Lakeland Regional Sewer District held two meetings Thursday, Dec. 3, at the North Webster Community Center opening the floor to public comments and questions twice without any of the fanfare present during last month’s meeting.

After a lengthy meeting and even longer discussion with heated public members last month, the board was able to answer a few more mild questions Thursday evening. During the first meeting, the board opened the floor to comments on the ordinance defining and outlining sewage at campgrounds. The meeting was closed in just six minutes after one public member, Larry Emmick, asked a couple questions.

The board began the regular monthly meeting by approving a lengthy version of November’s minutes, also passing two new ordinances in regards to how a campground is defined within the district, how it is charged, and how a campground owner must go about receiving the campground rates. Campgrounds within the district, only one of which has been recognized, will receive a rate of $3.80 per month, plus a cost of $14 per 1,000 gallon flow at the full rate.

Casey Erwin, DLZ Engineering, provided updates on several areas of the project and also submitted pay applications for the various contractors. According to Erwin, the majority of the work done in the past 30 days has included concrete, concrete and more concrete. As of Thursday, Erwin estimated 35 to 50 grinder stations had been installed. He submitted pay requests from Selge Construction in the amounts of $83,992.35 and $630,313.59 and Crosby Construction (RE Crosby) in the amount of $350,208. DLZ also requested pay in the amount of $87,009.15.

Jennifer Ransbottom of Jones Petrie Rafinski Corporation, the firm handling LRSD billing, was on hand to provide updates on the billing process for the district. Ransbottom confirmed the district sent out 1,665 invoices totaling $23,158.24 for the month of November. As of Dec. 1, any unpaid balances were applied a late fee. The board is preparing to set a plan in place for those on the “30, 60, 90” payments, meaning bills are past due by one, two or three months. Those who haven’t paid a single bill in three months are assumed to have refused to pay.

The district also voted with a five to one yes to put a plan in place for property owners to be added to the project who may have refused to join before, purchased new property within the district, or one of several other possible reasons. Treasurer Mike DeWald was the only board member to vote no, claiming he had sympathy for those who bought into the district, but had none for those who were stubborn about it from the beginning. In making the decision, it was noted on several occasions the more people who join, the cheaper rates and costs are for everyone involved in the project, but especially for the customers.

The board decided homeowners can pay DLZ the exact cost of engineering a personal plan for them, then decide whether that plan (which will include estimated construction costs) is a good option for them. If the homeowner agrees to the plan, the construction costs must be paid up front, and any overages will be billed. Any credit will be applied to the customer’s account to prevent the district from drawing a profit on the new hookups.

The next meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at the NWCC.

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