The Decatur Board of Alderman discussed at their May 1 meeting changing the town’s policy for residents who are installing in-ground pools.
Town Clerk Brenda Harper said that currently when residents add water to their pools, they notify the town when they receive their water bills. The town reduces the sewer charge for that month for those residents.
Harper said the town would like to come up with a policy that would require residents notifying the town prior to filling their pools in order to get an accurate record of how much water was used. Ward 4 Alderman Phil Sutphin said the board will have a policy prepared for the June 5 meeting.
In another water department-related matter, Public Work Director David Anderson updated the board on the problem with the town’s main water well which he said had decreased production since the April meeting. At the April meeting, Anderson said that the well, which is used to access groundwater in underground aquifers, was starting to fail.
Anderson said the main well pumps 500 gallons of water a minute, and at that rate it should run 10 hours a day. He said it has dropped off in its production over the past three years, with it pumping 457 gallons per minute in 2014 and 2015, but dropping to 439 in 2016, and 376 in January, which is causing it to run 16-18 hours a day.
Anderson said daily well checks revealed that the pumps had been running 16 to 18 hours a day to keep up with the town’s demand. At the April meeting, the board approved hiring a contractor to pull up the well to see if it could be repaired.
Work pulling the well up was scheduled to start on Wednesday, May 2.
The board also discussed creating a parking space for the baseball field on Chapel Hill Road. Police Chief Joedy Pennington said that there is room to build extra parking space near the T-ball field to prevent people from parking on the north side of the road, which will provide more safety for spectators.
The board also discussed donating an old Crown Victoria from the police department to Southeast Lauderdale High School.
The board also:
• Approved to allow Eagle Scout candidate Tyler Ray to install a 20-foot American flag pole near the gazebo at the corner of East Broad and Hwy. 15 and a solar power LED light to shine on the flag at night. The project will be a part of Ray’s candidacy to earn his Eagle Scout badge.
• approved making a $100 donation to the Turkey Creek Water Park fireworks display that will be held on July 3.
