Pioneer PINE CITY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016
VOL. 131 NO. 7 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
SENATOR COMES TO TOWN: Senator Al Franken spends morning in Pine City. P8
Pine City water, sewer rates going up BY HENRY FISCHER NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
The Pine City Council has approved a 10 percent increase in the city’s water rates plus a two percent increase in sewer rates. While the percentages seem high, the bottom-line financial impact on residential city water and sewer bills is relatively small, representing one tenth of one cent per gallon. For a typical residential home that uses 3,800 gallons of water per month, the combined water and sewer rate increase amounts to about $4.50 per month ($3.80 for water plus 76
cents for sewer). City Administrator Ken Cammilleri said the increases are necessary to bring revenue more in line with the city’s costs to provide water and sewer service. Mayor Carl Pederson also pointed out that the city doesn’t want to raise rates and, in fact, the monthly service charge will remain the same – in the range of $12 to $50 per month – depending on the size of the water meter. City officials noted that this estimate may not necessarily reflect the experience of all utility customers as utility con-
WATER/SEWER RATE CHANGES (FOR 3,800 GALLONS/MONTH) January’s bill (old rate) Water $34.20 Sewer $28.50 Service fee $12.00 State tax $0.53 TOTAL $75.23 sumption rates are affected by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the number of individuals living in the household and the amount of water usage per individual within a household. Consumption also may be affected significantly by water intensive activities
February’s bill (new rate) Water $38.00 Sewer $29.26 Service fee $12.00 State tax $0.53 TOTAL $79.79 like the watering of lawns. Pederson also encouraged residents to look into ways to conserve water and energy. He noted that free water conservation kits are available from Minnesota Energy that include low-flow showerheads and kitchen and bath faucet
Difference between bills Water $3.80 Sewer $0.76 TOTAL $4.56
aerators to help reduce water consumption. East Central Energy also offers $400 rebates on high efficiency off-peak electric storage water heaters. For customers who purchase water in bulk, the cost of a 1,000 SEE RATES, PAGE 15
PHOTO PROVIDED
Snowmobilers gather for the Winter Rendezvous.
Flames make most of snow at Rendezvous BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
PHOTO PROVIDED
Choir students lift voices at All-Conference Festival Pine City students recently hosted the All-Conference Choir and Band Festival. Students from all around the area rehearsed all day with director Dr. Bret Amundson from St. Scholastica. Students who participated from Pine City were: (back row) Derek Pearson, Andrew Clementson, Adam Archambault, Luke LeBrun, Hector Matute, Nathan Kleppe, Beau Steele, Remington Steele; (third row) Tiffany Schmidt, Kyle Peters, Cordell Major, Natalie Cahill, Angela DeGray, Hailey Hippen, Sam Carr, Emily Overtoom; (second row) Jacob Weber, Brianna Huntington, Jenae Belko, Karissa Soderbeck, Doreena Phillips, Maddie Stumbaugh; (front row) Ally Sutter, Susie Holt, Nicole Peters, Ashli Webster and Janae Johnson.
There may not have been perfect sledding conditions in Pine County this past weekend, but snowmobilers from all around Minnesota made the best of it at their 2016 Winter Rendezvous. This annual Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association event, which travels to a different part of Minnesota each year, was awarded in 2016 to the Hinckley-Pine City Flames Snowmobile Club. With the support of local clubs Northern Pine Riders, Rush City Sno-Bugs and E. C. Riders, the Flames members poured hundreds of hours of volunteer labor into preparing for this year’s celebration SEE RENDEZVOUS, PAGE 15
THREE SIGNS YOU HAVE THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE COMPANY!
RESULTS REALTY PINE CITY OFFICE 320-629-7541 CLASSIFIED ADS 763-689-1181 ext. 101 brenda@countystar.com
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