Millville still looking for decent water pressure

By Lynze Wardle

MILLVILLE -- Water issues took precedence in Thursday's City Council meeting. Builder Rod Blossom has been left without adequate water pressure for Millville Estates, a subdivision he plans to construct.

State regulations mandate that each home have access to 20 PSIs (pounds per square inch) of water per minute. Blossom asked the council to decide whether they are going to construct a new reservoir, or whether he must pay for his own water pump.

"We'd like some direction on this thing" Blossom said. "[The city] needs to decide where they are, and if we need to build a short-term pump station."

Blossom would contribute somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000 to the reservoir's construction if he could use it to supply water to his subdivision.

"I'm trying to find a temporary solution so that we can put the money for the pump towards the reservoir instead," Blossom said.

In a unanimous vote, the council decided that Blossom could proceed to the planning commission, as long as each house in the subdivision would be equipped with a "water booster" to supplement water pressure. The council said that they would continue to pursue a long-term solution.

Plans for a new reservoir have been drawn by city engineer Brian Deeter. Upper Water Reservoir, as it is called, would hold 1 million gallons, and cover Millville's outdoor, residential, and fire suppression needs.

The estimated cost for the reservoir would be $1.4 million.. According to Deeter, the city's median household income is too high to apply for federal water grants to cover the cost. With an expected population growth of 3.4 percent per year for the next 20 years, city must build a new reservoir sooner or later.

"Every one of you guys that ran for elections promised the people that you'd do something about [the water problem], so you'd better not just blow them off," Mayor Mike Johnson told the council members.

In addition, the members awarded water rights to the highest bidders and decided to renew an extension on a state-owned well.

The council also debated its policy of mandating business licenses. Traditionally, Millville officials haven't penalized businesses that operate without a license, or that allow their licenses to expire.

"We haven't actively gone after business licenses. We've left it up to the people, usually for their tax benefits, [but] maybe we need to regulate what businesses are operating," Johnson said.

Councilman Brian Jensen disagreed, saying the city should avoid exerting its power whenever possible.

"You can get 'big city' operating in a little city if you're not careful," Jensen said. "You have to decide if you want to be big city."

The council decided that letters of notification should be sent to business owners whose licenses had expired, but no further penalties were agreed upon.

The council also discussed possible members for the upcoming Miss Millville pageant and set June 19 as the date for Millville's city celebration. The city council is scheduled to meet again Feb. 19.

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