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Mayor's Reports 2007
  
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Mayor’s Report For December 2007

On behalf of the Community I would like to congratulate the Holdingford Fire and Rescue Department for being awarded the “Link To The Community Award” from Life Link Helicopter service.  They were nominated because of their professionalism and creativity in getting an injured person on board a helicopter back in September, thereby saving a life.  The award reads “In recognition of your dedication to patient care, outstanding teamwork and commitment to the good of the community.  It is our privilege to work along side you.”  Flight Supervisor, Life Link III.   And also on behalf of the community, I would like to thank all the members of the Fire and Rescue Department for the great job they do for this community, we are lucky to have such a dedicated group of people.  Thank You!

We had our truth in taxation meeting at this month’s meeting, and have officially certified to the County that we are keeping the tax levy the same as it has been for the past 5 years.  You all should have gotten your preliminary tax statements by this time.   Because we had some growth, but kept the tax levy the same, the Holdingford City portion of your tax statement should be less for 2008 than it was in 2007.  The only reason for an increase would be your property had a large increase in value for some reason such as building remodeling or additions.

This year is coming to a close, and looking back it’s been another good year for the City of Holdingford.  Our area charitable organizations have been very active in the community, doing things such as: painting playground equipment, purchasing new extraction equipment for the fire department, putting on picnics and celebrations, helping our elderly, providing bicycle surreys to ride, raising monies for skateboard park, covered bridge and fire works, starting a historical society, and remodeling gymnasiums at school.  A big THANK YOU! to all our Charitable Organizations.
 
It’s also been a productive year for the city.  We installed a new Well and pump control system, relined ten crumbling manholes, put a new roof on the City Center, and instituted new zoning ordinances.  I’m looking forward to 2008 and all the challenges it presents, it should be a good year.

The Holdingford Daze committee has started to meet for the planning of the July 2008 celebration.  We are looking for more people to join this committee along with some new ideas for this annual event.  The committee meets approximately once a month during the year, with some extra meetings as we get closer to the celebration date.  If you would like to join this committee or have ideas for the 2008 event please call Mary Stalberger at 746-2637 or City Center at 746-2966, we would love to have you.

Because Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year, garbage pickup will be Wednesday, December 26.

Reminder to all dog owners in the City of Holdingford.  Dog licenses need to be renewed BEFORE January 1, 2008. The city clerk will not be in the office the week of Dec. 24 -28, so you can drop your dog rabies vaccination sheet along with your money in the city drop box located at the front of the city center by the main doors during that week, or come in before that time to renew your dog’s license.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year!

Respectfully Submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit

Mayor’s Report For November 2007

Mark your calendars - the Holdingford Area Garden Club will be hosting its second annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, Saturday, December 1, at 5:45 p.m. at the water fountain area by the trail.  Hot refreshments and cookies will be served; everyone is invited.  Come on down and hear the carolers and join your friends and neighbors in kicking off the 2007 Holiday Season.

The Holdingford Lioness and Commercial clubs have graciously donated two baby safety swings to the city to be used on the swing sets in Veterans Park.  A Big Thank You to both of these fine organizations for their generosity and commitment to child safety.

We are being required by the State of Minnesota to do a Wellhead Protection Plan.  What that basically means is, we need to put together a plan to prevent our City wells from getting contaminated.  There will be a study done to see how and where the water comes from that goes into the aquifer from where we draw our city water.  Then it will be determined if there is a potential for this water to be contaminated and how do we prevent this contamination from happening.  This will probably be a two year process and require a substantial amount of city employee man hours to complete this project.  The State Health Department and the MN Rural Water Association will also be helping us with this plan.   I believe protecting our drinking water supply is very important, and all of us in the community need to cooperate in this endeavor so together we can  have clean healthy water for our future.

As long as we are talking about wells, we have been informed the County has funds available and will pay up to 50% of the cost of abandoning old wells.  As you recall when tearing down the old pump house an old caved in well was found beneath its floors.  We had to have it blown out and reseal it at a cost of $3,925, a cost we never budgeted for.  The County has agreed to pay 50% of this cost which is a big help.

We need to again remind people to please read your water meters every month and write the number down on your utility pay stub.  This will help residents keep a more even bill from month to month.

Another reminder, Winter Parking Rules are now in effect.  No parking on streets from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. from November 1, to April 1, and it is enforced.

