The video of the meeting in its entirety is available below this story. 

During citizens’ comments, Clay Wingfield reported to the council his residence had sustained a water leak while he was on vacation, resulting in a bill for the water of $595. Wingfield explained that when something similar happened when he lived in Emerson, Magnolia and Okolona, the policy differed from Prescott’s. 

“They all had a policy that they could adjust the water bill for a catastrophic leak. And what two of them did was take three or four months of your past average of your water bill, and charged that month if you had a big leak, and another one took ten percent, so I hope you all will consider one of those proposals and make the policy to help your residents if they do have a catastrophic water leak,” Wingfield said, adding that another option was not charging ratepayers for a once-a-year leak. 

Council member Ivory Curry said, “I feel you. I had to pay $800 one month.” 

Council member Howard Austin said “We had one for $500 at our deer camp where it froze and the pipe busted.” 

Prescott Water Superintendent Perry Nelson addressed the issue: “By ordinance, it says you have to charge for the water that you use and with the meter on it’s the customer’s responsibility. When you get into this area of [writing off a bill for a leak], one person’s leak is 1,000 gallons over, the other guy is $800 over [average].  There’s a huge difference there between the leaks.” He explained that when Howard Taylor was Prescott Mayor, the city decided not to write off bills for water leaks. Nelson said he had been trying to find the specific ordinance. 

Council member Curry said he had also had to pay for another large leak after freezing temperatures led to a leak at his dry-cleaning business. 

“We worked 24 hours after each freeze to make sure there was enough water in the system to supply everyone because there were leaks all over the place. We were running and shutting them off to make sure the system stayed intact. The city spent an awful lot of money around the leaks. It wasn’t this particular leak, but it was other freezes and failures from our winter storms," Nelson said.

“Water isn’t cheap anymore,” Nelson continued. “It takes a lot to produce it and a lot to maintain it. What you do is up to you all. But we’re following the ordinances that we have.” 

Here Council member Phyllis Hicks said, “I feel it wouldn’t hurt to have a policy for the citizens in the case of a catastrophic event.” 

Council member Patricia Roberts stated that under the rules of citizens' comments, the council could not make a decision immediately or say what its preference was regarding its water system leak policy. 

Mayor Terry Oliver told Wingfield, “Thanks for bringing that to our notice,” then said, “We will study the facts and the numbers. Does anybody have any questions?” 

Austin acknowledged the issue would be discussed at another time but said it was important that the council make good decisions as changes in circumstances evolve. 

“That's why the council is here. To do what we can do. We’ve got to remember things are changing every day. So we have to look at how we can change things and make it better for our citizens, because if we want a bond to be passed, whenever we come to our citizens to vote for this or that, we need to do what we can for our citizens.” 

Wingfield said his bill is due Tuesday. “Do I need to go ahead and pay it?” 

City Business Manager Bruce Bean said the city would accept what Wingfield regularly pays for water while setting the leak charge aside to provide a chance for the matter to be discussed. “Thank you,” Wingfield said. 

After Wingfield spoke, Sanitation Superintendent Chris Hopper asked that residents separate their class IV rubbish, white goods and furniture materials from their regular bagged trash. This causes difficulty for sanitation workers, he said. Asked if notices placed in residents' bills were effective, he said no one was reading these notices.

In other business, the council unanimously approved an amendment, presented by City Accountant Carl Dalrymple, to the 2024 budget to account for the purchase of a truck and for landfill expenses amounting to $24,000.  The city pays 54 percent of the cost, while the county pays 46 percent. 

Austin said he noticed the county had begun charging deer camps for waste disposal. He asked Dalrymple whether the funds collected were going toward the county’s part of covering its 46 percent of the cost. Dalrymple replied that they were. Austin said he wanted the city to reach a point of the county paying for a more equitable share of landfill expenses. 

The council also passed resolutions to lease equipment to be used by the city. The first resolution was for the lease of a 2024 Peterbilt trash truck for $3,235.31 a month for 24 months with Cadence Bank holding the lease. The second was for a new Caterpillar skid steer at $1,161.80 a month for three years financed through the Caterpillar Finance Corporation. The third was for a new mini-excavator for $1941.55 a month for 36 months from Kubota Credit Corporation. Each item can be purchased outright by the city if it meets balloon payments at the end of each lease. 

The meeting began with the approval of minutes from the September meeting, approval of financial reports and reports from Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce Director Jamie Hillery and Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Director Mary Goodwin. 

Hillery reported the Fall Festival/Trade Day, which took place October 12 had been a success, in part because of beautiful weather that day. She announced that Trick or Treat on Elm Street is in preparation, with 30 vendors to be present, and is set for Thursday, October 31st at 5:30 p.m. 

She also announced that The Giving Tree program, which benefited 68 kids last year, is still looking for children of low-income homes to be nominated. “If you know any families that have kiddos that are in need of necessities, jackets, clothes, socks, shoes, anything like that, this project is tailored towards that for the holidays,” she said. Registration for the program opens November 4th.  Hillary’s email is [email protected] for those who wish to be involved either to receive gifts or to give gifts. 

Mary Godwin said the upcoming Nevada County leadership class to start in January of 2025 is still open for participants, though only ten can be accepted. She said door hangers have been printed out for posting on the doors of residents taking good care of their properties. An announcement is expected of good news from the Holcim location and will be provided as soon as the company allows. 

Mayor Oliver said Councilman Ivory Curry had recently completed 25 hours toward Civilpedia Certification. 

The meeting ended after 43 minutes.