Some concerned Woodland Trail residents spoke with the Argos Town Council when members met for their first meeting of the month.
The issue that was presented by citizens was that a letter sent out to residents last summer reportedly contradicts an existing town ordinance that was initially established in the late 90s.
Before the project began, Woodland Trail residents received a letter mentioning that the town’s septic system installed by Byers Septic services, was being extended into the area and that they would be able to hook into it if their existing system failed. However, the ordinance on the books states that residents are required to hook into the town system within 90 days of the completed installation.
When the project was finished, nearby residents were informed about the existing ordinance with another letter which raised some concerns.
Many of the residents noted that they’ve been living in their homes for decades. The consensus amongst the group was that they’ve gone this long with their own set ups and they shouldn’t be forced to deal with a switch on such short notice, especially if their current systems are in working order.
It was also noted that when a new septic system went in at Colonial Estates, some of the residents with existing systems were apparently grandfathered in and didn’t have to hook up to the new one.
The residents who spoke during the meeting were visibly upset about the matter. Councilman Charles ‘Randy’ Snead provided a comment to reassure them that officials do have their best interest in mind.
Snead noted, “We’ve tried to improve the town, we tried to make it right but taking away your freedoms of you having your own septic system, unless there’s a law proposed by the government that we can’t help, we’re not trying to do that, we’re not going to do that.”
He continued, “We’re not going to take away your rights. We’re going to look into this, we’re going to look deep into and we’re going to find out if we can find that you are allowed to keep those septic systems for another 100 years, I don’t care how long you keep them, then we’ll let you do it.”
Other members also similar provided comments echoing that sentiment. The council members indicated that it was a reasonable request to potentially amend the town’s ordinance.
However, they said they need to ensure that there are no state statutes that regulate the matter, as those would supersede any local rules.
In order to address the issue for the time being, members voted unanimously to not enforce the town’s ordinance for now. Officials will be conducting more before taking any further action.
All Argos Town Council meetings are recorded and available to the public. You can hear all the comments that were made about the matter by clicking the link provided. The conversation about Woodland Trail starts around the 11:30 mark.
