The Crown Point City Council took no action on proposals that will most likely mean future hikes for both water and sewage use.

The council voted to delay a vote on a proposed water rate hike, which was in line for final approval, during its meeting on Monday.

There were just four members of the seven-member board in person and Mayor Pete Land asked the council to delay the vote until the March 3 meeting.

A public hearing was also held on proposed increases to the city’s sewer rates that will help fund the construction of a new sewage treatment facility and a new downtown interceptor sewer line.

Sewer rate hikes have not yet been finalized and are under review, Land said after the meeting.

Land provided a short explanation prior to the public hearings on both rate increases. City engineering consultant Al Strong and financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz spoke and fielded questions from those in attendance.

Resident Dennis Lunkes asked if city officials would consider increasing impact fees, especially on those developers building new homes which might slow growth.

“We’re getting too big, too fast,” Lunkes said.

Resident Robert Nomden also asked city officials to consider slowing down the growth of more new residential subdivisions.

“Are we trying to become a concrete jungle? I don’t believe builders are being charged enough,” Nomden said.

Under the proposed water utility ordinance, rates would increase by 19% over a two-year period with the city absorbing the additional Indiana American Water increase of 36.7%.

Proposed water rate increases would be as follows: residential customers who use 1,500 gallons a month will see their total bill go up $3.71 from $19.53 to $23.24; while customers who use 5,000 gallons per month will see their total bill go up $11.58 a month, from $61.01 to $72.59.

Proposed hikes would be billed into three phases: Phase 1: upon adoption of the ordinance; Phase 2: Aug. 1 and Phase 3: Aug. 1, 2026.

Land said officials are still in discussion in regard to sewer rate changes but preliminary numbers, presented at the meeting on Monday, were $16.71 per 1,000 gallons of usage or an increase of $5.64 in Phase 1 which would start 30 days after approval.

Rates per 1,000 gallons of usage would be $21.06 or an increase of $4.35 in Phase 2 which officials are seeking to move the start from August 2025 to January 2026.

The reason behind the water rate increase for Crown Point, and other municipalities across the state, goes back to early 2024 when Indiana American Water got approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to raise water rates.

Land said Indiana American Water officials argued the increase was necessary to pay for services and because, in many municipalities, they owned the infrastructures and needed to make improvements.

“My argument was that wasn’t the case in Crown Point where we own all the infrastructures, “ he said.

In addition, under the United States Environmental Protection Agency mandated Lead Service Line Replacement Project, where all Indiana communities are required to inspect and replace any lead service line found in homes built before 1990.

If lead is found, replacement would be done from the water main to the home at no cost to the homeowner, he said.

Crown Point has been granted a $5 million, no-interest loan from the state because of the city being proactive in the project, he said.

In regard to the proposed sewer ordinance, the last wastewater plant expansion was done in 1998, some 27 years ago.

The original wastewater treatment plant was constructed in 1976.

“Wastewater plants are designed to accommodate a 20-year growth, and we are now 27 years past the last expansion,” he said.

Work that needs to be completed would include ongoing sewer infrastructure repairs, replacements and upgrades on aging citywide infrastructure, he said.

Plant expansion cannot be done at the current site but a new open site would be more affordable to build on, would provide more initial capacity for treatment and would allow for future expansion, he said.

And even though the proposed hikes were the focus of the nearly three-hour meeting, some residents used the forum at the beginning of the meeting on Monday to question the integrity of public officials.

Residents Sam Kozaitis, and his wife, Michelle Kozaitis, posed questions about Land, who received campaign contributions from several nonprofits that they felt weren’t legal. They said the donations should have been returned as they are in direct violation of the IRS 501(c)3 tax-exempt status of those charities.

Sam Kozaitis said 2024 campaign contributions, which he provided documents for, included those from Cal Ripken at $4,700; Crossroads YMCA, $300; American Legion Post 20, $750 and DAV Indiana Chapter 80, $750.

“You have failed the residents of Crown Point. You need to be removed or resign,” Sam Kozaitis told the mayor.

Land after the meeting said there was no wrong-doing on his part and if there were any errors in contributions he received that they would be disclosed online.

“We work just as hard for those who support us as those who don’t support us,” Land said in regard to criticism lodged by Sam Kozaitis.

Susan McKendry asked questions about City Attorney Alex Kutanovski in regards to property he owned at 1820 South Street and didn’t acknowledge at a previous meeting when a petitioner at that location was seeking a special use to allow townhomes.

Kutanovski said the property is owned by an LLC and he wasn’t authorized to say, at the previous meeting, whether he was one of four owners.

He acknowledged that ownership on Monday.

Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.