff said the policy allows payment plans and placing costs on the utility bill rather than requiring an upfront lump-sum payment.
City officials also addressed whether connection to sewer would be required. City administration said tie-in to city water is voluntary; sewer tie-ins are a separate matter and the health department may require connection when a septic system is failing. "The city does not mandate sewer tie ins. So it's the health department who would do that if if anybody," said a city official.
After the adoption vote, council members told the church representative that work could begin immediately. "Looks like you can dig some waterline tomorrow. You're welcome. You can dig tonight, actually," a council member said during the meeting.
The ordinance was introduced and adopted at the Sept. 2 meeting; staff said residents who wish to tie in should contact city offices for instructions and payment-plan details.
