At the March 13 meeting, the Peterson Council heard from WHKS engineer Scott Huneke regarding plans for a new well and ground storage tank. Through WHKS, the city will apply to state and federal entities to upgrade its public water system. WHKS secured some preliminary estimates and will present them to the council.
Councilors Tracy Seelbinder and Gail Boyum recounted their recent visit to St. Paul for City Day on the Hill, an opportunity for local government officials to meet at the capitol. Coordinated by the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), it’s an informative opportunity for city government officials to meet with local legislators, discuss city needs, and push for assistance for small towns.
LMC held the event on March 7. Seelbinder and Boyum met with Representative Greg Davids and staff and discussed various items, including grant funding for the water system updates.
“He was accurate about getting grant writers in there. We got all the attention,” said Seelbinder. “We’ll get on the list and maybe make it up the list. Nothing is guaranteed. He sounded pretty positive,” he added.
“It’s not going to be a project that will happen overnight, but we can be proactive,” said Stenzel. “Maybe we’ll have something in the next two to four years, but we’ll have a plan.”
In other news, the city’s ongoing water connection inspection is nearly complete. Just two properties remain on the list. The state requires the inspection as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead Copper Rule mapping aimed at monitoring public drinking water systems and taking action if the level of lead or copper is above the set threshold.
“We’re good to go to submit it to the state,” Stenzel said.
There was a recent issue with the city’s lift station pump. Public Works Director Tim Hallum noted he was unaware its previous contractor for this work was no longer in business. Working with the City of Rushford’s Public Works, Hallum contacted MN Pump Works.
“We had to scramble,” said Hallum. “I called them at 7 a.m. They were here by 11 a.m. It was really a good response,” he added. The company had some previous experience with the city’s wastewater setup. Hallum further applauded their work.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m. at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
Leave a Reply