London continues to deal with problems brought on by the Sept. 14 wind storm.
At the Oct. 2 London City Council meeting, Safety-Service Director Steve Hume reported that the Street Depart-ment recently finished making its first round of the city, cleaning up brush and fallen branches with a chipper.
The department plans a second round to clean up brush put out by residents after the first-round cleanup. After that, resi-dents will have to haul it away themselves or pay for removal. Hume said the department is focusing on brush and not piles of leaves or other debris; if residents mix their piles, the department will not pick them up.
Street Department employees have put in more than 200 hours of overtime since the storm, Hume said. The city has not yet applied for reimbursement from the state and federal government to cover the costs.
Higher Tap-In Fees
London’s Board of Public Utilities is requesting an increase in the fees charged for new construction to tap into water and sewer lines. The fee would not pertain to existing connections.
The board has not received the revenue they were anticipating from new construc-tion this year. Chairman Bill Young said because London had been growing so quickly, they estimated 80 to 100 new tap-ins this year, but so far there have only been 16.
“It’s dried up,” he said.
Council will vote on the proposal at a future meeting.
Storm Water Ordinance
Council has discussed reviving a storm water utility ordinance. Voicing objections ahead of time, Doug Pyles, president of the Kensington Condo Owners Association, said members of his group would strongly object to the ordinance if it were like the last utility ordinance that did not pass. He said his neighborhood was treated unfairly in the previous proposed ordinance.
Councilman Rodney Lauer said the ordinance in question was meant as a starting point and was not up for a vote.
For a storm water ordinance to go into effect, the city would need to concretely identify the problems that need to be fixed, then present to the public what needs to be done and the cost, said councilman Stan Kavy. Some of that work has already been done, he added.
