Scott Clamp, who identified himself as the owner of property at 725 Wasatch Avenue, told the Mills City Council that a fire hydrant installed in 1963 sits in the middle of his driveway and that an aging temporary repair on the main line under nearby Pindell is a “ticking time bomb.”

"In the middle of my driveway is a fire hydrant," Clamp said, urging the council to remove the hydrant and address a patched main before a failure causes broader damage. He said he had been promised grants to remove the hydrant three times over the last 25–30 years and warned that a main-line failure could occur at the worst possible time and damage sewer connections and structures on his properties.

A city staff member responding to the council said the hydrant is one of the older units in the system and that records show the hydrant was last accessed in 2016. The staff member said there is a repair clamp on the lead and that the main has a temporary "band-aid" repair; replacing or capping the unit and making a permanent main repair would be a larger job and would be scheduled when asphalt and other materials are available. The staff member noted work to cap a separate hydrant damaged when it froze would cost about $20,000.

Council members said the area lies in one of the oldest parts of the system and that the problem was included in the council's federal funding requests for what was described as "lower Mills infrastructure," an effort the council said has a current price estimate of roughly $5,000,000. One council member noted Representative Hageman had supported a phase 1 request of about $1,000,000 in recent congressional sessions; council leaders said funding remains uncertain.

Council agreed to provide Clamp with the packet of materials the council had prepared outlining mapping and funding approaches and asked staff to follow up on locating shut-off access and options for abandoning or capping the hydrant. No formal ordinance or funding appropriation was taken at the meeting.

The council indicated staff will continue to investigate the shut-off location, the condition of the main under Pindell, and options for scheduling a permanent repair when materials and budgets permit.