Emery council discusses water/sewer connection rules and considers forgiving $560 bill for resident

Council members spent a substantial portion of the Dec. 10 meeting discussing the town’s practices for approving water and sewer connections and how to prevent misuse by transient RV users.

S5 reported a historical review found no explicit requirement that a building plan be in place to obtain a water connection. That prompted concern from S2 and others about consistency and legal defensibility of past decisions: “you can’t better if you’re gonna deny him, you better have something to back you up,” S5 said, arguing the town should avoid inconsistent approvals that could invite legal challenges.

Council agreed water connections could generally be handled on a case-by-case basis, but members expressed caution about sewer hookups being used by people who park RVs on a property without proper zoning. S2 urged safeguards: “we better make sure that we're on our—yeah—dotted I's and t's are crossed.”

Separately, S6 reported Dover Jensen had a water leak that generated a $560 bill while he was hospitalized for more than a month; council discussed relief options and precedent for partial forgiveness (one member referenced 50% as an example). S6 moved to consider leniency because of Jensen’s extended hospitalization; the transcript records the motion but does not include a clear roll-call vote or final recorded outcome for forgiveness.

Council also discussed site verification for applicants such as Cody Grill and Delbert Jensen and agreed to verify feasibility (site 'shoot') before accepting payments for connections.

No ordinance change governing building-plan requirements for connections was adopted at the meeting; the discussion concluded with direction to address the concerns in planning and zoning or in future administrative guidance.