Lakeland Regional Sewer District – August 20, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes
CALL MEETING TO ORDER / REPORT OF MEETING NOTICE PROVIDED
Lakeland Regional Sewer District (LRSD) Board of Trustees met at the District’s Administration Office, 5002 East 100 North, Warsaw, Indiana. The monthly general meeting date and time were posted and advertised as required and was called to order at 6:00 PM by Jim Haney.
Present: Jim Haney, Mike DeWald, Mark Koehler, Jack Bonewits, Rosa Ritchie, Bob Hookman, and Cullen Reece (arrived at 6:01pm)
Absent: n/a
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Jeff Miller of Sun Group LLC (1 EMS B52) was present to request:
1 – the Board to reduce the EDU count on property from 31 to 26, and
2 – clarification on what needs done with the RV on Lot 18.
Public comment period was closed at 6:13PM.
Motion by Jim Haney for the Board to take up Mr. Miller’s two requests for discussion during the current Board meeting; second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
MOBILE HOME PARK AT 1 EMS B52
Several items were discussed with Mr. Miller including the clarification of the District’s classification of the property as a Mobile Home Park, which is different than the County and State’s classification of a seasonal campground for the property; Mr. Miller’s request to lower the EDU count from 31 to 26 and why the property is charged at 31 EDUs instead of 26 units which is the most the county will allow; and his options for what to do with the RV on Lot 18.
Prior to signing the USDA Bonds (in July 2015), the District had to supply the USDA a complete list of all the properties that would connect, plus any planned developments that the District would have to support. For Mobile Home Parks, the District had to include the existing occupied lots plus any lots that were not filled. The collection system, lift stations, and treatment plant were designed to support that anticipated customer base. At that time, for all the Mobile Home Parks, the District solicited the number of approved lots from the Kosciusko County Planning Commission. Initially, the District was told 33 lots, but that was then corrected to 31 lots by the Planning Commission. After the Bond Obligation date, the prior property owner requested the county to lower the number of allowed lots to 26 and the county agreed, however, that number did not change from 31 with the District because the District accounted for 31 lots for the Bond Obligation.
Motion by Mike DeWald to deny Mr. Miller’s request to lower the EDU count from 31 to 26; second by Cullen Reece.
Cullen suggested the next time the Board reviews the Rate Ordinance that a Board committee reviews this type of situation.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
A temporary disconnect permit was completed for Lot 18 in 2024; the sewer line was cut and capped and the structure was removed. The intent was to place a new unit, however, in the meantime, Mr. Miller has allowed an RV to temporarily sit on the lot for the summer. The camper is not hooked up to the sewer, but is connected to the water. This is in violation of Section 5.4 of the Use Ordinance. Mr. Miller agreed that he can have the RV connected to the sewer (per District standards) or removed from the lot by August, 27, 2025.
Motion by Jim Haney that no fees would be assessed if the connection is complete, or the RV removed, by end of day August 27, 2025; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
The State of Indiana allows the District, within reason, to have its own definition of a Mobile Home Park which is how the property is classified differently between the District and the county/state. The District’s definition is based on the type of use and the type of structure; seasonality is not a factor. Mr. Miller asked about disconnecting all units each fall and reconnecting each spring and that may be feasible (but subject to appropriate permit/inspection fees). There is a possibility that Mr. Miller can work towards converting the property to meet the District’s definition of a campground, and if achieved, can request a metered rate; installing the meter would be the property owner’s expense. However, if that happens, the property will continue to also be billed for the debt service of 31 EDUs (in addition to the metered rate). If Mr. Miller wishes to purse this avenue, he will need to submit plans for the District’s engineers to review and approve before beginning the transition.
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS GENERAL MEETING MINUTES & EXECUTIVE SESSION MEETING MINUTES
A draft of the July 16, 2025 Executive Session meeting minutes was sent to Rosa Ritchie, Secretary, for review on July, 18, 2025 and posted to Boardable the same day.
Motion by Mike DeWald to approve; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 1 Abstains
A draft of the July 16, 2025 regular meeting minutes was submitted to all Board members via email on July 18, 2025. The final version was posted on Boardable on July 23, 2025.
Motion by Jack Bonewits to approve; second by Rosa Ritchie.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 1 Abstains
TREASURER’S REPORT AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS
Mike Dewald overviewed the Cash and Funds Balance Matrix – July 31, 2025 denoting the funds grand total of $2,812,130.
Mike DeWald overviewed the Management Cash Budget of January 1, 2024 through July 31, 2025.
The following July 2025 financial reports, prepared by Krohn & Associates, were presented by Mike DeWald: Unaudited Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements; Monthly Analysis of Funds Balances; and Monthly Analysis of Cash and Investment Accounts.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve; second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
The Monthly Claims Approval form of August 2025 was reviewed by Lichelle Parker.
Motion to approve the payment of monthly claims grand total of $126,918.97 by Jim Haney with second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Board members affixed their signature approval to the Monthly Claim Approval Form.
ASTBURY MONTHLY REPORT
PUMP/PANEL INVENTORY, CUSTOMER PROTOCOL REMINDER
The LRSD Treatment System Operations Report of August 16, 2025 was emailed to Board members by Astbury Water Technology, Inc. Thomas Astbury and Matt Rippey reviewed key aspects of the report and provided clarifications to Board members’ inquiries.
