Photo by Wanda Hanson
The Fountain City Council once again discussed the possibility of replacing the city truck at their regular meeting September 2. Mayor Ron Reisner shared that he’d found a 2004 Chevrolet C5500 which was the same as a F-550 Ford. The truck, located in Elk Mound, had been put up for bids with an asking price of $20,000. Two low bids have already been rejected by the owners.
Councilman Jordan Kerns expressed his concern that this vehicle would not be much of an improvement, “Going up two years would not be enough gain for the city; it’s just less rusty.” Kerns felt they would do better if they shopped around more.
City Clerk Mary Tjepkes pointed out that the audit had just been finished so they would be able to check on exactly how much would be available to spend. “We should have a decent amount in our equipment fund.”
Councilwoman Tammy Danielson agreed, commenting that she felt they should get something that’s better quality. “We’ll soon know what we have in our budget,” she added.
The council decided to take care of some minor issues on the current city truck and put it up for bids. Kerns will look for a suitable replacement for the truck. The little gray truck will be taken in for needed repairs.
Web Page and Database
Councilwoman Tammy Danielson reported on her research into the city web page and database. She shared that the database programs she’d found would be able to easily cross reference with other data bases. Danielson had contacted the League of Minnesota Cities to ask for their recommendation for a database program.
Fountain had previously contacted SMG Web Design in 2024; Danielson spoke with them again. She pointed out that SMG had provided other web pages they had done as examples. SMG will cross reference with the city Facebook page; they are willing to work with the city to show staff how to add their own information to the site if they want to. The proposed charge would be $179 a month or $1,800 a year.
The information was just brought to share with the council members for their information at their meeting. Danielson suggested they consider the item at their next meeting.
Tienter House
The council discussed Tom and Julie Tienter’s proposed home construction. A neighbor of the property came to the council meeting to check on the city code for building. The code calls for construction to be 10 feet from the property line. The neighbor commented that, according to his tape measure, the staked location was less than that.
Rick Whitney of Environmental Water Services, LLC, who has been taking care of the wastewater treatment plant, had some questions. He was concerned whether there was another tie-in behind the house. The sewer main is right in front of the house; the septic tank is to be located behind the house between the house and garage.
The council decided to table the proposed construction until October. No building permit has been applied for at this time.
Preliminary Budget
Clerk Tjepkes informed the council that the preliminary city budget for next year had to be turned in at the county by September 20. After consideration, the council approved the 2026 tax levy, collectible in 2027. The total tax levy was set at $275,000. This provided $160,000 for general tax levy, $65,000 for sewer tax levy, $35,000 for capital improvement tax levy and $15,000 for equipment fund tax levy.
The LGA (Local Government Aid) from the state has not been sent yet. Calculations were based on the same amount as last year or slightly higher.
Tjepkes reminded the fire department that their relief association paperwork needs to be submitted by September 15.
Speed Limit Sign
Councilman Cory Spratte requested that the speed limit be lowered on his street. With 12 kids on the street, he wanted the limit changed to 15 or 20 mph. “I’ll even volunteer to put up the sign!” Spratte exclaimed. He shared that drivers had been driving way too fast for the kids’ safety. The council approved putting up a reduced speed limit sign.
The council also discussed the issue of residents mowing grass into the street. They reminded the public that doing that is against Minnesota state law and offenders can be fined.
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