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Mendon’s new well may be a bust, council is told

February 12th, 2011 Posted in Opinion

By Teresa Nield

MENDON—The City Council was reminded of its water woes Thursday when Jon Hardman, councilman in charge of culinary water, updated members on the current status of the new well. The well, which is being drilled west of Mendon, is now deep enough that the council knows how much water it will yield.

The well will provide 50 gallons per minute. That is only 1/6 of the 300 gallons per minute that the city needs to replace the Cobblestone well after tests showed high nitrate levels. “When we started this, we knew there were no guarantees,” Hardman said.

Also, as the well drillers got deeper, they have begun to notice a sulfur smell. This smell could mean an organic layer at the bottom which, if gone unsealed, could yield the well useless. The council discussed possible options so solve the city’s lack of usable water.

In other business, Valerie Larson addressed the council on behalf of Mendon’s preservation. Larson asked that the council allow a grant in order to have Mendon declared a general historical preservation district. Larson believes this status could increase Mendon’s tourism and help preserve the history of the city.

Mayor Ed Buist informed the council that budgeting would begin next month and said the project “will have full consideration.”

Kirk Taylor, director of public works, informed the council that the canal head gate above town, near the cemetery, will be redesigned and replaced because it is not functioning well. They have hired an engineering firm to help with the redesign and the project is in progress.

Councilman Brett Fonnesbeck asked the council about the current dog licensing policy for the city. “We’ve had a lot of trouble with dogs,” he said. The council announced a dog licensing clinic for Feb. 26 from 9 to 11 a.m. for residents.

The mayor asked the council to consider putting away money to begin to save for a city building. Furthermore, the mayor reminded the council that rekeying of the city starts Saturday, beginning with the Mendon Station, and excluding the fire station this fiscal year.

Councilman Mike Carlson asked the council, “Do we still want to rent the sound system out? There are those that just don’t care enough to make sure everything is put back.” Carlson suggested that if they continue to rent the Mendon Station’s sound system equipment to the public, the deposit should be substantial. The council agreed and discussed options for protecting the integrity of the system by using local youth that know the equipment to be in charge of setting it up for renters.

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Tags: city council, Mendon, new well, water problems