Response Letter to Hidden Valley Lake POA

VALLEY RURAL UTILITY CO.

19435 ALPINE DRIVE

LAWRENCEBURG, IN 47025

(812) 539-3330  or  (513) 564-1500

FAX: (812) 539-3332

January 9, 2026

Mr. Jeremy Mayes

Hidden Valley Lake Property Owners Association

19303 Schmarr Drive

Lawrenceburg, IN 47025

Dear Mr. Mayes,

I received your letter and email dated January 6, 2025. As I have previously advised I do not have Board authorization to attend your request to meet on Friday January 9th.

I am however authorized to respond to the letter. Prior to issuance this letter it has been reviewed and approved by the VRUC Board of Directors.

First and foremost, VRUC is very aware of the concerns and complaints associated with the current (ongoing) construction project. We also share your and the community’s concerns about public safety. We are routinely inspected by Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and have not experienced a violation to any of the health or safety-based regulation. This is only possible by the vigilance of VRUC’s daily efforts. While we had hoped that this project would occur 100% perfectly as planned it has not. Most construction projects have their issues.

This project was designed by a professional engineering firm (Commonwealth Engineers Inc.). This engineering firm is highly regarded in the water and wastewater field. This is their area of expertise.

Our project has a definitive time line and budget. As of Wednesday January, 7th’s progress meeting with our contractors and engineer we are on schedule and on budget. There have been change orders which have been easily covered by the contingency portion of the budget.

Regretfully, on Christmas Day there was a significant fire which directly impacted our system. As a result of that fire,we experienced an excessively high number of breaks due to the stress on our system. That frequency has subsided to what we normally experience.

Since the beginning of the construction project VRUC has continuously evaluated and improved our communications with our customers. I would like to thank the POA for their efforts to repost these communications.

As for the concerns expressed, VRUC’s Board does not disagree that to some point over the past 50 years the system has not been provided the attention it should have been. Thus,the primary reason for the current construction project – to directly address the most critical areas of the water system. The goal is to end up in a significantly better position than the current one.

VRUC is continuously working to improve communications. Those current communications include a daily posting of KNOWN construction work which will occur on any given day. We attempt to post by 8:15am daily after consultation with our contractor. We also post an outlook of work scheduled for the next 2 weeks. This is updated daily by deleting completed work and the updated once weekly for the upcoming 2 weeks. The fact that this is actual field construction means that sequence and schedule are highly subject to change due to field conditions and/or weather conditions.

It is VRUC’s understanding that representatives of the POA have signed up to speak at our regularly scheduled Board meeting on January13, 2026 at 8am. We look forward to a productive and cooperative conversation.

Sincerely,

Bill Neyer

General Manager

Valley Rural Utility Association