New water restrictions approved in Hampton

With rising concerns about the longevity of the town’s lone water well and dropping groundwater levels due to the ongoing drought, the Hampton Village Board passed a resolution Monday night calling for voluntary water usage restrictions by residents. 
The decision followed a 45-minute public comment time in which numerous residents spoke to the issue. In addition to the board members, village employees and others who were there to speak to other agenda items, nearly 20 people crowded into the meeting room to ask questions and express their opinions, mostly about the water issue. 
The concern on the minds of many who spoke appeared to be a rumor that had been circulating in the community that the board was considering fining residents who used more than 30,000 gallons of water in a month. Board members assured them that no such decision had been made and stated that the matter would be discussed under the 10th item on the meeting’s agenda. 
Among the subjects brought up during the open discussion between board members, employees and residents in the audience were the fact that the town currently has only one well. A second well has not been in operation for over two years, but city workers are awaiting a part that is expected to make the secondary well operational again. Another concern expressed is rising nitrate levels in the wells. Some suggested that in order to remove the contaminant, the village may have to install a town-wide reverse osmosis system that might cost as much as $4 million to install. Hampton fire chief and former village board chair Dane Schafer voiced a concern that, with only one well in operation, the fire department may not have enough water to fight a major fire. 
The water issues has been a matter of discussion within the community for some time and recently the village sent out the following message via its Facebook page which highlighted the fact that the water system is operating on only one well at this time:
“Right now that well (is) running 20 hours a day (filling 5 times) to keep up with demand. Please cut back on the amount of times you are watering your grass. As we read meters today there are several people who are in the 75,000+ gallons for the month. The tower in reference holds 125,000 gallons. So there are several people who have used nearly 3/5ths of a full tower on their yards. We are working on a solution for the old well and hope to have an answer very soon. But in the meantime we don’t need to overwork the one well we have. As a reference, in the winter months households use 1000-3000 gallons a month. This tells you how much overwatering is happening on several yards in town.”
Following the public comment time, all but a handful of those in the audience left the meeting, but those few remaining waited through other agenda items until the water restriction item came up for discussion. 
At that point, village attorney Drew Graham told the board that when faced with similar water shortages, most municipalities in the state typically call for voluntary water conservation. He introduced a resolution he had drafted calling for watering of lawns on odd and even days depending on addresses, no watering during certain hours of the day and calling on water users to repair any leaks. He emphasized that the program was completely voluntary and would merely serve as a guideline for people to follow in an effort to conserve water and curb overusage. 
He said if that failed, the village might have to consider drafting an ordinance that would impose penalties for those who use more water than they should. He also said exemptions could be written in for certain situations, such as for homeowners who have installed new sod which needs regular watering in order for it to get established. 
Following a lengthy discussion, which again included members of the audience, the board voted unanimously to approve the resolution. Board members asked that a copy of the resolution be mailed to every household in the village.

New subdivision
The proposal by the village and the Hampton Community Development Corporation (HCDC) to put a new 15-lot subdivision on the west edge of town was also a topic of discussion at Monday’s meeting. Karen Bamesberger, representing HCDC, made a presentation and displayed several plat maps of the proposed development, including an infrastructure feasibility plan showing streets and the placement of utilities. She also presented a set of subdivision restrictive covenants which had been adopted by HCDC. 
Bamesberger noted that the covenants will not allow tiny houses or shop/house combinations, known as shouses, within the subdivision. She also said those who purchase lots would have 12 months from the date of purchase to begin construction, but noted that could be flexible depending on the difficulty of finding a contractor and working with the contractor’s schedule. 
“We have three very interested parties in R2 (residential) lots,” Bamesberger reported. 
Following her presentation, it was Graham’s turn to talk. He presented the board with a subdivision agreement with the HCDC for the board’s approval, as well as subdivision infrastructure reimbursement agreements. The second document would provide for the village to receive a share of the proceeds of the sale of lots to reimburse it for the cost of providing streets and utilities. 
He reported that the agreements were a necessary part of the process of securing a recommendation from the county’s Joint Planning and Zoning Commission, which will meet soon to consider the plan. 
A sticking point in the subdivision agreement for village board members was a deadline of Dec. 31, 2024 for the infrastructure work to be completed. Several board members said they were concerned that if the village suddenly needed to drill a new water well, the work might not be done by that date. They decided to hold a special meeting Monday, June 19, to give Graham time to research whether the completion date needed to be that soon, thus the agreement went unsigned.
The board also heard presentations Monday from Trish Kubik of Cornerstone Investments looking at retirement plan options for village employees, as well as from Morgan Driewer and Jake Richardson of Cornerstone Insurance regarding the town’s insurance coverage. Driewer said the company recommends increasing coverages, such as replacement costs for items like the water tower, from $2,691,185 to $3,508,770. She said the increase of $817,585 in coverage would raise the town’s premium by $1,076.