Oct. 20--Tonight the Centerville City Council will discuss the police escort fee, the mayor's pay and listen to the third and final reading of an ordinance to increase wastewater rates due to state and federal mandates.

Once approved, the $13.05 charge Centerville residents see on their water department monthly bill will jump to $33.05. For non-residents who utilize the city's waste water sewers their surcharge rate will increase 100 percent and the new hook up fee to city sewer for property outside the city limits will be $3,000.

Back in September of this year the Iowa Department of Natural Resources sent city officials two letters explaining why the city's sewers needed to be upgraded.

"The Environmental Protection Agency has established environmental health and safety standards for disposal of wastewater sludge and has made one of their top priorities the elimination of sanitary sewer overflows and basement backups of sewage in the collection system," writes DNR officials in a letter dated Sept. 24 addressed to the mayor and city council. "Since almost every community in iowa must utilize the land application of sludge for disposal, as the only economically viable option, it is critical the the city of Centerville provide treatment of their wastewater sludge to ensure compliance with these standards. The proposed anaerobic digester project that the city is preparing to do is a key element in providing that required treatment of the wastewater sludge in order for the safe land application of their sludge."

Also on the agenda is an item to discuss the new city position of commission of municipal services and to consider the purchase of a truck for the Wastewater Department to haul sludge and to discuss a job classification for the department.

Other agenda items for tonight's meeting includes consideration of the final contractor change order and engineering agreement for the airport, set a time and date for a public hearing regarding a Community Development Block Grant Wastewater application, consider the engineering agreement for the Safe Routes to School project, consider resolution to expand the wastewater project to include lining and applying for financing for the entire project and lastly consider the $3,600 fee for Chariton Valley Planning and Development to prepare the CDBG Wastewater application and submittal.

One agenda item asks the council to consider "a payment plan to resolve a davis bacon we had with Keller Construction on the CDBG #1 storm sewer project." The agreement calls for the company to make payments in installments in the months of November and December of 2009 and January 2010 to employees who were underpaid.

The next Centerville CIty Council meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 2.

-----

To see more of the Daily Iowegian or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailyiowegian.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, Daily Iowegian, Centerville, Iowa

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.