IDEM responds to complaint at Holton
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

No violations observed. That’s the message from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to the town of Holton, after they received a complaint at the Holton Wastewater Plant.

A letter from IDEM noted that a complaint was received from Daniel Beach on June 2, saying the “town was extending the wastewater plant final effluent pipe, damaging the creek bank, and placing rip-rap on his (Beach’s) property. The letter further stated that “at the time of the investigation it was noted that there was no extension of the discharge pipe. Silt had been removed around the pipe. It was hauled to an upland site away from the stream. There was no damage to the creek bank.”

IDEM determined there were no violations on the town’s part. The IDEM report further noted that the dynamics of the creek had been altered by the removal of stone upstream. It read, “this causes problems stirring up sand and silt and also degrades water quality and fish habitat.”

That information was made public at the Holton Town Council meeting held Tuesday, July 11. The letter from IDEM was received by the town on June 30.

Peggy Furst addressed an issue that was brought up at a previous meeting concerning the fence around the lagoon. She noted that the fence is not a line fence, but a lagoon fence. She said repairs had been made to the fence on three sides and when trees were down, even though they didn’t belong to the town, they still cleaned them up.

Attorney for the town, Larry Eaton, was in attendance and responded to a question about buildings that needed to be torn down or repaired. He said documentation was ready to be filed against Greg Pickett on a property in question. Pickett was in attendance at the meeting and said he had been working on the property. He was reminded that it has been almost two years and he needed to have more done by now. Eaton said the town would continue to pursue legal action against Pickett.
The issue of delinquent sewer bills was addressed with the amount of overdue bills being $21,175. Eaton noted that the town should pursue filing claims against those overdue no later than 90 days. Peggy Furst asked about sending a reminder letter, but Eaton noted, “People who don’t pay their bills monthly aren’t going to respond to a letter.”

Discussion was held on getting lab equipment at the lagoon and also erecting a building. It was also discussed that Peggy Furst should be paid for the hours she works for the town and sewer departments. She has been donating time to help new Clerk-Treasurer Ronald Rayburn.

The idea of having a skateboard park was discussed. Marshal Billey Moore noted that a lot of kids enjoy the sport in the town. He further stated that sometimes they skateboard on the roadway, which is dangerous. Council Member Wilma Myers said she had visited a skateboard park at Madison and had pictures to show the council. Eaton suggested having the kids who enjoy the sport to send a “wish-list” of what they would like to see the park look like, talk to the town’s insurance provider, and then proceed from there.

Discussion was held on a petition the town received about changing the “no right turn” onto North Marion Street. The petition had 130 signatures of people who would like to see this changed. The matter was tabled until Bob Furst could be at the meeting for further discussion.

Council Member Ronald Palmer presided over the meeting in the absence of President Bob Furst. After opening the floor to the audience that consisted of six people and no one responding, he continued the meeting to pay claims and sign paperwork.

Bob Furst and Ronald Rayburn were not in attendance for the meeting. Wilma Myers, Ronald Palmer, and Peggy Furst, along with Attorney Larry Eaton were present.