Brice Garne
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Aug. 28, 2019 UPSP 213-200
Vol. 155, No. 14
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Sewer bonds refinanced, city saves $174,000, water contracts drafted
The City of Gallatin has been discussing possible refinancing of its sewer bonds and sewer projects that could be funded through the savings if the city could refinance. City Administrator Lance Rains has been researching possible rates. At the city meeting held Aug. 26, Steve Goehl with D.A. Davidson presented refinancing options for the sewer bonds. The financial services company reached out to over 20 banks and received four responses. The best rate was from Bank Midwest (NBH Bank) with a 3.10% rate for 20 years, which would result in a savings of $174,000 for the city. The board accepted D.A. Davidson’s proposal to refinance the sewer bonds with Bank Midwest (NBH Bank) at a rate of 3.10%. Discussion was held on the United States Department of Agriculture water purchase contract with Public Water Supply District #2 and the agreement between PWSD#2 and Caldwell County. Rains has been collecting area rates for comparison. The board moved to draft the USDA contract with PWSD#2 to include $9/per 1,000 gallons and $18/per 1,000 gallons for water in excess of 4,000,000 gallons. The board also agreed to allow PWSD#2 to supply water to Caldwell County PWSD #2 as long as the City of Gallatin is provided verification to the supply meter. Herzog pushed the street resurfacing project to August/ September due to the floods and issues getting sand and supplies. Herzog will be resurfacing East and West Van Buren. A list of streets was presented at an earlier meeting, which the city plans to start on for laying oil and chips, but may not finish if they run out of materials. Chip prices were approved from Tragger Quarry: ¼-inch washed $13.15 per ton, $5.50 per ton delivery. Oil prices were approved from Vance Brothers: $2.70 per gallon, $420 per trip. The oil and chip/seal has been delivered, but street crews are having issues with the oilier truck. They have replaced one cylinder, but there is still an electronic issue with the truck. Crews have only been able to chip/seal two different one block streets because of the truck issues and rainy weather. DNR is requiring a comprehensive sewer collection and treatment plan to be drafted
and implemented for repairs and improvements. The amount of storm water being collected and reaching the city’s treatment plant needs to be reduced. Morey stated the causes for additional storm water collection occurring included: broken pipes, cleanouts without caps, collapsed pipes, down spouts, sump pumps, storm drains, vented manhole lids, and root intrusion into manholes. At an earlier meeting the board discussed the need to replace a main electric feeder line pole from an H structure to a ductile-iron pole. Farmer’s Electric also utilizes the pole, but the city’s lines are at the top of the pole making it the city’s responsibility to replace it. Scobee was approved for labor and equipment for $9,000. After gathering quotes, Morey purchased and transported a $1,400 ductile line pole from Kearney to complete the replacement. Scobee plans to change out the transmission line pole the first week of September. Morey has been working on a tree trimming bid packet for contractors for electric right-ofways, but requested the board consider including street rightof-way tree trimming in the 2020 budget. The board reviewed the recommended tree trimming policy and road tube replacement policy. Administrator Rains will work with Attorney Cowherd to move the recommendations to policy. Police Chief Mark Richards submitted a report on activity for Aug. 26: 1-Civil Standby; 1-Theft Automobile; 1-Welfare Check; 1-Counterfeiting; 1-Sexual Assault; 1-Welfare Check; 1-Traffic Accident with Damage; 1-Burglary; 1-Burglary from Motor Vehicle; 4-Juvenile Problem; 1-Domestic Disturbance; 2-Runaway Juvenile. There are no dogs in the pound. Public Works Director Mark Morey reported that electric crews responded to several power outages due to lightening. The outages were restored by replacing three different transformers and removing a tree limb on the lines. The new water plant has been running well the past month. The water clarity is improving, the walls haven’t leaked recently, and the CO2 treatment has been corrected. Morey will be meeting with Ross Construction to discuss unfinished items. (Continued on page three)
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Farm Lease Class to be held in Gallatin
MU Extension will present a Missouri Farm Lease Program on September 24, 2019, in Gallatin at the First Christian Church, located at 1501 S. Main St. The program will be from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., and a light meal will be provided. Pre-registration is required by September 20. “Farm leases are a popular topic given common current cash rent levels and volatile crop prices. Landlords and tenants need to understand the terms and expectations to develop a satisfactory agreement for both parties” said Mary Sobba, agriculture business specialist with University of Missouri Extension and one of the workshop presenters. “There are many issues both farm landlords and tenants need to be aware of and this program is designed to address these issues” according to Sobba. Farm lease topics to be addressed in the class include:
current cash rents in Missouri and trends, items to include in a lease, terminating a farm lease – when and how to do it legally, recreational (hunting) leases – what you should be aware of, and livestock and crop share arrangements – keeping them fair for both sides. The program will be presented by a team of agricultural business specialists with MU Extension, who have worked with both tenants and landlords for many years. The program will be presented by distance learning so the audience can see and interact with all of the instructors, as well as instructors from the other sites (five sites total). Contact the Harrison County Extension Center at (660) 425-6434 or email spainhowerj@missouri. edu for fee information or if you would like to register to attend. University of Missouri extension programs are open to all interested persons.