And yet another reminder, we still have residents (including myself) who do not have house numbers on their homes.  This makes it tough for our fire and rescue when they are called out in an emergency.   For safety sake, let’s get those numbers up.

We are getting complaints about dogs again.  All dogs in the city must either be kept in the owner’s yard or on a leash.   Also, constantly barking dogs will not be tolerated, people have a right to peace and quiet in their own homes.

I will not be in the office Monday night, November 19, but will be back again Monday, November 26.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

Respectfully submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit


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Mayor’s Report For October 2007

I’m happy to report Phase II of Ridgeview addition is now in the planning stage, with the possibility of putting in the water, sewer, and storm drainage infrastructure this fall.  The preliminary plans are to extend Main Street south of Park and Main Streets intersection, and platting 14 lots, seven on each side of the street, with the seven lots on the west side also bordering the river.  If anyone is in the market for a beautiful home site, Ridgeview Addition Phase I and II have much to offer as far as views and location are concerned; check it out.

A couple of weeks ago we received several complaints about rusty colored water.  We think what happened is, earlier this summer the Minnesota Department of Health suggested we increase the amount of chlorine we inject into our water system.  They felt the chlorine concentration was not strong enough in the outer limits of the city.  We believe this extra chlorine has released some pipe rust somewhere in the distribution system, causing the water discoloration.  Maintenance has flushed all the hydrants and feels confident that the main lines are clear. There’s a possibility, home owners may have rust in the lines that run from the main to their homes.  If you have rust colored water, run your outdoor faucet until it’s clear, then run all the faucets in the house until they are clear and that should take care of the problem, if not give us a call.  Our city water is very safe to drink.  It is monitored on a weekly basis and we send water samples to MDH for periodic testing, and our water meets or exceeds all safety standards set forth by State and Federal governments.   I know a lot of us don’t like the chlorine taste of city water, but it’s one of those necessary items in life we have to put up with to keep us safe.  Personally, I keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator; I don’t taste the chlorine as much when the water is cold.

Vicki, our city clerk, and city council members, Kim Ebnet, Mike Odden, and myself, attended a day long leadership training workshop put on by the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls.  We received training in communication skills, conflict resolution, understanding change and other topics to help us be better public officials.  The Initiative Foundation also awarded the City of Holdingford a grant of $5000 to be used for other training opportunities in our community. 

 Our maintenance staff is getting more and more calls after hours.  If it’s an emergency such as no water to your home, sewer back up, a water main break, lift station problem, broken fire hydrant, water tower running over, etc., yes by all means call Herman and Jerry any time and let them know.  But please, make all non-emergency calls such as questions and/or complaints, during maintenance work hours, which are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday.  Like the rest of us, they want and deserve private time with their families after work hours.  

The second Monday in November is a federal holiday (Veteran’s Day), which means our November City Council meeting will be held Tuesday, November 11, 2007. Hope you all can make it!

Respectfully submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit 

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Mayor’s Report For September 2007


I would like to compliment all the area organizations for the great job they did in planning and organizing the second annual Holdingford Area Community Picnic.  The food was delicious, the music great, the children’s and adult games were fun with very nice prizes given out.  All the displays the area organizations had were very interesting, Helping Hands had their Surreys out for people to ride and the Fire Department’s demonstration of cutting cars apart using their new equipment was awesome.   It turned out to be such a nice day and a preliminary count showed over 500 people attended.   I hope to see even more people next year, (yes, there will be a third annual) it’s a great way for families of the Holdingford, Opole, St. Wendel, and St. Anna area’s to get together, socialize and have fun.  On behalf of all participants, I would like to Thank all the organizations for putting this picnic on, and Thank You organizations for all the good things you do for the community throughout the year.

We have completed the preliminary budget for 2008.  We have again kept the tax levy at $258,663, which has been the same for 5 years now.  It’s getting tougher every year because operating costs keep going up.  We just need to get through 2008 and 2009.  In 2010 we won’t have the City Center bond payment anymore and that will give us some breathing room.  Some budget highlights, on the income side, the State again reduced our Local Government Aid $4,654 and we are not expecting much of an income from our Municipal Liquor Store.  Our water and sewer sales have increased, it’s still not enough to cover the cost of the systems but it’s looking better. 

