Leesburg Council Discusses Ongoing Sewer Concerns
By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews
LEESBURG — Derek Tenney of Tenney & Sons reported multiple issues during his monthly sanitary sewer report at the Leesburg Town Council meeting Monday, Oct. 10.
The issues occurred at multiple locations and consisted of things such as a bad control bracket, a broken discharge gasket, a tripped circuit breaker, corrosion on an alarm board, water in windings, and one ordinance violation where rags were found in a pod.
During Labor Day weekend, the lift station lost power from Nipsco on one leg, causing the lift station to go into backup mode; however, no alert notification was sent out, so the backup generator ran out of fuel. This resulted in one of the variable frequency drives (VFD) inside the electrical panel being destroyed.
Tenney told council members Monday that he was able to find another VFD, despite originally having been told that one might not be available until March due to supply chain issues. Tenney also placed an order for an additional VFD so that the town would have one on hand in the event this type of issue occurs again.
One pump was pulled from the lift station and found to have a bad seal. This has been repaired and will be replaced Wednesday morning.
As to why no notification was sent out when the lift station initially went into backup generator mode, Tenney said diagnostics were run on the electrical components recently and the only thing found was that the system is not grounding properly, so it’s calling in when it’s not supposed to call in and not calling in when it should.
Tenney will be contacting the call-out service, Mission Communications, to find out how this can be resolved.
Council Vice President Tom Moore and Tenney will meet Wednesday to discuss the sewer issues further.
Sewer system repair and maintenance schedule was on Monday’s agenda; however, it was decided to put the topic on hold until after Moore and Tenney meet on Wednesday and have recommendations to bring to the Council.
“There’s been a scary … almost a scary escalation in our repairs,” Councilman Doug Jones said.
“Our system is getting older,” Moore stated.
In another matter, Street Commissioner Craig Charlton told council members that a property owner has asked for a release from the town for a retention wall to be put up.
“We’ve never had an encroachment agreement with that property because their retaining wall is literally on the edge of the street,” Moore said.
“It is in the public right of way,” Charlton said.
Town attorney Nick Jacobs will look into whether or not an encroachment agreement is needed.
Charlton announced that leaf pickup is underway. Residents are asked to rake leaves to the street.
No sticks, pine needles, walnuts, yard or garden waste. These items should be placed in your trash tote. Leaves mixed with grass will not be picked up.
Moore and Charlton clarified the reason for grass clippings not being allowed in with the leaves.
“It plugs the tube and more importantly it doesn’t break down like the leaves do in our compost,” Charlton explained. “It does cause problems.”
The Town of Leesburg reserves the right to reject leaf pickup if any of the items are mixed in with the leaves.
The last leaf pickup will be Nov. 30. After Nov. 30, leaves are to be bagged and placed in trash totes. Any leaves placed in the street after Nov. 30 are the responsibility of the resident.
A public notification regarding proposed revisions to the refuse ordinance will be published prior to finalization due to the fact that fines and penalties could be imposed.
Council members agreed on a 14-day time period to allow for property owners to take steps to be in compliance with the amended ordinance.
Lastly, town officials remind residents of the following:
- No parking on any street between 3-5 a.m. This applies all seven days of the week. Vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense.
- No burning. Indiana’s open burning laws and rules make it illegal to burn trash and generally prohibit open burning in Indiana.
- Please be mindful of what you flush into the septic system. Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, feminine hygiene products, paper towels, tissues and trash.
- Residents are to place yard waste in the town-provided trash totes. Large fallen tree limbs are chipped on Fridays.
- Sidewalks and trees are the property and responsibility of the residents. Sidewalks and alleys are to be kept clear of low-hanging tree limbs to provide safe passage, per ordinance.
In other news:
- Reminder: Trick-or-Treat will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
- The next regular meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14.