Perry Council reinstates sewer policy

Perry City Council agreed to return to an old policy for sewer services following community complaints.

In a previous pre-council meeting, ( Nov. 5) City Manager Lee Gilmour said he was contacted by an unnamed woman who spoke on behalf of plumbers in the area. The caller told Gilmour local plumbers had concerns about employees of city contractor, ESG Operations, performing plumbing work on private property.

Prior to the complaint, ESG, on behalf of the city would service residents who were unable to access a plumber due to long waiting lines or insufficient funds by temporarily clearing out blockages in sewer lines and locating blockages with a camera. The accusation was that ESG employees were revisiting these homes on their own time and repairing the sewer lines, a strictly prohibited action according to Gilmour.

However, he insisted the city was not responsible for ESG employees actions outside of corporate hours. Leadership at ESG ensured they were unaware of such actions and said that any employee caught in the act would be terminated.

The council decided to continue the cleanout services and would make a definitive decision following a meeting with the plumbers, who argued that the city was in violation of state code because of the policy. Gilmour assured this was not true, stating that ESG, as a licensed contractor, was legally able to work on all sewer lines.

At Monday’s work session, Gilmour updated the council and said he heard nothing else from the plumber representative and had not met with them. He then advised council to restore its standard policy that allows ESG contractors to flush out blockages and provide camera services. He said once the issue was identified, the ESG workers would have to direct the renters/owners to a plumber. There are exceptions for blockages found on city property or if the blockages were caused by the city’s contractors.

Gilmour said again that neither the city nor ESG were responsible for

workers that were also employed with local plumbing agencies or were certified plumbers. He said reverting to the policy was beneficial due to its popularity among residents, who, he says, have come to expect this service.

Mayor Randall Walker described the policy as a “superior service” and pointed out that there was an overwhelming response from residents who were unable to get access to the flush out services during the last week or so. “I personally think it’s something we should provide as part of our water and sewer system here,” he said.

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