On the expense side of the budget, if we don’t have any surprise major street repairs in 2008, we would like to start replacing some of our deteriorating sidewalks.  The exterior of the pump house needs some minor repairs.  We are in serious need of a street sweeper, and hope to find a good used one for $40,000 or less in 2008.   All other items in the budget are routine year to year expenses that increase a little each year.  We will have copies of the 2008 preliminary budget at the City Center for anyone who wants to look it over.  The City of Holdingford Truth-in-Taxation meeting will be December 10, 7 p.m., City Center. At that time we have the option to lower the preliminary tax levy or keep it the same.  We cannot raise it after the September 15 County certification date.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the Holdingford Lions Club is working on a project to build a covered bridge on the Wobegon Trail.  They have requested, and received a commitment from the U.S Army Reserve to furnish the labor for building this bridge as a training exercise in 2008.   Now comes the hard part; raising the approximately $100,000 to cover the cost of materials required to build this bridge.  It’s time for companies, organizations, businesses, and individuals in the whole Wobegon area, to step forward with monetary help to get this project done.  We need this bridge to improve economic and historical conditions in our community as well as the whole Wobegon area, by attracting tourists who wish to hike, bike, jog or snowmobile along a groomed and well maintained trail.  When completed, this will be among the longest active covered bridges on a trail in the nation. 

Take out and open your road atlas for the states of Iowa and Pennsylvania and look under points of interest and you will find covered bridges.  If you have ever been to see these bridges as I have, you will find they are tourism magnets.  It’s in our economic best interest to have a major tourist attraction like this in our area, and by area, I mean every community on the Wobegon trail will benefit from this project.  So let’s help the Holdingford Lions Club get it done!

Respectfully submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit

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Mayor’s Report For August 2007
The Holdingford Lioness Club has started painting the playground equipment at Veterans Park and it’s looking nice.  That equipment has given enjoyment to many children over the years and with some sprucing up, it can give enjoyment to the next generation of children as well.  We had the old paint tested and found it to be lead free, so with new paint it should be safe as well as attractive for the little tikes.  On behalf of the City I wish to thank the Holdingford Lioness for a great job!

As previously reported, we filled in old well #1 after new well #3 was brought on line.  That should have been end of subject, except after the old pump house was torn down last week another well was discovered underneath it.  It’s the original old old well #1.  My understanding is it caved in years ago and another well was drilled along side of it.  The original well was never filled in, just covered up.  The Minnesota Department of Health has looked at it and instructed us to have all the caved in material blown out of the hole and then seal it with a non porous material.  This will be an unexpected cost of approximately $4800, but it has to be done.

Some good news about wells,  Minnesota Pollution Control has deemed our clean up of the 2001 oil spill complete and has closed the books on it.  We are now able to have the monitoring wells by the old well #1 filled in also.  We will then be able to submit the total cost of the clean up to the Petro Fund for 90% reimbursement.

On August 16, at 8 p.m. we had a public meeting to explain the home and business rehab grant we are pursuing for 2008, and what it takes for people to qualify for it.  It’s not a problem if you missed the meeting.  If you live in the Cities of Holdingford, Upsala, or Holding Township, and meet the income guidelines, you may be eligible to have your home or business rehabilitated with new windows, doors, roof, flooring, brought up to code etc. at low or no cost to you.  If you are interested, please call the City Center at 746-2966 and we will steer you in the right direction on how to get in on this program. This is a federally funded program, so I urge anyone who needs major home repairs to apply. Hopefully, we can get some of those funds funneled back here into our community. It’s your federal dollars at work. Have them work for you.

There will be a Grand Opening of the last four miles of the Wobegon Trail in Osakis, Saturday August 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  All are invited.  Holdingford will be represented by the Helping Hands organization and their Surry bicycles, along with the Lions Club, who will be there with the covered bridge model.  Garrison Keillor, who made his fictional town of Lake Wobegon famous on public radio is scheduled to make an appearance also.  

Originally we had just planned on replacing the roof on the west end of the City Center, because that’s all the money we had in the building fund.  But after looking over the low bid we received, (because contractors are desperate for work) we felt now is the time to do the whole roof.  We will use money from our equipment fund to cover the extra cost.  The only drawback is, if we were to need a new snowplow truck between now and 2011 we would have to take out a loan for it.  Paying interest on a truck would still be cheaper than paying the extra cost of doing the roof on the east end of the building a couple of years from now, when the cost will be much higher.

