Editor:

Monday evening, August 6, Lawrenceburg City Council, with the support of Mayor Dennis Carr, voted to provide $4,500,000 of financial assistance to the City of Aurora to assist Aurora with its sewer infrastructure improvement needs.

Aurora is committed to an Agreed Order and Long-Term Control Plan under the watchful eye of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management that requires Aurora to make $12,500,000 of sewer infrastructure improvements with the next few years.

Some of the required improvements have already been completed, the costs of which added to the unfortunate need to significantly raise Aurora’s water and sewer utility rates in 2006.

However, approximately $8,500,000 of improvement projects are still left to be done, including construction of a new sewer force main to carry sewer from Aurora to the regional sewer treatment plan in Lawrenceburg, as well as the need to separate sanitary sewers from storm sewers in our historic downtown area.

Lawrenceburg’s generous gift of financial assistance will greatly benefit each and every utility customer receiving water and sewer from Aurora Utilities, and will allow Aurora to maintain its current water and sewer utility rates into the foreseeable future.

Without Lawrenceburg’s help, Aurora was potentially facing financial fines from IDEM, or significant increases upon our utility customers.

Lawrenceburg’s assistance will also allow for economic growth in Aurora that might not have otherwise been possible without these much needed sewer infrastructure improvements.

It is during these times when local communities put political differences aside and work together to solve important problems that we are all reminded of the great communities we live in here in Southeast Indiana.

On behalf of our city officials and the citizens of Aurora, I personally want to thank Lawrenceburg’s Council members, and Mayor Dennis Carr, for their forethought and insight into the need to assist Aurora with this project, and for their generous financial gift.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated and will be recognized by the entire Aurora community.

Donnie Hastings Jr.

Aurora Mayor