Matt Rippey provided a picture of a grinder station and short checklist of items for new property owners to visually check for existing damage. The picture and checklist will begin being included in new customer letters that the District sends out, and it will instruct the new property owner to alert the District within 10 days if they find existing damage.
Within the report, there was a proposition mentioned to charge $300 per new grinder station inspection. Jim requested Tom to review this because within the last Agreement Amendment, there was language that inspections are included with the base rate. Tom noted that for the potential GIS system, there could be fee for that to allow for the inspection and entering it in the GIS. Jim indicated that the proposed $300 seemed high.
The annual IDEM inspection occurred today and went well. IDEM will send the official report via email within the next few days.
In the work orders, items which either the District needs to take action on, or the problem resolution is the property owner’s responsibility are highlighted. The last work order in the section which should have been highlighted was not (pump clogged with wet wipes).
DISCUSS ACTIONS FOR B33/B34 FM DAMAGE RECOVER (SAGE DRILLING)
On January 13, 2025, Sage Drilling hit and damaged a force main on/near EMS B33 & EMS B34 Lane while boring fiber. Correspondence, including an invoice for the repair costs, was sent by the District on April 23, 2025, and a follow up demand letter was sent by Carson LLP on July 9, 2025. The invoice for repair costs remains outstanding with no response from Sage Drilling. Andy Boxberger (Carson LLP) recommended the Board consider passing a resolution to allow for Lichelle Parker to file small claims in Small Claims Court on behalf of the District.
Motion by Jim Haney to give Rosa Ritchie and Lichelle Parker authorization to sign the Appointment of a Designated Employee by a Corporation to allow Lichelle to serve as the corporate employee to appear in small claims court; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
BARBEE HOTEL SAMPLE RESULTS FROM JULY 28, 2025
On July 28, 2025, a sample was obtained from the grinder station servicing the Barbee Hotel. The test results were 302 mg/l, significantly above the limit of 100 mg/l. Steven Shankster (of Strombeck Bros which performs the grease trap cleaning), Jim, and Lichelle met with the Barbee Hotel manager on Friday, August 15, 2025, at the Barbee Hotel. After the visit, Mr. Shankster’s recommendation was to jet and vac the line from the grinder station backwards to clean out any buildup or restrictions within that line. Mike suggested tabling the discussion for any action for the grease violation until the September Board meeting to allow the Hotel time to decide what action they wanted to take and to schedule those services. It was suggested to take a grease sample on September 2, 2025, (in addition to the scheduled test one week prior to the September grease trap cleaning). Bob Hookman also suggested sending Barbee Hotel a reminder that the District encourages them to take action and to advise of the outcome of any actions.
Motion by Cullen Reece to table the discussion regarding action from the July 28, 2025, grease violation until the September 2025 Board meeting
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 1 Nays; 0 Abstains
DISCUSS DAMAGE CHARGES FOR SHARED STATION
Astbury replaced a lid vent and vent nipple on the grinder station servicing 31 & 39 EMS B33 Lane. One property owner states the other hit the lid with their mower, broke off the lid vent and threw the lid vent into his yard where he subsequently hit it with his mower. The other property owner does not remember hitting the grinder station and causing any damage, but stated that he does mow around the station.
Motion by Mike DeWald for the District to absorb the full cost; second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
6272 E McKENNA – LRSD BILLING ERROR
Previously, 20 EMS B33 & 6272 E McKenna were both on one parcel, however, recently it was split into two parcels, one for each address. Two grinder stations were installed on the original parcel during the project construction – one for each address, however, only 20 EMS B33 has been billed for 1 EDU. In June and December of 2017, JPR was instructed by Greg Gear that there should be 2 billing EDUs (the second for 6272 E McKenna), however, that was never carried through appropriately. The Board discussed retro billing or absorbing those past fees. Jim and Lichelle are continuing to work with JPR to confirm that the grinder station was inspected and approved, and to verify the septic was abandoned appropriately.
Motion by Jim Haney to forego any past due billing and effective July 1, 2025, begin charging one EDU for 6272 E McKenna; second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR COMMITTEE
Astbury is continuing to work with the Independent Contractor Committee about their proposal for a Grinder Station inspection & GIS Mapping project. Because the software is proprietary, Jim questioned how the data would be transferred to the District, if the District and Astbury’s business relationship ends. Andy advised that this should be addressed in the software contract; Andy will send Jim a sample.
ENGINEERING UPDATE
Nothing to report.
PURCHASING UPDATE
A purchase order for 25 pumps is being requested to replenish the inventory. At $2594 per pump, the purchase cost for this quantity is $64,850 which requires Board approval.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve the purchase of 25 pumps and give Lichelle authorization to submit the PO; second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Finance committee will be looking at the budget soon and Mike would also like to review the Asset Management worksheet.
PROPERTY OWNER CONNECTION STATUS
Lichelle reviewed the Property Owner Connection Status report, updated through August 15, 2025.
OTHER ITEMS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE BOARD
None.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn meeting was made at 7:50 PM by Jim Haney with second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Submitted to Board by Lichelle Parker, District Administrator
Reviewed by Board Secretary, Rosa Ritchie