The little red maintenance truck backed into a new Suburban (Herman was driving) inflicting some damage but nobody was injured.  Maintenance repaired the little red truck, and our insurance took care of the Suburban.

I won’t be in the office Monday August 20, but will be back in Monday August 27, if anyone wishes to speak with me.

Respectfully Submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit   

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Mayor’s Report For July 2007

A big THANK YOU, to the Holdingford SnoFlyers, and Holdingford Fireman’s Relief Association.  The SnoFlyers donated $5,700 for the purchase of cutters and the Relief Association donated $3,500 for the purchase of a ram.  These items are used in the extraction of people from vehicles after a collision.   These are life saving tools, because the faster you can get a person cut out of a wreck, and on their way to a hospital, the better chance they have for survival.  Someone is always coming up with a faster and better way of doing things. But new equipment is expensive, and if we did not have our charitable organizations helping us out, we would not always have the opportunity to buy new and better equipment   Again thank you SnoFlyers and Fireman’s Relief.

I’m writing this report before Holdingford Daze but most of you will be reading it after the July 13 - 14, Holdingford Daze events.  A lot of preparation has gone into this year’s celebration again and I understand we are supposed to have some nice weather both days.  I’ve been scheduled to be in several activities during both days and I’m looking forward to it.  It’s great to get out and have a good time, meet people, eat good food and just have fun.  I want to thank the Holdingford Commercial Club for putting Holdingford Daze on every year, and especially Mary Stalberger and Karen Solarz for all the hard work and planning they do throughout the year to put this spectacular celebration on. THANK YOU!

We will be having a public hearing on our new Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulation Ordinance and the Adult Establishment Ordinance at the August 13, meeting at 7 p.m.  If you wish to comment on these new ordinances you are welcome to do so at that time.  Copies of these ordinances are available at the clerk’s office in the City Center for anyone wishing to look them over.  These Ordinances are what will be used in the future to determine where homes and businesses can be built in the city, as well as off street parking, building set back requirements, building height requirements  etc.  The idea of having ordinances is to put everything down on paper, so all are treated the same when it comes building in the city limits.   Variances will be allowed in special cases depending on the concerns generated by the neighbors of the person requesting the variance at a public hearing.  I believe the new ordinances are fair and not too restricting, and give us a road map to growing our city in the future.

Our Holding In Partnership (H.I.P.) committee Task Forces is still in business and doing a great job.  This year we are again eligible for a $10,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation to keep our projects on track.  This grant is a 50/50 match grant, meaning we need to match the money we receive with an in kind donation of labor or monies donated from other sources    We are always looking for new members to join our Task Forces.  If you wish to join or have questions about the Garden Club, Historical Society, or Economic Development task forces, please call the city clerk’s office at 746-2966.  Also if you have an idea for a new project task force in the City or Township, run it by us.  We are always looking for ideas to make this a great community to live in.   All of us are a part of this community and need to take an active role in its continuing development.   Just sitting back and criticizing is not an option.  Here is your chance to make the kind of community you want for yourself, your children and grandchildren.

The city clerk’s office will be closed from July 31, 2007 to August 10, 2007. Phone messages will be answered.

Respectfully Submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit 

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Mayor’s Report For June 2007

Thanks to the Holdingford American Legion, The Lions Club, The SnoFlyers Club, Two Rivers Enterprises, The Tim Bershied family, The Commercial Club, and an Eagle Scout by the name of Andrew Piasecki, we are going to build a Skate Board Park in Veterans Park.  Many of you who attended our Community Visioning Session recall that the need for more “youth activities in the community” was brought up on many occasions during the session.  Andrew Piasecki, an avid skate boarder and Boy Scout needed an Eagle Project.  He has asked the H.I.P committee if he could build the community a skate board park.  He has gotten donations from the aforementioned organizations for materials, and he along with his fellow scouts and parents have built the parts for this park.  The Holdingford Legion has also generously donated money for a concrete slab to put these skate board ramp pieces on in Veterans Park.  A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO MADE THIS PROJECT POSSIBLE!  

