Greg Mitchell, center, finished his last monthly public meeting with the Lakeland Regional Sewer District Board of Trustees Nov. 13, after announcing his resignation effective Dec. 1, 2019. Mitchell joined the board in 2013 when LRSD was still in its planning stages. President Jim Haney thanked him for being “very instrumental in helping us through those difficult times.” At left is Mike DeWald, treasurer; right, Parke Smith, secretary. (Photo by David Hazledine)

WARSAW — Lakeland Regional Sewer District Board of Trustees’ monthly meeting on Nov. 13 ended with the announcement of the resignation of Greg Mitchell, effective Dec. 1, 2019.

Mitchell joined the board in 2013, during what Jim Haney, board president, characterized as “difficult times,” when the district was still in the planning stages. Haney thanked Mitchell for being “very instrumental in getting us through those times.”

“It’s been a good run,” said Mitchell, who in recent months has helped oversee the creation of the new LRSD website, expected to be completed within the next three weeks.

Following the treasurer’s report, the board approved the “clean up” of former LRSD customers’ accounts with credit balances. A total of $1,910.10 was refunded to 41 customers; 36 of the accounts had accumulated while Jones, Petrie and Rafinski was in charge of billing services. Many of those balances were the result of JPR billing customers for a full month regardless of when the account was closed, according to Greg Gear, LRSD manager. “I am confident Astbury will be on top of it,” Haney stated. Astbury Water Technologies assumed billing responsibilities in July 2019.

On the “flip side,” continued Haney, there are 28 former customers who still owe the district a total of $3,623.35. Andy Boxberger, LRSD attorney, recommended sending a form letter to those former customers before the district decides whether or not to pursue the matter in small claims court.

During Astbury’s monthly update, Matt Rippey, sewer plant manager, assured the board a lift station failure resulting in a sewer overflow in August has been definitively connected to a faulty controller. The new controller is “acting correctly,” he said, with no erratic readings. An ultrasonic sensor was previously thought to be the culprit.

Meanwhile, Astbury is still dealing with malfunctioning control panels in type two grinders, believed to be the result of water leaking through a light gasket. Six more of the panels, which are still under warranty, were sent to the manufacturer for repairs. Roughly 425 grinder units in LRSD are type 2.

Bill Doyle of DLZ Engineering updated the board on his second round of decibel readings, made in response to noise complaints from a residence near the LRSD sewer plant on CR 100N. Just as in September, Doyle was unable to detect a difference in the noise levels from the plant, whether the blower — the only piece of plant equipment capable of creating such a sound — was on or off. He measured 65 decibels in both cases. “We’ve done the due diligence and don’t see a difference,” said Parke Smith, trustee. Therefore, the board agreed there was no significant improvement it could make. An email will be sent to the complainant explaining the findings.

The board also voted to adjust its engineering services agreement with DLZ, raising the ceiling from $10,000 to an amount not to exceed $15,000.

According to Gear, only 12 LRSD properties remain unconnected.

The board voted to hold its monthly public meetings at 6 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month in 2020.