Hagerstown council braces for increased water rates

Hagerstown residents might want to set aside some extra funds to cover expected water rate increases that are needed to support updating the town’s water infrastructure.

Sarah Correll, an attorney with Ice Miller, presented an update on the issuance of a bond to fund the replacement of the town’s water lines, along with a corresponding water rate increase study.

With the next step being placing public notices in a newspaper about public hearings for the project, which is expected to cost $2 million, Chris Blaase was one of several council members who advocated for making the expected large water rate increase clearer in the notice.

“From a public servant standpoint, I want to be as transparent about that as I can,” Blaase said. “I don’t want to blindside our citizens and then they find out we’re doing this huge percentage of a rate increase and it looks like we covered it up.”

Rate increases will depend on usage. Council members estimated that an average Hagerstown household could see $30/month or more added to their water bill. Councilor Donnie Benedict said “you can probably take your normal water bill and times it by 51% and add that to it, and that’s what you’re going to be” under the proposal.

Town manager Chris LaMar reminded the meeting of the need for updates. “We’ve got an aging water infrastructure that’s nearing 100 years old, a lot of it is anyway, we have a substantial number of leaks and a large quantity of our water is leaking every day,” LaMar said.

Deferring past rate increases and maintenance means the town is playing catch-up. One recent review of eight leaks found that more than 43 million gallons of water were being lost per year, LaMar said. Five of those leaks have since been repaired.

Council voted to move the related ordinances forward toward public comment. A public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 17.

In other business, the council:

• Opened bids for the demolition of 301 S. Perry St., which had been cited for violating the town’s unsafe building code. LaMar had recommended demolition of the house in November. Cox Excavating Plus LLC bid $40,075, and B&B Construction of Richmond bid $31,090. The council took the bids under advisement for future action. Other blighted properties will continue to have hearings and owner updates in March and April.
• Revisited the bids for the Community Crossings funded road work projects. The two bids were $187,688.00 from Milestone Contractors and $284,202.37 from All Star Paving. LaMar recommended accepting the Milestone bid, which the council approved.
• Discussed updating the town’s water emergency contingency plan required by Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
• Heard that the park board is planning to build a dog park, with help from a scout troop.
• Heard a police department report noting that it has been down two officers for months now, leaving just three officers to maintain 24-hour coverage. HPD call volume for 2024 was down “a little bit” from 2023.
• Heard a fire department update on plans to obtain new fire/EMS radios to fit with the county’s plan to move to a new system later this year.
• Learned of progress happening with code enforcement.
• Voted to vacate the alley between 119 and 151 E. Main St. based on a recommendation from the plan commission.
• Approved moving $25,000 into a contingency fund in the electric department to cushion against market volatility.

The special council meeting with public hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 17, and the next regular council meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 7. Both will occur in Town Hall, 49 E. College St. The public may attend.