Woodsboro council member Jeanette Chandler was the lone holdout Tuesday night for a sewer-rate reduction to compensate a local residence for noise on his property.

Edgar Blaschke asked the council to consider giving him free or reduced sewer rates since a lift station pump makes his property noisy and city employees come and go without his knowledge.

“I never know who is out there,” Blaschke said. “The pump runs all through the night so I feel like there’s some liability to it.”

Fred Farias, public works director, affirmed Blaschke’s claims that the pump is indeed noisy.

“The recent rains cause the pump to run more than usual,” Farias said.

Mayor George Hernandez suggested that approving Blaschke’s request, might open “a can of worms.”

“I’m not against it, I just don’t want to go through this month after month,” Hernandez said.

City attorney Donald Kubicek said the town is not obligated to provide anything to the current landowner since the lift station was on the property when Blachke purchased the land.

“Once you’ve got it, you’ve got it,” Kubicek said. “You had the easement. You can do what you need to do.”

The easement was purchased for $1 from the Harsdorf estate before homes were built in the area, according to Edgar Blaschke.

Council member Jimmy Blaschke asked the court to set aside the fact his father made the request.

In a three to one vote, Edgar Blaschke was granted a set $20 sewer rate. The current rate for rural customers is approximately $37 per month. Council member Jimmy Blaschke, who is Edgar’s son, abstained from voting. Council member Larry Jochetz made the motion and Debra Bolcik amd Minerva Cisneros carried the motion.