Holiday Express Photos
Bid for Future Traffic Control Lights Under Estimate
Boys’ Basketball, Wrestling Teams Continue to Roll
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SECOND YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, DECEMBER 11, 2013
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 50
City Water Usage Rates Proposed to Increase 36%, Public Hearing Next Week Sewer Usage Rates Also Going Up by Over 30 Percent
The Belle Plaine City Council will hold a public hearing next Monday (Dec. 16) to give the public an opportunity to comment on proposed increases to the city fee schedule, which will take effect Jan. 1. The public hearing is scheduled to begin shortly after 6 p.m. The increases that will (if ad-
opted) have the biggest impact on most residents will be in water and sewer usage fees and rates (see accompanying table). The base fee for water is proposed to go up 15 percent and the usage fee by 36 percent. Fixed sewer and usage rates are recommended to increase by 15 and 32 percent, respectively. If the proposed water and sewer increases are approved, the projected total residen-
Usage Rates
(continued on page 16)
Proposed Rate Increases from 2013 to 2014
Rosie and Eric Lemke, their eldest son and family friends sifted through the charred rubble of a granary destroyed by fire Saturday evening. The blaze at the farmhouse on Merid-
ian Circle killed 24 chickens and destroyed outdoor toys and Christmas decorations. Investigators are preliminarily considering an electrical failure as the cause of the blaze.
Area Family Loses Granary, Chickens and Decorations in Fire
A Belle Plaine area family is dealing with the untimely loss of a grain bin, two-dozen chickens their sons were raising and several outdoor toys and Christmas decorations after a fire Saturday night. The fire was at Rosie and Erick Lemke’s rented farmhouse at 24750 Meridian Circle just south of Belle Plaine off County Road 3.
The fire in the building spread quickly. Firefighters got the call at 6:30 p.m. When they arrived several minutes later, they found the granary fully engulfed in flames. Its roof had already collapsed, said Belle Plaine Fire Chief Todd Otto. Firefighters from Belle Plaine and several area communities kept the flames from spreading to other nearby buildings with-
in 10 or 15 feet and the house about 25 feet from the burning granary. Other firefighters attacked the flames, bringing them under control within 25 minutes. Good fortune and luck helped keep the fire from spreading to other buildings on the property. The couple had just moved their bedroom to a lower level room on a side of the house closest to
School District Proposed Levy Not Enough to Draw Taxpayers’ Ire
If property owners in the Belle Plaine School District are upset over the school board’s proposed increase for 2014, they weren’t willing to voice their dismay during the annual truth-in-taxation public hearing Monday night. The board is proposing a 4.32 percent increase for next year. The impact of the increase is $51 to a house with a valuation of $150,000 for tax purposes. There was no comment on the proposed levy increase from
taxpayers. Tuesday, Superintendent Kelly Smith said he’s recommending a reduction in the 2014 final levy from the preliminary version the board OK’d this fall. Smith and the board are aiming for a levy increase that would reduce the increase to below 3 percent. The money to reduce the growth of the levy will come from debt service fund balance. Smith told the board cutting the growth of the property tax levy to 2.16 percent would cost
the granary building the day before. Erick was about to take a nap at 6:25 p.m. before leaving for his overnight job delivering newspapers when he smelled smoke and saw the orange glow of flames from the burning building. Rosie was not at home when the fire broke out. “If I was still upstairs, I never would have seen it until much
Fire
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(Average City Usage is 4,000 Gallons)
Residential Water Usage Rates Per 1,000 Gallons Up to 2,000 Up 36% $1.63 to $2.22 2,001 to 4,000 Up 36% $2.45 to $3.33 4,001 and Above Up 36% $4.46 to $6.07 Commercial Water Usage Rates Per 1,000 Gallons Up to 4,000 Up 36% $1.65 to $2.24 4,001 to 24,000 Up 36% $2.48 to $3.37 24,001 and Above Up 36% $4.52 to $6.15 Residential Sewage Rates Based on Water Usage Up to 2,000 Up 32% $3.19 to $4.21 2,001 to 4,000 Up 32% $3.74 to $4.94 4,001 and Above Up 32% $7.55 to $9.97 Commercial Sewage Rates Based on Water Usage Up to 4,000 Up 32% $3.23 to $4.26 4,0001 to 24,000 Up 32% $3.78 to $4.99 24,001 and Above Up 32% $7.69 to $10.15
about $100,000. “We talked about that in the fall. That’s the target,” he said. The school board is slated to pass the final 2014 property tax levy at its final meeting of 2013, Monday, Dec. 23, 6 p.m. As presented Monday night, the district’s proposed 2014 levy reflects tax collections of $4,641,256.50 – a proposed in-
Proposed Levy
(continued on page 5)
Slippery Going
Highway 169 in front of Emma Krumbee’s in Belle Plaine was the site of a crash Monday morning, in which no one was seriously injured. Scenes like this have been a common sight along the 169 corridor and elsewhere in the state as a prolonged arctic assault and a couple of significant snowfalls have kept roads on the slick side. Continued below average temperatures and some snow showers are in the forecast for the rest of this week.
Norm Pint New Manager Belle Players for Scott County Fair The Scott County Fair Board recently elected to hire Norm Pint as its new manager. The hire came after the departure of Brad Woodward earlier this fall. Woodward was with the fair for less than a year, having replaced longtime manager Jim Luce.
Pint, whose wife Lori is a longtime Scott County Fair Board member, has been able to keep abreast of fair matters for a number of years as he often sits in the audience during meetings. Also recently, Jerry Kucera and Doug Schmitt were named to the fair board, while Megan Ryan was elected president of the board and Pete Shutrop vice president.
Holiday Play Cancelled
The Belle Players planned presentation of “A Tuna Christmas” for this year’s holiday show has been cancelled due to not getting enough people to audition for it earlier this fall. The play was scheduled to be performed this Thursday through Sunday.
Building a House for Santa Belle Plaine Public Works employee Tim Nytes, left, and Mayor Mike Pingalore are among those who have been helping build the new community Santa House that is scheduled to open this week on the vacant lot at the intersection of Main and Meridian streets downtown. Also instrumental in its construction (not pictured) are Public Works Superintendent Al Fahey and employee Mike Herrmann. The hours have not been determined yet but it’s expected Santa will be available to visit with kids at least the next two Fridays and Saturdays. Construction of the house, which is about 12x7 feet wide and 12 feet high, is expected to be completed by Thursday. It will be painted red with a white roof and white trim. The paint is being donated by Steffen’s Hardware. Siwek Lumber donated the materials and Gregory Electric is donating the lights for the house. Berger Interiors is providing carpeting. Portable heaters will be used to help keep Santa and his visitors warm. The Belle Plaine Lutheran Home is donating candy canes for Santa’s visitors. The house is being built to come apart in sections for easier transport and storage. When announced, the hours Santa will be available will be posted at www.belleplaineherald.com and/or the Herald’s Facebook page.