Communication is the key

The Mantorville City council will be holding the first public hearing on the new waste water treatment plant options. This meeting will start at 6:30pm on March 25 at the Fire Station. The final option that the city chooses will affect the residents sewer and local tax rates so residents are strongly encouraged to attend the public hearing and let the council know your thoughts and concerns.

Mantorville citizens are also encouraged to provide feed back to the council on some of the other issues that are up for consideration. The council is considering allowing chickens in town given some constraints, loosening up some of the restrictions on number of dogs a home can have and project ideas for the use of the Rochester sales tax. Citizens can provide feedback via the mayors blog located at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com

The city was given some preliminary numbers on what each of the 17 cities can expect as a share of the sales tax; however, the state legislature is in the process of considering legislation that could potentially change the portion that the city gets. The new legislation could change the amount that Mantorville receives and it could go up or down but more than likely Mantorville will still receive some of these funds. The EDA is currently compiling a list of ideas that we could spend these funds on keeping in mind that the funds have to be spent on economic development. We strongly encourage citizens to submit their ideas for  consideration. Ideas can be sent to my email address of MantorvilleMayor@gmail.com or added as a comment on my blog at  MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com

I would like to include a few reminders. Street lights, if citizens see a burned out or blinking street light please let city hall know 635 - 5170 and our city staff will see to it that they get fixed
As spring approaches the city will once again encounter frost boils and pot holes, please update city hall as these become issues as well. 

Feedback on our employees is always welcomed and will be considered during our monthly personnel meeting. Send your observations to MantorvilleMayor@gmail.com

Remember to attend the public meeting on the 25th and let the council know which option you would like the city to pursue. More details about the options can be found in my last article which is also posted on my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com. I look forward to seeing many of you next Monday night.

Yours in service

Chuck Bradford, Mayor - City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Should it stay or should it go

The Mantorville City Council will have its first Public meeting regarding the options for the Waste Water Treatment plant. The options being considered are as follows:

·      First, we could do a partial fix; this fix would get the city through the next five years. The first phase of this project would cost about $1,000,000.

·      Second, in five years the city would then do an upgrade to our plant. Phase two of this project would cost about $2,000,000. The total cost of the option to keep the plant in Mantorville would be $3,000,000.

·      Third, this option for our treatment plant, it would be a single project and enter a joint agreement with the City of Kasson. This project would cost about $2,200,000.

I also want to mentions some special consideration for project selection. The difference between the two options above is about one million dollars to keep the plant in Mantorville. The difference in sewer rates between the two options above could be as high as an additional $360/yr per household. The Minnesota Pollution control agency could impose a new phosphorous limit on Mantorville sooner that the five year projection which would require instigating phase two above sooner. Lastly there are associated costs with maintaining a treatment plant in Mantorville such as a higher licensed operator than the city currently has.

The City Council is holding a public meeting on March 25, 2013 to solicit input from the citizens of Mantorville on their opinions about the options and the cost for each of the plans listed above. Anyone with ideas, concerns or suggestions is strongly encouraged to attend this first public hearing which will start at 6:30 pm in the Mantorville Council chamber.

For those that cannot attend or have questions prior to the public meeting, feel free to contact me at my email address of MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.com or add a comment to my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com I look forward to hearing your ideas and comments. Everyone that would like to be heard on this issue will be invited to speak.