The Town of Prosperity is officially closing down two inactive water wells to satisfy the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control. And it is gearing up to “bone up” on another pending health issue—this time, a sewer lagoon.

Town Council voted unanimously to accept a $6,000 bid to fill in both the Black/Smith Well and the town’s Clinic Well. The first one was unusable due to iron content in the water, the second has walls caving in and is unreliable, the town’s Public Works Director Fred Sexton says. Sexton said both have been inactive and DHEC has been pushing the town to give a closing date for the Black/Smith Well which has been offline the longest.

Officials chose to close the wells simultaneously to save money in the long run. Closing one well at a time would run about $3,500 apiece.

Another issue that DHEC is pushing to the forefront for the town, Town Attorney Hank Bufkin explains, is that of the Forest Hills subdivision’s “lagoon.” The lagoon is a sewage oxidation pond that services the housing development and is run by a private company.

Much, but not all, of the subdivision lies within the town limits and Bufkin warned that the lagoon is “1960s technology in 2010.”

DHEC is not comfortable with the lagoon continuing to process the subdivision’s sewage, and for its part, the corporation running the pond is threatening to walk away from its administration.

“We plan to notify DHEC that we do not intend to renew the permit in March,” David Bowers of Forest Hills Elbow Inc. informed council Tuesday night.

Bufkin pointed out to council that the oxidation pond is this corporation’s only business endeavor, and one it could attempt to walk away from and be shielded from litigation. Bowers also intimated to council that a new agreement between the town and the corporation assigning responsibility to the former and leaving the latter to run the facility would be possible.

Currently, the town bills Forest Hills sewage customers based on their consumption of town water for the service. The town then passes 80 percent of the sewage earnings onto the private corporation.

For all those reasons, including the anticipated high cost (estimates range up to $450,000) of bringing the houses into any existing sewage treatment system like the Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority, Bufkin asked council members to “bone up” on the topic. “It’s going to be something that we have to find a solution for,” Bufkin said.

State House Rep. Walt McLeod has already talked to concerned parties and is investigating possible federal funding for a modernization project and organizing a meeting between the town, DHEC and the corporation.

Town Council is also working up initial figures to discuss putting Forest Hills on its submission list to the Capital Penny Sales Tax Commission for consideration in the upcoming projects’ referendum.

Bufkin said the issue has come up over the years and has always been something shunted aside for its high cost and complicated property issues.

“It’s going to be the kind of thing nobody wants to touch.”

In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, council:

• Approved the first reading of an ordinance creating an administrator position over the police department. The position would be filled by appointment by the council and would have full oversight of hirings and promotions within the department. The administrator would bring a budget for approval before the council annually and then have responsibility for managing the department within that budget.

“My hope is that this will bring greater professionalism to the department,” Mayor Derek Underwood said.

• Voted to approve the lease of a folder/inserter for the town’s utility department to stuff envelopes with at a cost of $75 a month from Neopost. The money will come out of the maintenance budget along with a service contract for a year.

• Heard the bid to install handicap-accessible curbs on Main Street as part of a state grant has been “let” by the state. The town is still not aware of a timeline for the improvement.

• Heard that spring sports registration will be Jan. 20-Feb. 16 for tee ball, baseball and soccer.

• Heard the police department is directing traffic at Prosperity-Rikard Elementary School again. Council also discussed possibly marking the department’s new Dodge Charger so that citizens are aware of heightened patrols. It was agreed to look for an inexpensive used unmarked vehicle to replace it.

• Heard the Wightman United Methodist Church youth will be doing a beautification project at the Town Square.

• Heard Servpro will be coming in to clean carpet in the police department and spot clean rugs in the rest of the Town Center.