Town hall discusses numerous ordinances

PLAINS – The Plains Town Council moved forward with a couple of ordinances during their monthly meeting, attempting to make changes to business water rates and the speed ordinance.

Along with that, the town approved the resolution of intent to raise water and sewer rates.

The changes will be effective in July, so town residents will see the increase on their August bills. The new base rate for a ? inch water line will be $23.31 as compared to the old rate of $17.04. For a one-inch line, the water rate was increased to $41.72, almost $13 higher than the old base rate of $28.92.

As for the sewer, the new base rate for a ? inch line was raised to $24.31, a $2.65 increase. For one-inch lines, the new base rate sits at $43.51. The previous base rate was $38.77.  

The town amended the ordinance to remove business water rates. The ordinance will undergo a first read at next month’s town council meeting.

The amendment made by council member Dan Rowan aimed to implement fair treatment for the motel businesses, something Rowan did not believe was currently happening.

Any changes that occur will take place 90 days out from the date of the meeting so the council has time to go through the process of presenting the amendment.

According to council member Carl Reeb, businesses that are currently on a one-inch meter have the option to come forward and get their base rate changed to that of a ? inch meter. Anyone interested in doing so should come to the town hall during their regular business hours.

Currently there are 65 businesses in town, 49 of which are already on the ? inch line.

A speed ordinance was also read to the council. The first read of the ordinance was to authorize the 15 mph speed limit posted the by  the EL Johnson Memorial Pool park.

The ordinance would read that the base speed limit on town streets and avenues is 25 mph unless otherwise posted, while alleys and lanes have a speed limit of 15 mph.

“Senior centers, parks, playgrounds and high pedestrian traffic areas may be posted at 15 mph permanently or temporarily as determined by resolution of the town council with the advice of the police chief,” the ordinance states.

The ordinance will have to undergo a second reading before it is passed.

During officer updates, Plains Volunteer Fire Department Chief Joe Sheppard stated the fire department had a busy month, being paged out to multiple calls.

Sheppard said the department has a training session set up with the Quinn’s team that purchased the old fire truck. The training is scheduled for Thursday, June 12.

During the mayor’s report, Mayor Greg Eitelberg discussed ongoing upgrades at the town hall building. The town received a bid for new paint and also plans to replace the roll up doors on the building.

Mayor Eitelberg also suggested the town look into installing their own telecommunication system, which could save the town approximately 60 percent on their $900 bill.

“We might have a start up cost but it’s going to be way less than what we are going to pay for the entire year anyways,” Mayor Eitelberg said. “That would save quite a bit of money.”

The next town council meeting will take place on Monday, July 7 at 7 p.m.