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The Melrose Village Board voted June 4 to send out a questionnaire in the July water bill to all water system users. The questionnaire will be mailed beginning Thursday.
An estimated $370,000 of the project already has been spent, including the drilling of a new well. If the project is discontinued, those costs will be made up for in increased water rates. The village has obtained a $511,000 grant to help pay for the project, which would be forfeited if the project were stopped.
Village President LeRoy Craig said that the questionnaires are due back to the village by 3:30 p.m. July 23, and stamped envelopes for their return will be included in the mailing. Craig said the returned questionnaires will be stored unopened in the village safe until July 24, when they will be opened by Craig with two village board members and two community members present.
Each of the surveys has been numbered to prevent duplication, Craig said. Any surveys that are duplicated or not numbered will be discarded.
The project includes two new wells, a new water tower, and a treatment plant that would remove iron and manganese from the water. High levels of those two elements have caused problems and complaints from village residents for years because of poor water quality, including staining and odor.
But some residents have complained about the cost and the need for the project. At the board’s June 4 meeting, project opponent Jeff Hanson turned in a petition prepared by water opponent Joel Gilbertson with about 150 signatures requesting a binding referendum. The petition asked residents to vote yes to proceed with the project or no to stop the project and evaluate other options.
But Village Attorney Paul Bohac said after consulting with legal counsel at the League of Municipalities, he believes the village cannot pass on that decision to the citizens because the board had already approved the project.
Bohac said the board could determine it no longer wants to do the project. So the board decided to send out the questionnaire.
Chris Hardie is publisher of the River Valley Newspaper Group’s weekly and shopper division.
