At the Butler County Water Authority’s meeting Monday morning, administrative business was a key topic as the board made a decision to postpone officer elections given the current situation.

“Election of officers is generally in January, but maybe this isn’t an appropriate time,” said current chairman Lamar Giddens.

Giddens’ term is scheduled to expire at the end of February, and the Butler County Commission is currently considering Giddens and Margaret Pierce for appointment to the BCWA board.

There was question as to whether the bylaws allowed the postponing of elections, but board attorney Eric Bowen said there is a good reason.

“There is not a bylaw problem if you have a practical reason for it,” Bowen said.

The possibility of the replacement of a member would qualify as such a reason.

The concern was that if the board elected officers, they would be depriving a possible new member of the opportunity to have a seat as an officer.

In other business, the board received a report that their expenses for the year are actually under budget.

The estimate was for $96,000 in profit, but the number is actually around $116,000.

The board also approved an application for a grant for work at the industrial park.

Because of road construction, a tank and fence will have to be moved, but Artesian representative Wesley Bass said the move isn’t all bad.

“We’ve got a 16-inch line there with some leaks, and we could possibly get that grant money and save that repair bill,” he said

Bass also informed the board that they will be receiving payment for 234,000 gallons of water from the city of Greenville.

Bass said the city was flushing fire hydrants near the junction of Highways 10 and 31 and accidentally used county water because of a mix-up with the valves and connecting lines.

“They apologized and will send a check,” Bass said.

The next meeting of the BCWA is set for Feb. 23.