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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
A Mandt Apart page
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Was it an eagle or a hawk? page
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Monday, January 8, 2018
Christmas in the Philippines page
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Volume 33 Issue 16
Possible takeover of Crown Hill Cemetery page
County’s annual housekeeping
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Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
Fountain mulls over utility rates Lanesboro homeowners present petition to pave road to city council By H annah Wingert hannah@fillmorecountyjournal.com
See PAVE ROAD Page 2
Ostrander to fill council and maintenance vacancies By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
A regular meeting of the Ostrander City Council was held on January 2, with all members in attendance (DJ Start, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, newly hired City Clerk Wendy Brincks, outgoing City Clerk Christine Hyrkas, and Heidi Jones). City Attorney Jennifer Gumbel addressed the council with her ideas regarding how to deal with the issue of developing a Feed Lot ordinance, and related zoning. She suggested dealing with the issue in “two tiers” by first developing a Feed Lot ordinance, and then bringing the issue to the Zoning Board sometime after the February
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city council meeting is held. Pam Kunert asked, “Would that be something that some of us council members could sit in on?” Gumbel replied that council attendance and involvement would be very beneficial, and she will check to see how that can best be accomplished without violating any regulations about council meetings. The council asked Gumbel about the proper way to deal with the open seat on the city council following Erin Volkart’s departure from the council. There was discussion that because the majority of Erin’s term is still remaining, the options are to either leave the See VACANCIES Page 9
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The Fountain City Council is holding a community meeting January 10 regarding proposed utility rate increases. At the January 3 council meeting, Councilors Chad Wangen, left, and Jim Schott poured over the possible rate adjustments. Photo by Kirsten Zoellner By K irsten Zoellner and an additional $20 base or more than doubling the currate for water. Total annual rent rate. These still leave the kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com city expenses for 2016 were city noticeably in the red and The first meeting of the year $182,384. Water usage for the the last option was noted as for the Fountain council was year was 8,550,584 gallons, the break-even point; the point largely comprised of contin- with water usage per connec- at which the city isn’t losing ued discussion on proposed tion of 48,308 gallons or an money operating the utility. increases to the sewer/water average of 132 gallons per day. According to Hagemeier, an utility rates. A community “At a cost per thousand gallons, annual base rate of $86 per meeting to discuss the matter that’s $21.33 and you’re charg- connection, while reducing the and take public input is slated ing just $30 for 3,000 gallons. minimum gallons to 1,000, for Wednesday, January 9, at 7 I think you can see where we’re would see the see gaining just p.m., at the community cen- headed,” said Tim Hagemeier $280 per year in utility revin November. According to the enue. ter. In discussing the options, it analysis, the utility has a deficit City Clerk Rhonda Flattum appears there are more ques- of roughly $118,664, which was directed at the December tions than answers for the city. was also noted at the last city meeting to review the engineering costs related to sewer Tim Hagemeier, representative audit. MN Rural Water, presented Options originally pro- and water, to see if the rate scenarios to the council in posed included lowering the at which the city is in the November, but using current minimum usage from 3,000 black could be lowered due to calculations, the council was to 1,000 gallons per month. reduced engineering costs. The unable to determine possible Additionally, Hagemeier indi- costs have been unusually high cated three possibilities for the as the city worked to mainrate variations. Currently, properties are rate: continuing the annual tain compliance at the wastecharged a base rate of $30 per $30 base rate or increasing the 3,000 gallons for sewer service base rate to $50 or $75, nearly See FOUNTAIN MULLS Page 10
In 100% agreement, the homeowners on the gravel road stretch of Zenith Street presented a petition signed by each one of them to the Lanesboro City Council at their January 2, 2018, meeting. At the December 4 council meeting, Zenith Street resident Phil Dybing had asked the council to reconsider their decision not to pave the gravel section of the road. They advised him to collect signatures on a petition and return when he had done so. Dybing was accompanied at the January meeting by other residents from Zenith Street, all of whom voiced their desire to see the street paved. Dybing felt that doing so
would encourage people to build new homes on the road, increasing Lanesboro’s tax base. “Let’s get this done and maybe we can get a house or two out there,” Council member Tom Smith stressed. Council member Marge Drake agreed. “I think we definitely need to expand our tax base,” she said. Council member Jason Resseman wasn’t so sure, pointing out that blacktopping the road was not a guarantee that people would want to build homes there. Mayor Autumn Johnson assured the homeowners that the council is working on a plan to fix the city streets and infrastructure and currently have a map available with