At the November 1 meeting, the Fountain Council learned from Public Works Director John Hanson that the city must replace a part at the north lift station repair, located near the intersection of Highway 52 and County Road 11. “This past weekend, we noticed one pump was running almost 24 hours a day,” said Hanson. After inspection with Dan Shimota of W.W. Geotsch & … [Read more...]

Nuisance complaints continue to roll into Fountain City Hall. At the September 6 meeting, the city council discussed the ongoing complaints and how to deal with them. “It’s the same old, same old,” said City Clerk Mary Tjepkes. “Noise complaints.” Mayor Tammy Danielson wants to investigate further with the League of Minnesota Cities and determine the difference between a … [Read more...]

Last month, following citizen complaints and years of rampant speeding on Cedar Street, the Fountain Council unanimously approved installing a four-way stop at the intersection of Cedar and Third Street, which is about halfway down the length of Cedar Street. At the time, they also discussed the extension of temporary speed bumps, making it impossible to go around and move the … [Read more...]

At the July 5 meeting, the Fountain Council discussed in length a number of citizen complaints. They included both noise during the day and after the 10 p.m. noise cutoff, as well as parking and street concerns. “Some of them are kind of nit-picky,” said Councilor David Gudmundson, who’d requested the complaints be discussed. No identifying information was given during the … [Read more...]

Amid several comments of celebration at the June 7 council meeting, the City of Fountain finally saw its stipulation agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) end. As reported in the Fillmore County Journal in August 2017, the agency approved the new plant in 2009 and began operation the following January. In 2015, MPCA notified the city of a violation. The … [Read more...]

At the May 3 meeting, the Fountain Council unanimously approved a 50-year lease of city-owned land to Harmony Telephone Company. The plot of land at 91 Pine Street is roughly 50 feet by 50 feet. A 10-foot by 20-foot “hut building” will be constructed to house the company’s fiber optic equipment. City Clerk Mary Tjepkes contacted the cities of Wykoff, Lanesboro, and Preston … [Read more...]

After months of discussion, the City of Fountain has selected a new engineer. At the April 5 meeting, the council unanimously approved hiring Bolton & Menk. The firm’s work agreement will be on a per-project basis. They included a fixed fee if the city wanted an assessment of its wastewater treatment plant. The council cited the firm’s experience and recommendations from … [Read more...]

Maintenance of the wastewater treatment plant is an ongoing issue for Fountain. Noting dissatisfaction and lack of communication with the current city engineer, the council began looking for a new engineer last month. As a result, three companies attended the March 1 meeting to provide information. Mike Saunders, project manager from AE2S, noted the company’s focus on water … [Read more...]

At the February 1 meeting, the Fountain council discussed the need for a new engineer, particularly the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city hired Widseth Smith Nolting for engineering services, beginning in 2019, with Craig Britton serving as city engineer. Work includes the wastewater treatment plant, streets, zoning projects, comprehensive plan, and mapping. Before … [Read more...]

Fountain City Clerk Mary Tjepkes swore in three new council members at the January 4 meeting. Included were Mayor Tammy Danielson and Councilors Cory Sprattle and Jordan Kerns. Councilors continuing their terms are Dave Gudmundson and Colleen Foehrenbacher. After approving the monthly bills and financials, Public Works Director John Hanson requested the council approve the … [Read more...]