Developer seeks permission to interconnect Ramsey water for private fire system; council hears meter-fee scenario

A contractor seeking to install a fire-suppression pump for a private redevelopment asked the Corydon Town Council to consider allowing an interconnection to Ramsey Water Company supply so the site would have sufficient pressure.

At the meeting Joe Sherman said his client’s fire-suppression subcontractor worried that on-site pressure would be insufficient unless the system could tap a 10-inch main across the street. Ramsey Water Company representatives told Sherman the Ramsey board cannot directly extend service into the development because Ramsey and the town have separate jurisdictions; however, Ramsey said it would accept the town as its customer via an interconnection and install a meter that would measure any water used and generate a monthly charge. Ramsey’s manager estimated the monthly charge would be “a few hundred dollars.”

Sherman said his client was willing to pay the cost of making the physical connection between Ramsey’s line and the town system, but council members raised questions about whether an interconnection would feed the broader neighborhood, how increased pressure could raise consumption for nearby customers, and how the meter and billing relationship would be structured.

Council members asked staff to evaluate the operational, billing, and legal implications of such an interconnection, including metering, backflow prevention, billing arrangements with Ramsey, and whether the town’s ordinances or agreements would permit the proposed arrangement. No formal approval was recorded; the item remained a direction to staff to research contract terms, meter fees, and engineering implications.

Quotes in this story are from remarks by contractor Joe Sherman and Ramsey’s board discussion as reported by Sherman during the council meeting.