Jones Petrie Rafinski representatives Jennifer Ransbottom, left, and Steve Henschen,, middle, talk with Astbury representative, Matt Rippey, at the Monday, June 9, Tippecanoe-Chapman Sewer District meeting. The district signed the final release for a citizen’s annexation and extended district connection deadlines. Photo by Maksym Hart.

By Maksym Hart
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — The Tippecanoe-Chapman Regional Sewer District met Monday, June 9, at the North Webster Community Center to approve extended connection deadlines, address equipment issues, and finalize the annexation of a new property into the district.

Facing an approaching Sunday, July 13, deadline, board members unanimously voted to extend the required sewer connection deadline to Saturday, Aug. 30, for contracts A, B and C.

The move came amid concerns over slow progress in contract A, where 141 properties still had not submitted permit applications.

“There’s a contractor on Chapman Lake with 50 customers lined up, but we’ve seen no permit applications yet,” said Steve Henschen, an engineering consultant with Jones Petrie Rafinski. “We need to give them a clear nudge.”

The board approved the drafting and mailing of a letter to remaining unconnected homeowners, urging them to apply for permits, identify their contractor and provide a target installation date.

Failure to do so by the extended deadline will result in penalties or further board action by fall.

“Let’s not make it threatening, but we need to be firm,” said board President Jeff Thornburgh. “Winter’s coming, and we want this wrapped up by November.”

As of June, about 59% of properties in the district had been connected, with 70% of permits approved. Permit and connection fees have generated over $360,000 in revenue so far, roughly aligned with projections.

The board also approved the formal annexation of resident Dylan Gobal’s system, a Chapman Lake resident whose property was previously excluded from the district boundary. The homeowner, facing a failing septic system, had already received preliminary approval last month and completed the county process.

“So he’s got a contractor lined up; he’s working with us on that part,” said Thornburgh. “We just need to formally accept this resolution to include that territory.”

Gobal will now install a grinder station and connect to the system at his own expense.

In the operations update, Matt Rippey of Astbury Water Technologies reported that a discharge line at East Bell Avenue was damaged by Brightspeed contractors during fiber optic installation.

“Since Niblock was in the area, they went ahead and just fixed the line,” Rippey said.

The district will pay the $2,500 repair invoice to Niblock and consider seeking reimbursement from Brightspeed.

Other operational issues included addressing grinder station alarms triggered by water softeners and preparing spare pump units for potential future replacements.

The United States Department of Agriculture-funded construction closeout process also continued.

The district has begun implementing approved upgrades with leftover funds. These include installing aeration systems to reduce chemical use and penalties from the city of Warsaw, and modifying grinder stations to accommodate portable generators during power outages.

Most parts for these upgrades are expected to arrive later this summer.

“As part of that, rural development did kind of send us a project closeout letter,” said Henschen. “They’re acknowledging that after the use of these remaining funds … we came in about $1.5 million under budget overall.”

This amount will go back to the USDA for use in other projects.

In other business, the board confirmed that the Tippy Heights and Happy Landing developments are progressing, while the Oaks (a former Baptist church) development remains in early discussion stages. Ten county site plans and six permit applications were reviewed last month.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 16.