Laketown council unanimously suspends planned 3% water‑rate increase

The Laketown Town Council voted unanimously April 1 to suspend a scheduled 3% increase in municipal water rates, approving Resolution 2026‑02 after council members cited anticipated drought conditions and operational strains on the town’s water system.

Council Member Burdette Weston moved to adopt the resolution and Council Member Kirsten Gash seconded; the motion passed unanimously. Weston said the suspension was prudent “because of the possible drought conditions we are anticipating,” according to the meeting record.

The decision followed staff and council discussion of current system stresses: Clerk Lisa Johnson said she had submitted a request to Rural Water to prepare the town’s Consumer Confidence Report and that monthly sampling procedures had been arranged. Council Member Weston and resident Dan Stringham reported they received sampling training from Bear River Health District and will handle regular sample collection and delivery.

Council members also reviewed near‑term capital needs. Weston reported the town still needs about 87 radio‑read meters at an estimated $394.68 apiece (approximately $34,000 plus installation), a cost the council said may require grant funding or phased purchase. Council discussed that the town currently has one functioning pump and that public‑works staff are manually filling the distribution tank; Dan Stringham said the council should press for a scheduled repair date for a second pump.

Mayor Brandon Willis said the town has submitted a $1.8 million grant application for a second water source to Representative Moore’s office as part of community‑project funding efforts.

Next steps noted by council members include pursuing grant opportunities to fund meters and source development, scheduling a pump repair, and continuing budget work at the April 16 work meeting. The council did not adopt any rate‑increasing measure at the meeting.