HUSTONVILLE –  A contract between The City of Hustonville and the Lincoln Sanitation District regarding a sewer project in the west end of the county is being renegotiated. 

In the original agreement, the City of Hustonville was to handle day-to-day operations and maintenance of the new sewer system, as well as bill collection. 

During the city’s October meeting, the council voted to exit the agreement after they were told residences requiring a pump would still have to hook up to the new sewer line. Council members said they felt the sanitation district had gone back on it’s word. 

While the city was originally told households requiring a pump would not be mandated to hook up to the line, after the sanitation board began drafting a Sewer Use ordinance over the summer, it became evident that state law requires any household within 200 feet of an available public sewer line to hook up. 

Since then, council members agreed they would rather leave the operations and maintenance to someone else but remain open to renegotiating the contract to continue to handle the billing aspect of the project. 

“You’re already reading the meters, you’re already mailing out the bills, that’s not going to cost you any extra,” project engineer Luther Galloway told council members during a Nov. 1 meeting. “All you are really going to be out is the time it takes the clerk to deal with the extra line item on that account.”

Councilman Jimmy Evans said he would like to renegotiate the contract to ensure the city clerk is compensated for the extra time. 

“I think we need to cancel the entire contract and renegotiate the billing part to protect Rita and the people in Hustonville,” Evans said. 

Galloway said the sanitation district is open to renegotiating the contract. 
Mayor David Peyton suggested holding a joint session between the city council and the sanitation board to meet and renegotiate the contract. 

“I really do believe if we sit down with a quorum from the city and sanitation district, we can iron these details out relatively easy,” Peyton said.

The group agreed to hold a special-called meeting on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. 

Council members voted unanimously to vacate their previous commitment to operate and maintain the new sewer system and to meet with the sanitation district to renegotiate the billing aspect of the contract. 

Galloway addressed previous questions about state plumbing regulations and qualifications needed to conduct sewer inspections and distributed a written response from Division of Plumbing. 

“Lincoln County District can use their own qualified inspector to enforce the sewer use ordinances as it pertains to the sewer taps and mains within the public domain,” the response reads. 

It also states that all residents and commercial buildings are required to connect to the public sewer system.