LeighAnne Jessop and Lisa Strombeck look on as Dan Thystrup signs a petition as requested by  Mike Wyrick, standing. The board signed a petition for the creation of the Webster and Backwater Lakes Dam Conservancy District. This is because there is town-owned properties within the proposed conservancy district. InkFreeNews photo by Phoebe Muthart.

By Phoebe Muthart
InkFreeNews

NORTH WEBSTER — The North Webster Town Council heard about a potential income survey for the town at its meeting Tuesday night, June 17.

The town is exploring the submission of a planning grant application under the community development block grant program to support the development of a master utility study.

This study would allow the town to take a comprehensive look at its utility infrastructure — evaluating current systems, identify gaps or challenges and planning for future developments to ensure reliable and sustainable service delivery.

North Webster currently operates both wastewater and stormwater utilities and, as part of this planning effort, seeks to explore the feasibility of expanding services to include drinking water, said Olivia Nix of the Michiana Area Council of Governments, South Bend.

The proposed service area includes areas within North Webster’s municipal limits and would likely encompass portions of nearby block groups. Based on HUDs most recent data, the town and surrounding census block groups fall below the 51% low to moderate income threshold but include margins of error suggesting the true LMI percentage may in fact exceed the required threshold.

Given the significant margins in error and proximity of these figures to the eligibility threshold, the town believes an income survey is warranted to provide more accurate and equitable measure of community eligibility for CDBG funding.

The board signed a letter to present to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs in order to see if the income survey is warranted. The first phase is determining eligibility, said Nix.

“We need to do an income survey to get you qualified,” she said.

A $90,000 grant will cover the study and the town matches 10%, she said.

In addition to the limitations of census data, several local demographic and economic indicators support the need for a survey. North Webster has a population of 886 people.

In other news, the board signed a petition for the creation of the Webster and Backwater Lakes Dam Conservancy District. This is because there is town-owned properties within the proposed conservancy district.

So far, two public meetings have been held to collect signatures to save and repair the dam. So far, 300 signatures have been collected and 400 total signatures are needed.

The current dam and dike system needs maintenance, oversight and repair.

A hydrological study is needed. So far, $186,000 in AARPA funds have helped fund the study and there has been $70,000 in engineering fees. A pre-engineering study is almost done, said Mike Wyrick of the Webster Lake Conservancy Association.

Police Chief Greg Church gave the monthly report for May. There were 849.5 officer hours, 4,251 miles driven and 353.87 gallons of fuel used. There were 305 calls of service. Of those, 19 were battery, fight or domestic calls. There were five theft or fraud calls, three drug-related calls, five alcohol related calls, 34 traffic related calls, 11 vehicles in a ditch or accidents, 45 citizen lockouts and 14 agency assistance for fire or EMS.

Alan Frank of Senior Primelife Enrichment Center gave the board a report on the center. “In 2024, we had 7,367 people sign in at the center with an average of 614 per month. Last year, we served 4,450 lunches, or 371 people a month,” Frank said.

Frank also gave the proposed budget for 2026, which is $35,525 in expenses.

In park news, music in the park has returned on Friday nights.

In other news, the board:

• Appointment of Town Attorney Laura Kaufman of Kauffman Law Office, Syracuse, to replace Jack Birch.

• Approved purchasing a new lift station pump for $37,314.81.

The next meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 15.