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Etna Green council adopts 2026 budget, approves park driveway and utilities contracts
Summary
The Etna Green Town Council completed the second reading and adopted its 2026 budget, approved a rezoning recommended by the Area Planning Commission for a Railroad Street parcel, authorized a $4,600 driveway contract for Heritage Park and renewed a one-year water/sewer contract with Ashberry. The council also approved a $10,000 all‑call engineering authorization for Commonwealth to support time‑sensitive work and grant applications.
The Etna Green Town Council adopted its 2026 budget on the second reading and approved a series of routine contracts and project authorizations at its October meeting.
The meeting record shows the adopted 2026 budget totals $213,100, with a general fund of $151,800, motor vehicle highway $34,600, local road and street $14,300, parks and recreation $8,100, cumulative capital development $2,000 and a cigarette tax allocation of $2,300. The adopted tax levy was recorded as $147,000 and the economic development income tax as $84,800.
Why it matters: The budget sets the town’s spending plan for the year and funds routine services and ongoing infrastructure needs, while the other items approved this month address immediate maintenance and regulatory responsibilities.
During routine business the council approved minutes from the September meeting and accepted council vouchers covering Sept. 10–Oct. 14; an adjustment of $2.82 was also approved. The Clerk/Treasurer announced that payroll will move to a bi‑weekly schedule in 2026 and said the November meeting will be rescheduled from Veterans Day to Wednesday, Nov. 12, with a public notice to follow.
The council voted to approve a rezoning recommendation from the Area Planning Commission to change a small parcel on Railroad Street from commercial to residential to conform with surrounding zoning. Matt Sandy, representing the Area Planning Commission, said the parcel (the site of a former hair salon) sits as a red commercial island within predominantly residential blocks and the commission sent a favorable recommendation to rezone it to residential. A councilmember moved and the motion was seconded; members then voted in favor.
The council approved a $4,600 quote from Brooks Construction to finish the Heritage Park driveway. The contract was described as a way to eliminate potholes where the driveway crosses a walkway and to complete final paving when crews are available.
On utilities, the council renewed the town’s contract with Ashberry to provide water and sewer operations for another year. The base monthly fee was stated in the record as $13,359. Council members clarified that hydrant flushing was not included in this year’s contractor work and that Richard, the town’s public works employee, will take over hydrant flushing in‑house to avoid recurring contractor charges.
Council members also described infrastructure pressures: the main lift station required a panel board replacement (the meeting record cited a $20,000 cost for the cheapest replacement available), filter systems at the plant are roughly 30 years old and grants are being pursued to fund replacements. Officials said only the cleanest well is in regular use because some wells introduce rust or require substantially more chlorine when placed in service.
Chris with Commonwealth proposed an engineering "all‑call" agreement not to exceed $10,000 to allow engineers to start time‑sensitive reviews and compliance work without repeatedly drafting individual task orders; each use under that authorization must be presented to the council for approval. Chris said the authorization avoids delays while preserving council oversight. The council approved the $10,000 authorization by voice vote.
The town also discussed lead service line inventory work and grant outreach. Staff and Commonwealth described an annual mailing and inventory process to identify unknown service lines and encouraged residents to return surveys or photographs to support compliance with IDM and pending grant applications. The record references OKRA as a grant partner seeking resident support letters.
Legal business: the town attorney updated the council on a tort‑claim notice from Winona Powder Coating. According to the attorney, the company alleged financial loss tied to electricity outages and requested permission to switch to a different electricity provider; the attorney explained that the town has a 90‑day window to act on the notice and that denying the request may prompt immediate litigation. Citing missing information and an absent board member, the council moved to table the request until additional information is gathered or until an executive session can be held.
Other items: council members reported that a semi truck struck and destroyed a lamp post and fled the scene; the post has been temporarily capped. Park construction is nearing completion pending paving crews; the council discussed a ribbon cutting once work is finished. The council also offered topsoil at the sewer plant to residents on a limited, self‑service basis and cautioned against allowing resale or abuse of the resource.
A resident thanked the town for arranging county crews to trim trees along East High Street that had been scratching vehicles. The meeting adjourned after a final motion.
Sources: meeting transcript of the Etna Green Town Council; statements attributed to Matt Sandy (Area Planning Commission), Chris (Commonwealth), the town attorney, Clerk/Treasurer, public works staff Richard, and council members. Where a specific speaker was not named in the transcript, the record is described without individual attribution.
