A major Cambridge City manufacturer asked town council members to be as fair as possible to businesses when considering a potential water bill increase.
Council conducted a public hearing regarding proposed water rates along with its Monday, Aug. 10, meeting. That discussion was just more than 24 hours before heavy rains led to catastrophic flooding.
Ron Holbrook, representing SugarCreek Packing in Gateway Industrial Park along Indiana 1, said SugarCreek is glad to see plans for a new water tower at the park in motion.
He said SugarCreek has been restricted in being able to plan for future expansion and job growth because of water capacity concerns. Holbrook shared his appreciation for council’s partnerships in successfully receiving government funds to lower the company’s share of tower expenses. He said without those efforts, the water rate increase would be even higher than what was proposed.
However, Holbrook said the recommended increase is still significant for businesses, and the industrial park’s billing tiers are pretty narrow by large food manufacturing standards.
While SugarCreek accepts responsibility for paying its fair share when projects are needed, he encouraged council to work with its accountants to ensure industries aren’t saddled with an disproportionate cost.
By the third phase of the increase, Holbrook said the significantly higher rates could affect future decisions about which SugarCreek locations receive added investments. He said that wasn’t a threat, but he wanted to note that a few pennies on so many gallons adds up quickly. He estimated the rate increase could be $250,000 year over year for SugarCreek.
Councilors said they understand the burden on industry and will do their best to be fair, but view an increase as a necessity after conducting two rate studies. If finances would improve, they could revisit later phases of the increase.
Cambridge City separates costs associated with in-town residential and commercial customers from the industrial park because they are on two separate systems. Even if the new industrial park tower wasn’t being built, councilors said increases would be necessary because rates have stayed steady for four years.
Because councilors Mike Amick and Debbie McGinley were absent, council delayed a vote on the matter.
It’s unclear if the flood damage will affect those deliberations.
Council called a special meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, at Lincoln Middle/High School to discuss emergency matters and financing related to the flood.
The next regular meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, with a location being determined. The public is invited to both meetings.
In other business
- Wayne County resident Pat Foreman, a local food advocate, encouraged the town to allow residents to have chickens in town and eliminate its current ordinance banning them. She wanted to support the request made by resident Mitchell Stitt at council’s July meeting and volunteered to offer instruction on chicken care. Council President Jim McLane said revising the ordinance would be challenging because they’d have to set guidelines and make sure the chickens were well treated, and enforcing that could be difficult with few town employees. No decisions were made.
- Council approved donations of $150 from Betty Cole stationery for feral cat care and $75 to Cambridge City Volunteer Fire Department from Phil/Missy Renforth in honor of Denver Hawk. They also approved Cambridge City Volunteer Fire Department’s deposit of $3,789 ($1,458 food donation and $2,331 from the golf outing).
A version of this article appeared in the August 26 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