Some bad news to report, two wires on a power pole on the corner of Main and Washington shorted together, setting the pole on fire and sending a high voltage surge through the three phase electrical lines in the city.  This power surge wrecked both of our brand new AC pump drives in the pump house, and burned out a motor starter in the Waste Water Treatment plant.  Also the pole that burnt just happened to be the pole that held the transformers and related equipment for our Christmas decorations, which will now have to be moved to the new pole.  Insurance will cover the $7,000 to $8,000 cost of the drives and starter, but will not cover the cost of $1,200 to move the Christmas decoration equipment.  Never a dull moment in Holdingford!

We have a number of repairs going on this summer.  Ten manholes are getting lined this week.  These manholes were built in the 30s and 40s with clay brick.  After all these years the bricks are starting to break up.  Instead of digging up the street and replacing the manholes at a cost of approximately $20,000 per man hole, we will have them lined.  It basically consists of spraying a cement/fiber mixture _” to 2” thick on the walls of the manhole.  This will recondition the manhole to a better than new condition at the cost of approximately $12,000 for all ten manholes. 

We are also going to replace the rubber membrane and insulation board on the roof of the west end of the City Center.  We had our engineering firm take a look at it, as we have been having some leaks during a hard rain.  They recommend the section over the offices and community room be replaced this year, the middle section that has the heating and cooling system be done in two to three years and the section over the fire department be done in four to five years.  When the city center was built this rubber membrane type of roof was something new on the market.  Over the years they are finding that it shrinks and pulls away from the edge of the roof.  Supposedly they now have come up with a new installation process to eliminate that problem. 

We are also having a paving company come in and do some spot street resurfacing.  We have areas that were dug up to repair water mains, also some areas that are beyond pothole patching and need to be resurfaced and some manholes need to be paved around to eliminate the snowplow hooking them.

Stearns County has notified us that the left over monies from the now defunct South Two River Watershed District will be used to develop land the County owns on the west side of Two Rivers Lake into a nature park.  It will have room for camping, a fishing pier, and possibly be tied in with the Wobegon Trail.

Reminder, Holdingford clean up day is this Saturday, June 16, from 8 a.m. to noon at the old maintenance garage.

I will not be in my office Monday night June 18.  I will be back on Monday, June 25.

Just a reminder, please turn in your water meter reading to city hall EVERY month.

Respectfully Submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit  

Mayor’s Report For May 2007                                                                                                          Top of Page
The zoning task force has completed updating our zoning ordinances.  I would like to thank the members of our task force, Jan Paggen, Mark McClintock, Kim Ebnet, and Lloyd Rausch, for doing an outstanding job.  In my opinion, they have protected home and business owners property rights without being too restrictive.  Copies of the new preliminary zoning ordinances will be given to council members, city clerk, building inspector, city engineer, and city attorney for review and comment.  Then it will be released to the public for review and a public hearing scheduled for public comment.

Our new well project is about wrapped up.  The software program for new well #3 needs a little fine tuning yet, but it’s online and pumping water.  Old well #1 has been disconnected from the system and filled in.  We had planned to use the pump from well #1 and put in well #3, but after pulling it up, it was found to be completely worn out, so a new pump was purchased and put in well #3.  Even with the purchase of the new pump we still came in $4736.11 under budget.

The Fire Department has completed the purchase of their new 800mgz radio system.  This will be a very important tool to help save lives.  The entire State of Minnesota will eventually be using this system, so firefighters, law enforcement, highway department, ambulance and any other emergency departments can all talk to each other.  The state and county are putting up the radio towers and central computer systems to run the system.  It’s up to each local government entity to purchase the radios, and they are expensive.  The Holdingford Fire Departments cost is $53,141.  A big Thank You to Pat Meier and the fire department personnel for getting a FEMA grant to pay for these radios, it saves tax payers in the city and townships a lot of money.

If you haven’t heard, the Helping Hands organization has purchased Surry Bicycles to ride out on the trail with.  These are the type of bicycles two to six riders (depending on how big the riders) sit side by side and all pedal the bike.  Our elderly citizens can now get out on the trail.  When not being used by the elderly they will be available to the public to rent.  Helping Hands is still looking for donations to pay for these, if anyone can help out, stop and chat with the staff at Helping Hands For Seniors.

