The Jay council discussed plans Monday night to continue addressing water issues by washing out the Bray-Hendricks Park and Calfee Street water tanks that supply the town with water.
Independent Contractor Eric Seib told the council they had received four recent calls from residents about the dirty water around Thursday last week.
“Every two years we wash out both water tanks,” said Seib. “We completed Calfee Street this month. There was no major maintenance required. We feel that this will help with some of the water conditions that we see. We are good for another two years. We hope this will help with the issues.”
In other business, an incident where water was cut off at a property due to lack of payment, then turned back on under foreclosure, prompted discussion among council members about what protocol is in place to deal with unpaid water bills and new residents requesting service.
Jay Town Attorney Steve Cozart requested that the council table the issue until he could research what ordinances may be in place to direct the town on handling such matters. The council agreed to table the matter until a future next council meeting.
Water and gas meters
Council members addressed water and gas leaks, whether they are on the town's side or the customer's side, and how to handle complaints following the installation of the new water and gas meters.
“If there is a read error, that's one thing,” said Councilwoman Jane Hayes.
“Whatever we decide, we have to be consistent,” she said.
Seib said that 90 percent of the latitude and longitude coordinates for the new gas and water meters have been updated.
Seib said that the town lacks 163 water meters and 75 gas meters and is in discussion with Pace Water Systems about purchasing some meters that are new at half price, around $55 each.
Jay Mayor Shon Owens told the council that the town could save $10,000 by purchasing the meters, but would want to purchase new transmitters.
“Even though there are 135 new meters we can buy, the transmitters are non-warranteed,” said Owens. “So if we just purchase the meters, we can save $10,000.”
The town will determine a price to offer Pace for the meters and present it at a future council meeting.
The next Jay Council meeting will be at 6 p.m., Monday, May 7 at Jay Town Hall.
