County seeks answers from EIRUSS

Board of Supervisors
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

EIRUSS representatives Mark Jobgen and Matt Specht met with the Jones County Supervisors during the May 14 board meeting to discuss some recent issues. 

EIRUSS proposed a rate increase for Center Junction water and sewer utility systems at $2 a month. Typically, once EIRUSS approves the rate increase, it comes before the supervisors first. The board said it would be nice if the residents knew of the increase before the county. 

The representatives said that’s how their budget process works. 

“The EIRUSS board makes the recommendation and sends it to the cities and counties,” they said. “You get it before the residents, and then we include it in their next monthly bill.” 

This new increase takes effect July 1. The Jones County Supervisors have known about it for several weeks now. Under EIRUSS’ ordinance, it states that a user’s service could be disconnected after 60 days of delinquent bills. Supervisor Joe Oswald and the county is placing liens on people’s property in Center Junction because some bills are six months past due. 

“We’ll follow up with the EIRUSS Board,” the representatives said of following through with their ordinance. “But we haven’t shut off water in any of our communities yet.” 

“If you can’t shut off someone’s water, it needs to be taken out of your ordinance,” said Supervisor Wayne Manternach. 

County Auditor Janine Sulzner suggested EIRUSS to look into the state’s offset program that holds a person’s money (tax refund) to pay off their debt/delinquent bills. 

Jerry Wilcoxson, a Center Junction resident, was also present to get some answers from EIRUSS. She said she has a lien against her property for not paying her bill, yet she’s continuously contacted EIRUSS to have her service shut off. 

“The water is leaking in my basement and I can’t get anyone there to shut it off,” she said. 

Wilcoxson said she’s not using the water, yet was told EIRUSS was not in the position to shut it off. 

“I haven’t used my water since February when my pipes froze and I’m still getting billed for something I’m not using,” added Wilcoxson. 

She said she contacted a family friend to shut off her water for her. 

She said in addition to getting billed, she also just received a notice of the rate increase. 

“If we’re not notified of the shut-off you did on your own, we have no record on our end,” said EIRUSS in terms of stopping the billing process. “You’re still being billed for minimum usage.” 

The board approved the second consideration amending the water/ sewer ordinance for Center Junction to incorporate the rate increase. They plan to hold off the third and final consideration until they get their questions answered from EIRUSS.

In other county business: 

The board approved a one-time financial contribution of $1 per capita (for a total of $5,053) for the Maquoketa River Watershed Authority for FY 2020. This number is based on the rural county population of the river’s watershed. 

• The board approved a bid from Pella Roofing & Insulation for $24,500 for waterproofing the courthouse mechanical room. This was the only bid received. 

Previous bids received came in three times higher than the project estimate and were rejected by the board. The estimate was $18,000. 

• The board took no action on a nuisance located at 22247 Eby’s Mill Rd. 

• Five bids were received for the Shaw Road paving and bridge replacement project, ranging from $1.8 million and $2.3 million. The board approved awarding the lowest bid to Horsfield, pending the county engineer’s review. 

The project estimate was $2.5 million. 

• The board approved a bid from Martin Equipment for $305,000 for a new Secondary Roads motor grader. This comes with a $53,000 trade-in value. 

• Due to an outdated fuel system and software program at the County Engineer’s Shop in Anamosa, the board approved going out to bid for a replacement system. Bids for the aboveground tank system will be opened on June 4 at 10 a.m. 

County Engineer Derek Snead set a project completion date of Nov. 15, 2019. 

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