I attended a very interesting seminar sponsored by the Initiative Foundation, called 7 Revolutions.  It was put on by a group of people who study statistics and trends, to try and give us a glimpse of what is going to happen in the next 20 years, and how governments, businesses, and nonprofits should prepare for it.  They talked about population growths and shifts; in particular, there will be another 1.4 billion people on this earth in 20 years, all competing for its resources; especially water.  Advances in technology will keep on prolonging human life.  Information will be instantly summoned and quickly outdated, and the average worker will experience a half-dozen lifetime career changes, which means constant learning and retraining.  Developing countries like Brazil, India, Russia, and China will achieve 100 years of industrialization in 30 years.  We in the United States will need to compete with this increase in global competition.  Also the world’s top economies will be companies, not countries.  Governments will need to share leadership with large corporations, increasing demand for corporate citizenship.  We will need nonprofit organizations to connect people, money and ideas.  Does any of this pertain to Holdingford and Central Minnesota?  You bet it does.   Like it or not, we are part of a global society.  The products that are manufactured in this city are already exported to other countries.  We need to help these companies compete in a global market if we want them to stay and provide jobs and economic growth in this community.

There will be a man driving up and down the streets of Holdingford selling ice cream treats Mondays  between 4 and 7 p.m.  When you see a truck driving slow and playing music, it’s the ice cream man.

Respectfully Submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit 

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Mayor’s Report For April 2007           


Great News!  The City of Holdingford no longer has the distinction of having the highest tax rate in Stearns County.  In fact, we have dropped down to the number 3 spot.  We have had the highest rate in the county for a number of years.  But keeping the tax levy the same for five years while at the same time experiencing growth, we have been able to bring our tax rate down at a time when some other cities in the County have had to raise their tax rates.  Hopefully we can keep this trend going and bring our rates down more in future years.

More Great News!  The U.S Army Reserve has agreed to cover the Lake Wobegon Trail Bridge over Two Rivers River here in the city.  They will be doing the construction labor for no cost as it will be a training exercise for them.  The Holdingford Lions Club already has a capital fund under way to pay for the materials.  The Lions Club also had plans drawn up and Lion member Joe Christenson has made a scale model of the bridge which can be seen at Stearns Bank in Holdingford.  When completed, this will be the longest covered bridge in Minnesota, and one of the longest covered bridges in the nation.  This bridge, when completed, will increase tourism to our community which in turn will spur economic development.  In short, it will put Holdingford on the map and give people another reason to visit our fine community.  I believe it will also be an economic plus for other cities on the Wobegon Trail such as Albany and Bowlus.  The Army Reserve has stated they would like to start on the bridge this fall or next spring.  THANK YOU LIONS CLUB for the hard work you have already put into this project!

And Still More Great News!  The newly formed Holdingford Area Historical Society has an opportunity to acquire an historic one room school house.  This school used to be located east of Holdingford on the corner of County roads 3 and 17.  In the seventies the school was moved onto Margaret Huls family farm, where it has been kept in good condition, with most of the original school furniture and supplies still inside.  Margaret would like to donate it to the Holdingford Area Historical Society, and have it moved into the city so more people can see this wonderful piece of history.  Preliminary plans are to put it in the Wobegon Trail Park, between the shelter and maintenance garage.  The Historical Society is presently looking for grants to pay for the cost of moving this building.  There is a picture of it on the City website www.holdingfordmn.us .

There is interest in getting a home rehab grant in Holdingford to fix up older homes.  We will be setting up a town meeting so interested people can get information about the program.  We will let everyone know when this will happen, either by mail or advertisement.  We are hoping to get other cities to join us in this program, bettering our chances at getting the grant in 2008.  There will be more information forthcoming, stay tuned.

Council person Lloyd Rausch and I attended the County Comprehensive Plan meeting held in St. Joseph.  The County had three different scenarios drawn up, and asked meeting participants to pick the scenario that best describes the way we want the county to look in the future.  We were then put into small groups to discuss which plan we picked and why.  And of course everybody has a different opinion, so I would venture to guess they will take parts of all three plans and combine them into one.

The maintenance department was busy this past month.  We had two water main breaks, one on Park Street and one on Hill Street.  Both have been repaired.  Also the 4th street sewage lift station backed up.  The pump was pulled and a diaper was found lodged in it.  Please folks, be careful of what you flush, it’s costly to repair.

Some reminders, the annual board of equalization meeting for the City of Holdingford will be held 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 10. Also anyone who has agricultural land in the city and wishes to put it in the green acres tax program must do so by May 20, to qualify for 2008 taxes.  And the annual Holdingford cleanup day will be Saturday June 16 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Our May 14, Council meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and convene at the pump house to look at the new well and the state of the art pump controls.  The rest of the meeting will reconvene at the city center at 7 p.m. as usual.  All are invited.

