Lakeland Regional Sewer District – Feb. 18th, 2026 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, Rosa Ritchie, Bob Hookman,
Absent: Jack Bonewits, Mark Koehler
Welcome Jenna Habegger as the new District Administrator
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
None
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
A draft of the Jan 21,2026 regular meeting minutes was submitted to all Board members via email on Jan 28th with a 2nd draft on Jan 30th. The final version was posted on Boardable on Feb.2nd
Motion by Mike DeWald to approve minutes as submitted; second by Cullen Reece
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas;0 Nays; 0 Abstains
NON-COMPLIANCE SECTION 15.4.2 OF THE DISTRICT’S USE ORDINANCE – BARBEE RESTAURANT AND LAKELIFE
Barbee Restaurant – represented by weekend manager, Lyn Doerr asked what the limit requirements are and how she could find that information. Jim Haney explained that the information can be found on the website and stated that it is 100mg per liter. Lyn asked for suggestions to stay below said limit. Jim suggested following up with Strombeck & Shankster. Lyn presented a receipt from a recent line jetting and said that she would like to get the authority to have the cleanings done more than 4 times per year. Lyn requested the board to rescind Barbee’s recent fine of $2500. Jim Haney asked the Board if there was a motion to rescind the $2,500. Since no Board member offered a motion, the request was denied.
Jim suggested once the property owner is demonstrating the issue at hand is taken seriously and there is an effort to fix it, the property owner could ask the Board to re-consider the request.
Lakelife Bar & Grill – represented by new owner, Nathan Berry. Nathan stated he has installed a 2nd grease trap & will work with Strombeck & Shankster and decide if they need to add to their current cleaning schedule. Nathan requested for the board to rescind his 3 fines totaling $7,500.
Bob Hookman asked Nathan to list what corrective actions he will be taking from here on out. Nathan listed: 1) He (already) put an additional grease trap in under the dishwasher. 2) to ensure all lines are flushed on a more regular basis. 3) Ensure Strombeck washes the walls with hot water and cleans properly with a more frequent schedule.
Motion by Rosa Ritchie to rescind the $7,500 fines issued to the new Lakelife owner; second by Bob Hookman
Motion failed by voice vote of 1 Yea :3 Nays :1 Abstains
Andy Boxberger briefly reviewed a proposed Dis-connection Process/Policy for the Board to consider at the March 2026 regular meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS
Mike Dewald overviewed the Cash and Funds Balance Matrix – Jan 31st 2026 denoting the funds grand total of $2,862,330.
Mike DeWald overviewed the Management Cash Budget of Jan 1st 2026 through Jan 31st, 2026.
The following Jan 2026 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 to approve Jim Haney; second by Bob Hookman.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
The Monthly Claims Approval form of Feb 2026 was reviewed by Lichelle Parker.
Motion to approve the payment of monthly claims grand total of $84,774.49 by Jim Haney with second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Board members affixed their signature approval to the Monthly Claim Approval Form.
Refund request: Customer 3KS Family Limited Liability Limited Partnership requested refund of $306.73 after moving out. The account was on auto ACH and Astbury was not notified of ownership change on 2/24/25 and the monthly charges continued to be paid through 10/21/25
Motion by Jim Haney to approve refund request of $306.73; second by Cullen Reece
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas;0 Nays; 0 Abstains
ASTBURY MONTHLY REPORT
The LRSD Treatment System Operations Treatment System Operations Report of 2/16/2026 was emailed to Board members by Astbury Water Technology, Inc. Thomas Astbury reviewed key aspects of the report and provided clarifications to Board members’ inquiries.
Jim asked: If the change made to the effluent flow meter is acceptable to IDEM. Astbury answered: IDEM should not have a problem with it. Jim then asked about the power failure at lift station 2 and why it read over temp. Astbury answered that it was a reaction to grid and losing power in the area and it was essentially a false alarm. Jim then asked Astbury about the influent auger repair and if they have a recommendation on which firm to use. Astbury suggested Middlebury Electric and said their quote included unwiring.
Motion to approve Astbury to proceed with Middlebury Electric to remove and unwire the influent auger
Motion by Jim Haney to grant permission to Astbury to proceed with Middlebury Electrics to remove and unwire the influent auger; second by Mike DeWald
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
LRSD has consumed 8 pumps since last month. We have 25 on order. Orders have been running 6-8 weeks. Jim suggested ordering 25 more now to keep from dropping below the minimum.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve ordering 25 pumps without power cords; second by Bob Hooman
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas;0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Bob asked about a service call where the valve was installed wrong. Astbury responded they have changed their inspection protocol for new installations to ensure this does not happen again.
Jim asked Astbury for an update on the grinder inspection(s). Tom stated they have completed 8% and they have found 2 float problems, 2 alarm problems, but mostly they are discovering missing locks and bolts and they cannot find the tracer wire and / or curb stop. He said they are using a metal detector but this issue is expected. Part of their repair is bringing more wire to the curb stop and putting it inside.
DISCUSS ORDINANCE VIOLATION PROTOCOL – ASTBURY & DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR ACTION AUTHORITY
The Board discussed property owners violating the easement agreement by parking boats, trailers, vehicles, etc. over the grinder station making it impossible to access. Jim suggested coming up with a standard legal protocol to streamline the process of moving said item in the event the property owner is unwilling or unable to in a timely manner. Andy suggested establishing a relationship with a tow company and a marina now so in the event something needs moved Astbury and / or the District Administrator know who to contact.
AMEND 2026 SALARY ORDINANCE
Ordinance No 2026-02 Presented for review and approval
Motion by Jim Haney to approve Amended 2026 Salary ordinance No 2026-01; second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0Abstains
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR COMMITTEE
Nothing to report
ENGINEERING UPDATE
Nothing to report
PURCHASING UPDATE
As of 2/12/2026 these were the open purchase orders.
Invoice for PO 202605 was received on 2/16/2026 and has been closed out.
Resolution 2026-01 Small Purchasing Policy was presented to the board for review and approval. The purposed policy adds Jenna and replaces Lichelle as a purchasing agent.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve Resolution 2026-01 Small Purchasing Policy; second by Mike DeWald
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Nothing to report
PROPERTY OWNER CONNECTION STATUS
Lichelle & Jenna reviewed the Property Owner Connection Status report, updated through Feb. 13th 2026
OTHER ITEMS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE BOARD
None
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn meeting was made at 7:35 PM by Jim Haney with second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 5 Yeas;0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Submitted to Board by Jenna Habegger, District Administrator
Reviewed by Board Secretary, Rosa Ritchie