Lakeland Regional Sewer District – December 17, 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, Cullen Reece, Mark Koehler, Jack Bonewits, Rosa Ritchie, Bob Hookman
Absent: Cullen Reece
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
None
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
A draft of the November 19, 2025 regular meeting minutes was submitted to all Board members via email on November 21, 2025. There were no suggested changes or comments and the final version was posted on Boardable on December 2, 2025.
Motion by Mark Koehler to approve; second by Rose Ritchie.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
EASEMENT VARIANCE REQUEST – 106 EMS B42 (EDWARDS)
The property owners of 106 EMS B42, David & Kelli Edwards, are proposing a concrete driveway at their property. Since the force main running along B42 is on their side of the street, the driveway would cover approximately 40’ of the force main. Astbury has reviewed the proposal and has no objections to the encroachment. A county highway permit has already been obtained for the project. The Edwards understand that if the District needs to access the main under the concrete driveway and the driveway is damaged, it is the property owners’ responsibility to pay for any repairs to the driveway.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve the easement variance as submitted; second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Jim noted that the signed Easement Agreement will be recorded with the county and therefore transfer with the property to any subsequent property owners.
TREASURER’S REPORT AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS
Mike Dewald overviewed the Cash and Funds Balance Matrix – November 30, 2025 denoting the funds grand total of $2,652,418.
Mike DeWald overviewed the Management Cash Budget of January 1, 2025 through November 30, 2025.
The following November 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 Mike DeWald to approve the November 2025 financial reports as submitted by Krohn & Assoc; second by Jack Bonewits.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 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 $77,974.13 by Jim Haney with second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 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 Treatment System Operations Report of December 12, 2025 was emailed to Board members by Astbury Water Technology, Inc. Matt Rippey reviewed key aspects of the report and provided clarifications to Board members’ inquiries.
As of the end of November, Astbury had completed 88 stations as part of the GIS Mapping/Grinder station inspection project. He estimated that there were about 100 done now. They are shooting to have the project complete sometime in the spring. Based on what they’ve found so far, Tim Hare estimated the parts and supplies that may be needed throughout the project to repair stations. Jim requested that these items be billed separately and not through the maintenance fund.
There have been ongoing issues with the desktop computer that monitors the SCADATA. SCADATA has recommended that the laptop be replaced due to the age of the computer and they have provided a quote for a replacement.
Motion by Jim Haney to authorize a purchase order to be issued to SCADATA for the purchase of a new computer with the purchase not to exceed $1700; second by Bob Hookman.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Bob questioned if there were any other computers in use that were the same age? Jim suggested reaching out to MasterMind Computers to inquire how old the District Administrator’s computer is.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR COMMITTEE
Nothing to report.
ENGINEERING UPDATE
Mr. Solomon who owns 37 EMS B33A contacted the District several months ago with the complaint that he was promised a load of fill during the initial sewer construction project and he has never received it. Casey Erwin (DLZ) has been reviewing notes from the project and found a “punch list” for one of the contractors which supports that 37 EMS B33A was designated as a property needing fill dirt. Casey found later documentation where the item was no longer on the punch list but cannot find any support or notes whether the dirt was or was not provided. Lichelle reached out to three vendors for quotes for topsoil and two vendors had responded. The associated load sizes and costs were provided to the Board members. Jim suggested that Carson prepare an agreement for Mr. Solomon and the District to sign recognizing that if the District provides a load of dirt that this will resolve the issue.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve the purchase of a load of topsoil for $300 to be delivered to 37 EMS B33A provided he signs a release agreement with the District stating that the issue is resolved; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
PURCHASING UPDATE
The District is due to order 3-float, float trees. Normally, around 5-10 units are purchased at one time depending on the inventory levels, however, after inquiring with Gasvoda, there are quantity discounts available at 25 & 50 if ordered before the end of the year.
Motion by Jim Haney to authorize the purchase of 50 float trees (3-float) at $419 each for a total purchase of $20,950; second by Jack Bonewits.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Additionally, if the District is interested in purchasing pumps before the end of the year before the price increases on January 1, there are some quantity discounts available for 25 or 50 with these also. The District currently has 29 pumps in inventory and if we purchased another large quantity, there could be a couple years’ worth in inventory and Jim questioned Matt if there was any risk with storing pumps for that long. Matt indicated that it would be beneficial to take the pumps out of the box and turn the impellers every few months. The Board decided that for the small discount, it was not worth the lost interest and hassle in maintaining the pumps long term.
There are currently two open POs with Astbury: one for the GIS Mapping/inspection project (202530) and one for contactors and alarms (202536).
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Nothing to report.
PROPERTY OWNER CONNECTION STATUS
Lichelle reviewed the Property Owner Connection Status report, updated through December 11, 2025.
The redemption period for the two properties sold during the April 2025 Commissioner’s sale closed in October and the three-month period for the bidders to petition for deeds to the properties will expire soon. The Board requested that Carson LLP send a letter to the entity that bid on the properties to remind them that the petition period is closing soon and that the District will work with them on the fees/penalties assessed to the properties.
OTHER ITEMS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE BOARD
With 2025 coming to a close, Lichelle will be sending the Board members an email tomorrow with their 2025 Board compensation amount. Please review this email and reach out asap if anyone sees any discrepancies. The payments will be issued Friday (12/19/2025) morning.
Lichelle has submitted her resignation to the District effective when a replacement is found but not later than February 28, 2026. Rosa has volunteered to post a job opening on Indeed and monitor and review the resumes and screen the applicants down to a manageable number. Jim suggested a Search committee of three Board members to interview these applicants and provide final applicants for the entire Board to interview.
Motion by Jim Haney to create a Search Committee comprised of Rosa Ritchie, Jim Haney, and Jack Bonewits; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Chris Nusbaum confirmed that the Board will need to approve the hiring of the new employee during a public session, however, with 48-hours’ notice, the District can call a Special Regular Session so would not need to wait until a regularly scheduled Board meeting to expedite the hiring process. An executive session can be scheduled for the entire Board to interview candidates at one time if needed, otherwise up to three Board members can interview candidates at one time.
Rosa will need to create an Indeed account for the District and will need a LakelandRSD.com email address to set it up. There are several pricing options available for the Indeed account: the District can be billed by clicks, or per day, or set up a budget. Fifteen hundred dollars would cover 30 days of the posting at $50/day. When Rosa sets up the account, she will add Mike DeWald as user so he can add the credit card payment information.
Motion by Jim Haney to authorize Rosa to use Indeed for the job search at a cost of $50/day with a maximum amount of $1500; second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains (Jack Bonewits stepped out for a moment.)
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn meeting was made at 6:57 PM by Jim Haney with second by Jack Bonewits.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Submitted to Board by Lichelle Parker, District Administrator
Reviewed by Board Secretary, Rosa Ritchie