Respectfully Submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit

Mayor’s Report For March 2007                                                                                                      Top of Page

Some of you in the City of Holdingford are probably wondering why Herman was plowing snow during the snowstorm with Holding Townships road grader.  The differential gears in our city snow plow truck gave out.  The truck had to be towed to Ramler’s in Albany to be repaired.  It’s an old truck so parts were not easy to come by, but it’s now up and running and ready for the next snowstorm.  Should we be looking for a newer truck?   As long as we can keep getting parts for it, maintenance believes we can get a few more years out of the truck we have.  And because of budget cuts these past years, State, County’s and Large Cities don’t trade in good trucks anymore, so good used trucks are hard to find and new ones are very expensive.

I would like to publicly thank Holding Township for letting us use their road grader.   We have a good working relationship with the township.  It’s good to know our two government entities can count on each other when problems arise.

Approximately ten years ago we had a home rehab program in the City of Holdingford.  At that time grants and low interest loans were available for citizens who met certain income guidelines to repair older homes.  We would like to do this again in 2008 if there is enough interest.  The program has changed somewhat, but is still a very good deal.  Also there are programs to fix up older business buildings and rental units above businesses.  Brenda Engelking, from the Central Minnesota Housing Partnership will be at our April 9 council meeting to explain the programs that are available.  If we determine there is enough interest in the community for these programs, we will schedule a community meeting with Brenda to get the paper work started so the program can be in place for 2008.  Anyone interested should let us know by either coming to the April Council meeting or call the clerk’s office at 746-2966.

We have been sent official notice that the South Two River Watershed District is now officially terminated.  I would like to thank Barb and Joe Lang of the Pelican Lake Association along with all the people who worked with them, including our city clerk, Vicki Statz, for working so hard to put an end to this wasteful government entity.  Also, Thank you to all who signed the petition asking for this termination, it could not have happened without the time and support you all gave.  It’s good to know that citizens still have the power to keep government accountable.

If you thought the Garden Club did a fantastic job last summer, we hope you are here for what they are planning for this summer.  They are going to put in a water fountain and some shrubs on the east side of the trail across from the funeral home.  Also a flower garden around the boxcar in Wobegon Park is in the plans as is the start of a rose garden and additions of flowers, shrubs around the Wobegon bathroom/shelter area.  If you want to be a part of this great organization and help beautify our community, please call City hall at 746-2966, they would love to have you.

Respectfully Submitted By Mayor Ernie Schmit

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Mayor’s Report For February 2007

Our County Attorney, Janelle Kendall and her associate Matthew Quinn attended the February Council meeting to report on Prosecutions in the city of Holdingford during 2006.  The city contracts with the county attorney’s office to handle all our prosecutions.  The number of prosecutions has gone up again in 2006 to 37 verses 27 in 2005.  The reason for this is probably because the Sheriff’s Department is patrolling the city twice as much as it has been in the past.  County Attorney Kendall’s report for the city, along with a report of Stearns County as a whole is included in this month’s meeting minutes.

The Zoning task force is up and running.  Members of the task force are: Janice Paggen, Mark McClintok, Eraine Bieniek, Kim Ebnet, Lloyd Rausch, and myself.  We had one meeting so far with our consultant Shannon Sweeney, and started by going over applications and terms used in zoning.  We then covered General District provisions and got as far as Residential/Agricultural (R-A) District.  The next meeting we will get into Single Family Residential (R-1) and Mixed Family Residential (R-2) districts.

Council Members, Kim Ebnet, Lloyd Rausch, and myself attended newly elected officials conferences.  Kim went to the one put on by the Initiative Foundation, Lloyd and I went to the one put on by the League of Minnesota Cities.  We received training on; ways to listen and look at all sides of an issue,  how to work together as a team, respecting each others’ decisions, what councils can and cannot do, finance fundamentals, legal realities of the open meeting law and city government in general.  The rules for City government keep changing and getting more complex.   City council members and staff need to stay educated, so we can keep on top of these changes.  In today’s complex world, if we do nothing, we are actually falling behind.

