By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
SOUTH ENGLISH – During the March 11 meeting of the South English City Council, City Clerk Stephanie Lown asked about shutting off water to houses that haven’t paid their water bills and if the city had a reconnection fee. The council checked the ordinance book, which stated there is a $35 reconnection fee, which must be paid alongside outstanding bills, and that houses will only be reconnected during business hours. The council agreed to do what the ordinance book says and cut off non-paying accounts.
A resident in attendance requested the council rerock the south section of Church Street, which used to be rocked years ago but is now covered in grass. The resident stated this forces delivery drivers to turn around in his year. Councilman Cameran Miller stated they would put it on the next month’s agenda, but that they probably can’t rock the street, due to it being too soft.
The council discussed a list of residential properties that are not being charged for recycling. Lown asked which houses should be charged and Miller stated that every house in town is required to pay. Lown asked about vacant houses and Miller stated they shouldn’t be charged. Mayor Ed Shafranek stated he remembered the city allowing businesses to opt out of recycling if they had a dumpster, but that that was years ago and he was unsure if it was still in the ordinances. The council again checked the ordinances, which state that every residential dwelling unit is required to pay $9.25 for recycling. The council discussed a group of houses just outside of city limits, which are on the city’s water. Shafranek noted that half of those houses do not pay for recycling, stating the town must have given them the option to opt out in the past, and that houses in town are required to pay for recycling.
Shafranek stated that people had been hired to find the leaks and were still looking. Lown gave the council a list of water meters in town that appear to not be reading. The council set citywide cleanup dates for Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3; Miller suggested instead doing Thursday and Friday, but was outvoted. Shafranek brought up a relief program that would allow the city to get cheap trees, stating they could place them in the park and that planting them could be a boy scout program.
Lown stated she had spoken to a man who wants to restore the old hotel to its original state and get it listed as a historic place. Miller stated the building was unsafe and needed to be torn down. He stated they would put it on the next month’s agenda and suggested giving the man six months to make the building safe. Shafranek noted that the hotel was a stop on the underground railroad and that, if it was made a historic place, there would be nothing the city could do to get rid of it. He stated the man would have to “be Harry Potter” to fix the building.
