Peterson Averages Rate; Considers Citizen Complaint

There were several agenda items on the agenda of the May 13 Peterson Council meeting and several in attendance. Tracy Seelbinder was absent.

One item of consideration, approved unanimously, was the adjustment of the electric rates in effort to minimize rate swings. The rates vary depending on time of year, type of fuel, and type of meter. The city currently had eight electric rate classes: Dual Fuel Off-Peak, Duel-Fuel On-Peak, Electric No-Tax Off-Peak, Electric No-Tax On-Peak, 3-Phase, Hotel, Household Off-Peak, and Household On-Peak. On-Peak is the the months of June, July, and August.

“Instead of raising rates across the board and changing rates from winter to summer, we would like one constant rate,” said City Clerk Chris Gindland.

The change would bring all to a base rate of $0.136 per kilowatt hour, while still keeping the duel-fuel advantage over the winter at $.08. It would reflect increases of $0.011-0.02 in most five rate classes and no change to three. Other than a meter adjustment, the city hasn’t raised the electric rate in over eight years.

“This would keep them consistent throughout the year instead of raising a little here and a little there. That way everybody pays the same,” added Grindland.

In other news, Mayor Chris Stenzel informed the council a citizen complaint letter was received from several residents regarding dust from the grain bins in the city. Formerly owned by Chuck’s Feed & Grain, the site was sold to Greg Smith in October 2021.

Terry and Lori Pelzl were present to discuss the complaint and noted the entire town wasn’t canvassed about the concerns, but the area around the site was. Terry Pelzl noted only one person talked to didn’t see a concern. Concerns included the dust created by the activity at the grain bins, chemical sprayed on the corn and what happens to it during the drying process, the overall air quality of neighboring residents and businesses, and the debris caused during dumping, loading, and drying. The Pelzels indicated they have an expensive air filtration system for their business, yet their walls are orange from sucking in the dust.

“We were told we should get better filters. We can’t stop that, but we don’t know what else to do. We can’t have that going into our business. We just can’t,” said Terry Pelzl. “We’re encouraging new businesses to come and start here, but it’s hard.”

Local business owner Matt Helgemoe spoke to possible mitigations that can be done, having previously owned a grain bin site himself.

“I know there’s things that can be done. It’s never going to be perfect, but it certainly can be mitigated somewhat,” he said. “I get it, I farm. He’s got to figure out a way to be a good community member and mitigate it someway.”

Councilor Justin Simon did look into the concerns and nuisance control for dust. The city does not currently have an ordinance for that issue, so the city’s control at this point is minimal. However, he did suggest the city could discuss the issue with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to find out options. Simon stressed conversations with Smith may be the place to start. Pelzl noted when the issue was brought forward last year, the city encouraged the same action, which he took. Unfortunately, it didn’t gain any traction forward.

“That’s why we did what we did. We have no where else to go,” said Pelzl.

Stenzel stated that he and Grindland meet with Smith, noting activity at the grain bins has increased ten fold since it’s operation by Chuck’s Feed & Grain. If things don’t progress positively, the city will consider next steps. Councilor Kristina Grindland suggested it would be advantageous for the city to talk about what’s needed for an ordinance to be put in place.

“I think we need to get started. It’s been over a year,” echoed Councilor Gail Boyum.

Helgemoe further offered that the issue is being seen elsewhere, which he said is why many agricultural sites have moved outside of city limits.

“I’m guessing there will be some precedence somewhere that they can draw from, ‘cause this ain’t the first one,” he added.

Also in attendance was engineer Scott Huneke from WHKS with an engineering agreement for lead service line replacement. The city conducted a mandated mapping of all service lines for the state’s Copper and Lead and Copper Rule. 24 lines in the city were identified as having lead or galvanized connections. A state grant will provide for the replacement of those lines. The agreement allows WHKS to seek bids for the project. As long as the bids received fall within the grant amount allowed, there will be no cost to the city for the replacements.

Public Works Director Jeff Rein made Huneke aware of one service that was already replaced by the property owner and asked if reimbursement for costs was allowable. Unfortunately, Huneke stated that all replacement needs to be done through the state program and the selected contractor in order to be financially covered. The council approved the agreement unanimously.

Also approved at the meeting was a request by the county for the city to approve the procedure for the governing of write-in vote counting during elections and two liquor license issuances, one for the Frosty Tiger and Batch Kitchen, both new Peterson restaurants.