The city’s participation cost of our annual Holdingford Daze celebration was brought up.  The Commercial Club puts this event on and pays for the majority of the cost using the proceeds of their  Pot-of-Gold raffle.  Other nonprofit organizations in the community use this event as a way of setting up fund raising activities, which brings in out of town money that gets directly put back into the community, in the form of programs and good works that the fantastic nonprofits of this community do.

Yes, there is a cost to the taxpayers of this city for this celebration.  The City of Holdingford provides extra law enforcement, the cost of a dumpster for cleanup, and shares the cost of porta-potties.  This amounts to a total cost of approximately $1200 ($4 per household).  Personally, I believe a community needs to celebrate.  The cancer walk, the competitive running, the bike runs, parade, the family activities, fireworks, street dance all combine to bring the community together.  Every year I see new faces in the crowd, along with people who were born here but come back year after year to see our city and take part in the festivities.  Hopefully they will keep coming back and maybe even settle here.  I believe we are getting a large return on that $1200 we are investing in this yearly event.  Just look at what the charitable organizations alone donate in time and money to this community.   I have just expressed my opinion; I want to know the opinion of the taxpayers in the City of Holdingford!   Should the city keep participating in the cost of this yearly event, or not?  Please let council members or me know your opinions.

Mark your calendars, the first Monday of every month the Historical Society meets at the Corner Pizza.  The next meeting is March 5 at 7 p.m.  If you want to be a charter member, now is the time to come, join and participate in putting our history together for generations to come.

Respectfully Submitted By Mayor Ernie Schmit

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Mayor’s Report For January 2007

The new Holdingford Historical Society will be having its third meeting at the Corner Pizza in Holdingford Monday, February 5, 2007, at 7 p.m.  Anyone in the area who is interested in preserving our Communities History is encouraged to attend.  Judging by the attendance at the previous two meetings, there is a definite interest in the community for this project.  The Society is in the set up stage, and at the next meeting their will be speakers from the State Historical Society to provide their expertise on setting up a charter.  Come and be a charter member.

The new well should be on line in the next week or two.  The finishing touches on the plumbing and electrical systems need to be completed.  When that’s finished the system will be tested on well two, and if all goes good, the pump will be pulled from well number one and installed in new well number three.  Old well number one will then be filled in and abandoned.  When the frost is out in spring we will disconnect well one from the system.  My understanding in talking to our senior citizens, well number one was the City of Holdingford’s first well.  A gas or diesel engine was used to pump water from this well up to the old water tower years ago.  It’s like the end of an era, now that the original water tower and well have been replaced.

We still have monitoring wells by well number one, to monitor the ground water from the fuel oil spill we had in 2001.  Because the contamination that was found is well below state and federal guide lines,   Braun Intertec has recommended to Minnesota Pollution Control that these wells be closed, but MPCA has not given its ok yet.

The council has raised the monthly water and sewer usage rates.  The monthly minimum was raised fifty cents each for water and sewer, and people using over the minimum will be paying a _ cent more for every 2500 gallons per month over the minimum they use.  Water and sewer is classified as enterprise funds, meaning they should pay for themselves.  Since the waste water treatment plant was built and bonded our water and sewer fund has always operated in the red, and probably will continue to do so until the bonds are paid off.  We have to raise rates periodically though to try and keep up with the rising costs of maintaining these systems.  If we neglect doing so, we will not be able to afford necessary repairs which will come back to haunt us in the future.  We also raised the amount of a new hook up to the system from $1500 to $1800.    

Because of the increased of law enforcement and prosecution costs, we have raise liquor licenses 25%.  Again, this is another balancing act, we want the liquor establishments to pay their fair share of the costs but we don’t want to run them out of business.

We only had 50 dog license sales this year compared to 73 last year.  Either 23 dogs left town or their owners have neglected to buy their pet a license.  Please folks, this is a safety issue.  It’s the only way we can be sure all dogs in the city have their rabies vaccinations. 

The person that ran over the fire hydrant and clipped a power pole shorting out our Christmas light decorations wiring, still has not been found.  Anyone with information please call Stearns County Sheriff’s Department.  This incident has cost the tax payer’s of Holdingford $1600.

With the start of the New Year, the Garden Club is revving up again. They have some great ideas and are looking for additional members to join them. If anyone is interested, please contact Barb Konsor (746-2743), Ruth Odden (746-2991) or City Hall (746-2966).

Respectfully submitted by Mayor Ernie Schmit