Pataskala council hears Licking Regional Water District update; council appoints Mel/Moe Carter to district seat

At its December meeting the Pataskala City Council heard an operations update from a Licking Regional Water District representative and later appointed a local representative to the district board.

The district speaker reported organizational changes (board expanded from three to five members), recent project completions (sanitary sewer work in the corporate park) and upcoming work including the York Road Water Treatment Center — which the speaker said remains on track for 2026 — and the Summit Road sanitary-sewer extension (bid advertisement planned for January). The Blanche lift station was identified as undergoing improvement work.

On finances, the district representative said a 6.5% rate adjustment took effect and that the district had reduced a debt-elimination charge from $7 to $4 with a multi-year plan to drive that charge to $0 over three years. The speaker estimated the combined water and sewer increase might add roughly $10 a month to a typical bill and said the district provides assistance for customers struggling to pay.

Council had interviewed a candidate earlier in the meeting (recorded in the transcript as "Moe Carter") and later moved to appoint Mel Carter to the Licking Regional Water District; the motion passed on roll-call. The transcript spells the appointee’s name both as "Moe" and "Mel" in different places; the council’s appointment motion recorded the name as Mel Carter.

The acceptance of Resolution 2025-071 (authorizing the city administrator to execute a backup utility operator services agreement with the district) also passed after council amended Exhibit A by substitution and voted to accept the amended resolution.

Next steps for the district-related items include execution of the operator-services agreement and ongoing project procurement work; the council directed staff to coordinate with the district and to provide updates as projects progress.