Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Quality Flooding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges Muncie sanitary district to monitor river quality and flooding; warns against new trash fees
Summary
A public commenter asked the Muncie Sanitary District for assurances on river cleanliness and flooding preparedness ahead of local events and urged commissioners not to impose new trash fees this fall; District Administrator Rick Conrad said there were no current spills and directed the public to report concerns to the Bureau of Water Quality.
MUNCIE — During the public-comment portion of the Muncie Sanitary District meeting on Aug. 20, local resident and author Rick Yentzer asked commissioners for assurances that the city’s river is clean ahead of upcoming events and raised concerns about storm-driven flooding and possible new trash fees.
“I just want to check to make sure our river is clean because we've got some events coming up, a walk, I think, Saturday,” Yentzer said, and urged the district to confirm there were no pollution issues. He also said recent strong storms in Chicago and Milwaukee show the risk of urban flooding and asked whether Muncie has a plan for heavy downpours.
Yentzer further warned against new charges for residents: “The taxes are coming up. I was assured last month that, you're gonna wait a year before you're going to tax, crash customers who are already paying property taxes for pickup. I hope that's the case… just don't tax this fall.” He cited examples of jurisdictions that added trash fees on customers who already paid private haulers.
District Administrator Rick Conrad responded later in the meeting with an update on river monitoring and operations. Conrad said the district posts notices inviting the public to report unusual sightings and that the Bureau of Water Quality will respond to accidents or spills. “Everything's still improving, still moving in a positive direction,” Conrad said, and added, “Nothing, no, no current spills or anything happening.”
Conrad also provided operational updates that relate to flooding response: work on a tieback levee near East Jackson is ongoing and will continue with intermittent lane closures; engineering work is planned on Hodgson and Memorial streets, and the district is advancing design work for its long-term control plan though no new construction on that plan has started. He asked residents to report concerns along the trail so the district can respond quickly.
Why it matters: Public concerns about river quality and urban flooding touch on public health and event safety; the district’s monitoring and maintenance activities — including levee work and long-term control planning — are the primary local measures noted in the meeting record.
No formal action was taken during public comment; commissioners did not give directives beyond inviting reports to the Bureau of Water Quality.