Storm Warn offers warnings, records extreme weather in surrounding area
The picture was taken in June west of Maysville and south of King City and first appeared on the Northwest Missouri Storm Warn page. Storm Warn has been up for about five years. Most of the pictures are taken by Jerry Buzzard of Maysville while he is out and about, but a few are sent in by followers. Jerry says his scariest experience as a storm watcher happened about six or seven years ago, when a tornado went through part of Fairport, north of Maysville. “I was probably only about 200 yards from the destruction path,” he says. “It was a small tornado, so I was safe. But, it happened at night.”
Jerry, who says he is related to the Kings around Gallatin, was five weeks old, when a tornado blew his mother, himself, and his two brothers out of a house near Maysville. “Actually, as a small child, I was terrified of storms,” Jerry says. “Then when I was about 18, I saw a tornado up close. I was hooked. I used to just alert my friends of impending severe weather, then I thought, why not just alert all of northwest Missouri.” Storm Warn welcomes new viewers. Currently 17,763 ‘like’ the page and 17,812 actually follow the page on Facebook. (Continued on page 2)
Every time you flush the stool or turn on the tap…
Heavy rains, high waters threaten Magill Bridge The Daviess County Commissioners will be meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers at 11 a.m. on Sept. 6, to discuss the Magill Bridge. The bridge is being threatened by the Grand River, which has been turbulent through this extremely wet year. The question will be: How to save the bridge. In general there are two main approaches for river bank stabilization: strengthening the bank through hard approaches, like riverbank riprap and retaining walls, or softer approaches, like bioengineering and vegetation. The Commission talked to one bridge company, which estimated it would take a million dollars to install riprap, or loose rocks, on the bank. The Commission will be looking into getting financial help for the project from Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) or other public assistance programs. Highway O ends on the north side of the Magill bridge. Saber, the gravel road on the south side of the bridge, has been lost to the caving river bank. Along with the Corps, members of the Missouri Department of Transportation, and the Union Township are expected to attend the meeting. The Magill Bridge was constructed in September, 1996. The bridge is 468 feet long and 26 feet wide, and cost about $1,334,000. The following information is based on the Grand River Watershed Inventory and Assessment prepared by Greg Pitchford, Fisheries Management Biologist and Harold Kerns, Northwest Fisheries Regional Supervisor. Streambanks: Streambanks along most of the reaches are highly susceptible to erosion. Channels are often incised so deeply that streamside vegetation offers little erosion protection and the establishment of streambank vegetation often is limited to herbaceous, viney plants with shallow root systems. Many streambanks are taller than 15 feet and are eroding at a rapid rate. Lateral erosion rates of 15-30 feet annually are not (Continued on page 3)
Availability of water — a priceless commodity often overlooked by T.L. Huffman, staff writer
It’s a miraculously common substance: water. Each person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day. Just as most people don’t understand how a car is built unless they work at an automobile manufacturing plant, most people are unfamiliar with the water purification process. “I find that a lot of people have no idea of where their water comes from,” says Roger Barker, water operator for Lake Viking. He is also District 1 Director of the Missouri Rural Water Association, which
serves 15 counties in northwest Missouri. “In our case we pull water out of Lake Viking and run it through our treatment plant. Other districts in our county buy Roger Barker their water. Their source is usually an underground well supply.” Early water systems in Missouri were simple basins or ponds. The water was pumped from the basin to the home with no filtration and no disinfectant. It’s no surprise that waterborne illnesses like
cholera, dysentery, and typhoid ran rampant. Today, water systems are complex systems using technological advancements to filter and purify water for drinking — even though most water used in the household is not used for drinking. Most of it is used to flush the stool, then to shower and bathe. Still, the water is filtered as though every drop of it will go for human consumption. Regardless of the source of the water, contaminants abound which must be removed. Whether water travels over the
ground or soaks through the ground, it picks stuff up along the way — viruses and bacteria from sewage plants and septic systems; pesticides and herbicides from agriculture; radioactive contaminants from oil and gas production; copper and lead from the corrosion of household plumbing systems — just to name a few. “As far as the daily sampling at the plant and samples that we send to the state lab, few people have any idea of the contaminates that we test for,” Barker says. “Water operators add chemicals
Baby Show, Melodrama, more at Gallatin’s Chautauqua on Sept. 20-21
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Updates online all the time:
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