SELLERSBURG — Signs comparing Sellersburg and Flint, the Michigan city now famous for its contaminated water, may be responsible for the large crowd at the town council meeting Monday eager to discuss recently publicized water violations.
The signs, which advertised the date and time of the council meeting, have popped up over town since residents received an annual Consumer Confidence Report citing more than 30 violations. One is even in a town councilman's yard.
Councilman Bill Conlin said he doesn't trust the town's water quality since the violations came to light.
"I drink bottled water," he said.
The town was cited for failing to collect samples in the required timeframe last year, but town officials say those samples have since been taken. An Indiana Department of Environmental Management spokesman previously told the News and Tribune that the town returned to compliance — and hasn't been cited for any violations this year.
The town official responsible for collecting water samples left his position last fall, forced to resign because he didn't renew a license necessary to work in the water plant. Matt Brown, son-in-law of Sellersburg Municipal Works Director Ken Alexander, is now operator under Alexander.
Town council members passed out copies of a joint statement to attendees of the meeting. The statement notes the signs posted around town create "fear, distrust and uncertainty" about water quality.
Council President Paul Rhodes acknowledged residents' First Amendment rights to post the signs, but said their content "can only harm Sellersburg."
Resident Doug Reiter, who ran for the town council unsuccessfully in 2015, said his daughter saw the signs and asked if the water contained lead.
"With these signs being posted, we've got kids being scared ... over misinformation," Reiter said. "That concerns me because I love this town."
He asked residents at the meeting to focus their attention on "pertinent issues" instead of issues that have "already been taken care of."
Conlin challenged Reiter's assertion, siding with other residents at the meeting whose concerns persist.
"What if you had your son or daughter that's been in the hospital for 12 weeks?" Conlin said. "You think this is a joke?"
Resident Brittany Ferree, who also spoke to the council, questioned the water quality.
"I am very concerned because I have two young children that I'm raising in this community," she said. "After consulting a pediatrician showing them the paperwork we received, the pediatrician is actually very alarmed."
The town asserts that it conducts water tests daily and complies with IDEM standards for testing copper and lead amounts.
Another resident, Vince Thacker, was troubled that most council members didn't know about the violations until recently.
"I'm just pointing out that whoever's responsible for this should have been telling you all year long," Thacker said.
"And that's why that operator was terminated," Rhodes replied.
However, Thacker believes Alexander, the municipal works director, is ultimately responsible. Conlin agreed.
"He always blames it on everyone else," Conlin said. "The buck should stop there."
Alexander previously told the News and Tribune the water operator is the only one who receives noncompliance notifications. Town policy on water testing has been changed to prevent something similar happening again.
Resident Don Compton also found it concerning that council members didn't know what was going on. Compton believes that's worse than if they had known.
"The only way to truly answer these problems if they are problems is at the ballot box, not yelling and screaming," he said.
At the end of the meeting, Town Councilman Brad Amos told residents he hoped the water "situation has come to rest."
"I understand everybody's aggravation," Amos said. "I know it's more political than it is personal sometimes."