Annabella council buys $16,000 of culvert pipe and weighs a water rate increase

The Annabella Town Council voted 4-0 on Oct. 8 to buy all of the culvert pipe the maintenance supervisor had ordered, about $16,000 in materials, and to hire a contractor to install drainage fixes on 3rd East and Annabella Road, according to draft meeting minutes. The order includes about 33% more pipe than is immediately needed; the council judged that reasonable because prices are unlikely to fall and the pipe will be used later. Maintenance Supervisor Eric Nielsen said a recent rain nearly undermined the canal pipe. The plan is to run a culvert over the existing irrigation pipe, with the 3rd East work scheduled for the following Friday. ^[1]

Mayor John Chartier said he and Councilmember Louis Brown would meet Jones & DeMille Engineering the following Monday to discuss starting a stormwater master plan. The council also discussed 2nd East, where flat terrain makes drainage hard; one long-term option would route water east along a property line to Dusty Wilkinson Park, but that would need survey-grade elevation data. ^[1]

An engineer from Jones & DeMille told the council that the town's recently approved Water Improvement Project funding, awarded 70% grant and 30% loan, carries debt service of about $34,873.30 a year, with the first payment due Oct. 1, 2028. He said covering the loan alone would take an increase of about $8.26 per connection per month on the current $39.33 base rate, and urged a larger increase because the system has little margin for maintenance. The council discussed putting the increase in the base rate rather than the variable overage charges. No action was taken; the proposed schedule is a bond parameters resolution in November, notice to residents on November utility bills, a bond hearing in December and a rate hearing in January. The engineer said the rate change must be adopted before the loan closes. ^[1]

Residents' concerns also came before the council. A letter from resident Kent Higgins asked the town to regulate feral cat feeding. The council decided not to write a new ordinance, citing enforcement difficulty and existing county nuisance provisions and a trap-neuter-return program through the county shelter, and directed the clerk to send a written response. Jack Reider described a trailhead grant funded through ATV registration fees, and the council agreed to identify a budget and a point person. Nielsen also reviewed state backflow prevention requirements for residents who run culinary water through outdoor irrigation systems. ^[1]