Monterey holds public hearing regarding wastewater project

It was déjà vu for Monterey Town Council members at a regular meeting on Feb. 11.

Before the official meeting started, a public hearing was held in regards to the town applying for a grant that would fund improvements to the wastewater treatment system. The council is applying for a grant in the sum of $162,500 with a $40,000 match.

“The reason for the upgrade is that a lot of the equipment is getting old and some of the improvements that we want to make are just improvements,” said town council president Jim Fleury. “Some of the things are getting to the point that they are going to be major expenses if they fail on us.”

The wastewater system treats 31,000 gallons per day and includes an extended aeration treatment facility. The sanitary sewer collection system is a 100-percent separate vacuum system with no bypass or overflow points.

In the past the wastewater system has had several violations. Several improvements have been made but more are needed to ensure the system is within the Indiana Department of Environmental Management standards.

This is the second time the town applied for this grant. The first time the town financed an engineering study to determine what needs to be upgraded or improved.

The town is continuing to obtain enough data to finish an income survey that will be used in the grant application.

“We need about another 15 or so,” said clerk-treasurer Linda McCune.

Emily Albaugh, community development planner for the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission (K-IRPC), will be the grant writer for the project.

Albaugh had the council sign various paperwork for the grant including that a public hearing was done and no complaints were made.

There were a few questions made in regards to the grant such as if the town pays for the service of the grant writing. Albaugh said the town doesn’t pay unless the town is awarded the grant.

McCune asked if the town needs to do anything additional in regards to the grant process.

Albaugh said the grant may not have been awarded because of the technical wording in the application.

“These projects are very hard to explain in layman’s terms. When it is, you are dealing with very specific trade lingo, so we are trying to find ways to make it more understandable to the average Joe Reader but still be able to explain that it is a wastewater project,” Albaugh said.

Albaugh said K-IRPC is working on the wording.

In other business:

• Pulaski County Sheriff Jeff Richwine met with the council and said it appears that the county commissioners will allow the sheriff’s department to help enforce the proposed golf cart ordinance but it is being reviewed by the county attorney Kevin Tankersley. The council is reviewing the different options regarding how they will enforce the proposed golf cart ordinance. One option was working with the sheriff’s office. Richwine believes there is a way to do it but they are working out the details. “We are not making a decision on the ordinance, one way or the other, until we get some feedback,” Fleury said. The town has proposed the golf cart ordinance to allow golf carts on the roadways. Currently it is against the law for golf carts and utility vehicles to be driven on roadways.

• Doug Denton requested for the town parking lot and the streets to be closed for the Monterey Days festival.

• Fleury talked with the council about making upgrades to the gazebo at the park. If work is completed on the structure, certain restrictions might exist because it is a historic site. Council members agreed that the idea can be further researched. Purchasing a plaque for the site was tabled.

• Minutes from the Jan. 14 meeting were approved.

Pulaski County Journal

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Winamac, IN 46996

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