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Residents press for ordinance enforcement; council defers decision on allowing contractor work after water-line incidents
Summary
Public commenters pushed the town to cite a property for ordinance violations, and council members deferred a decision on permitting a contractor after concerns that prior work in neighboring towns had damaged water lines and interrupted services to major customers.
Residents asked the Petersburg council to enforce ordinances against a rental property with campers and accumulated trash, and the council voted to issue an ordinance violation notice. Several residents, including Steve Hildenbrand, said they had photos and described sanitation and sewer impacts; the council directed staff to have Rich visit and serve the ordinance violation, with citations to be issued to both renters and owners if problems are not corrected.
Steve Hildenbrand, who identified himself as the owner of properties on Jackson Street, described recurring sewer backups and said a sanitary manhole at the corner of 211–212 was being overloaded during storms. "Every time it rains down there ... it pushes that manhole up three, four inches," Hildenbrand said, asking the town to inspect and address the sanitary issue.
A separate, extended discussion focused on whether the town should permit a contractor to place an electronics cabinet on town property or require permitting and additional locates. A contractor representative and other speakers described recent incidents in neighboring towns — including multiple water-line strikes during boring work in Covington and West Lebanon — and cited the risk of shutting down large customers (Master Guard, a Fountain County jail) if lines are hit. Speakers repeatedly referenced IURC and 811 locate rules as part of the debate.
Council members said they want more information before authorizing the contractor to proceed. "I think we need to do a little more homework before we say ready for this," one council member said, asking staff to consult neighboring towns and to get clearer documentation of the contractor’s locate and potholing practices. The council did not vote to approve permitting or joint placement of equipment at the meeting and deferred action pending further information.
The council also discussed road repairs (hot mix for potholes) and agreed staff should prioritize known trouble spots. The meeting record shows a mix of citizen complaints, immediate enforcement action on a nuisance property, and a deferred decision on contractor activities tied to broader regional locate and safety concerns.
