| Water,
sewer rates are raised 3%
Resolutions were passed at the Cottonwood City Council September meeting Monday, Sept. 11, that will raise water and sewer rates by 3% each. The new in-town base rate for water will be $22.29 with an additional charge of $2.05 per 1000 gallons used Out-of-town rates will be $33.45 base rate and $3.07 per 1000 gallons. The meter and dedicated fund charge will remain at $3.00 The new sewer base rate will be $21.73. The new rates will take effect as of October 1, 2006. Jim Steinke of Cottonwood has been appointed to the council to replace Max Nuxoll who has moved outside of town. Steinke will take over Nuxoll’s duties as Sewer Commissioner. Jack Duman was elected as new Council President to replace Nuxoll in that position. In the water report Jay Hinterlong reported that the Division of Environmental Quality made an inspection of the water system and came up with some concerns. The big one is that well #1, an abandoned well, needs to be filled in. Apparently it never was once it was abandoned. There were some other smaller problems that are being taken care of. Anitech did a random test of water at several homes around town and the results were very good on water quality. Static levels are looking very good in the wells. Due to the meters being read about a week later than usual due to the regular person being on vacation, they had the odd result of having sold more water than was pumped last month. The results will likely skew the other way in September when readings are back on their regular schedule. Summer hire Ashley Jackson is being trained as a backup meter reader to regular reader Laurie Workman. In the street report Jack Duman reported the state’s new street light project on Main St. is proceeding rapidly. They were looking to pour the bases either Tuesday or Wednesday and once they’ve cured a couple weeks, will be putting up the new poles. Work on Broadway is being done in anticipation of grant moneys. Duman reported the federal enhancement grants apparently won’t be funded this coming year. That’s the kind of grant they were applying for to upgrade the sidewalks. He said there is other federal money available but it would be 5 years out instead of 3. For that money they could apply to have Lewiston St. redone or the sidewalks. The council members voted to proceed with the sidewalks since they have already done a lot of prep work for that. Once the sidewalks are done on Lewiston St. that will also help with the eventual street reconstruction as they would have curbs and gutters in place where there currently aren’t any. Duman also would like to purchase a 13 yard dump truck that is coming available at White Bird. It would be paid for from funds in the truck reserve account. It looks like the price would be about $5,000 with possible some transmission repair. Otherwise the truck is in excellent shape for a 30-year old truck. It’s much bigger than the current truck the city uses and would be helpful with a lot of projects. Hinterlong made a motion to purchase the truck and after the second it was passed unanimously. In the Land and Buildings report Shelli Schumacher reported the dog pound was repainted by youth doing community service through the juvenile justice system. Roy Uhlenkott said he suggested to the Lions Club about redoing the roofs over the picnic tables at the park. Terry Cochran said the Eagle Scouts might also be interested in doing some of that work. There was no sewer report as Steinke is still being brought up to speed on what’s going on there. A new mutual aid agreement between the Cottonwood and Ferdinand Fire Departments was approved. This is just like the one Cottonwood has with Grangeville. Resources would be sent either way as is necessary and also to be sure that the respective towns are still covered. A proposal made by Max Nuxoll after the last meeting was discussed. Nuxoll had seen an article about volunteer firemen and EMT’s in some other community getting a break on their city utilities as a thank you for their service. City Attorney Joe Wright said that’s a nice idea but there’s a lot of legal issues. For one the bond requirements. For another the ordinances on the utility rates would need to be redone. For a third would there be IRS problems as this could be construed as income. Action was tabled for more study. Terry Cochran asked for a fee abandonment for the house he owns behind the Community Hall as it no longer has water service to it. It just used for storage and as a woodworking shop. The abandonment was approved with the stipulation the owner would have to pay the full cost if it is to be hooked up to water service again. John Mager appeared before the council seeking information on what he needs to do to proceed with putting a house on lots behind his home. He owns some lots there and wants to purchase the ones Don Hoene owns. Part of the property would be made into a playfield for his and neighborhood children while the rest would have a house he wants to move in from Craigmont. Councilors expressed some concerns about his wanting to extend the street down from Bruce Nuxoll’s and make a cul-de-sac. Mayor Denis Duman and street commissioner Jack Duman both said that they don’t need another Church St. or North St. type of street on that hillside. Jack Duman suggested having the house access King St. The council suggested Mager consult an engineer, as they would be aware of the safety and water access issues. Mager said he would look into his options further and get back with the city. The Verizon lease proposal was discussed. Wright reported their lawyer made some changes to the proposal sent back to Verizon that don’t benefit the city at all. Verizon wants an environmental coverage clause. Wright feels Verizon isn’t used to dealing with a taxing entity when leasing property. The council directed Wright to send a letter back telling them to either do it the way the city proposed or take their business elsewhere. Verizon wants to be able to use a pole at the Riding Club Arena site. The council adjourned at 9 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 10 due to the Columbus Day holiday on what would be their regular meeting date. |
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