HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes - 7/12/19570
SPECIAL, �;TING OF' TfIE TO'u�ilV COUPICIL
Ur' TH:: TOY�I OF VdELI�SBUkG, IGWA
TI-fr; 12th DAY OF July 1g57
The meeting was called to order by Luke J. Groninga, anil upon
roll call, the following officials of the Town Council of the 'Down of
Wellsbu_•g, Iowa, were present:
1. Mayor Luke J. Groninba (presiding)
�C. Co�anciisnan - Allred Meyer
3. Councilman - Neil O'Kones
4. Councilman - Lester Huisman
5. Councilman - Odie Olthoff
6. Councilman - Jack r'ischer
Absent:
None
The .Mayor and the Councilmen discussed the matter of the Town
of Z�Tellsburg, acting on the surveys and preli:�unary reports and details
furnished by fioliis E. Ryken, Engineer, employed by the Town concerning
need and design of a sewage treat��ient plant and the possi:,ilities of using
any part of the existing plant in the new design, and further discussion
was had concerninb the polution of the stream the present system empties
into. The Engineer, Hollis E. kyken, made a report to the Town Council
which disclosed that the present se;�age system and sewage treatment plant,
as shown by his survey, is inadecuate and that the existing plant could
not be used to auva.ntage in the new design. He further reperted that from
his findings and the findings of the State Department of Public Health
of tr1�rState df Iowa, that adequate treatment of sewn ,e in the Community
does necessarily entail the construction of a treatment plant upon a new
site.
Thereafter, Councilman J. L. Fischer introduced, read and re-
commended the passage of the Kesolution of necessity ne:a hereinafter
set out.
I HESGLU'rION
��i-iE,ttE'�S, the boverning body of the Town of 'aJellsburg, State of Iowa,
by and throubh its Councilman and Mayor have received notice of complaint
of the farm owners and tenants through whose land flows the small strewn,
into w'r:ich is discharged the treated and s.�metimes untreated sewage of the
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Town of TuJellsburg, that there is presently an unreasonable and unnecessary
deposit of filth and polution of the strewn, injurious to the health and
property of themselves, their families, and neighbors, and
W'HEtzEA�, the Iowa State Department of Health, Division of Public
' Health Erigineeririg, P. J. Houser, Director, has, in a previous report of
January 4, 1y55, confirmed that the detention period available for the
proper fermentation of sewage, together wit'rr the estimated flow and organic
loading, indicated that the organic loadings are considerably higher in
• the present plant than the same was designed for; that the present sludge
storage capacity is greatly less than the usually required cubic footage
per ca;��ita; than the organic leading on the sand filters is approximated
to be more than 200� above a normal load, and
�+FHEhEAS, the findings of a duly licensed engineer, employed by the
Town of Wellsburg, to make survey findings and a survey finding report
concerning the conditions to be met, confirm the findings of the Iowa State
Department of Health and pursuant thereto, the Engineer has prepared and
submitted detailed plans and specifications directed to the proposition
that all work to be done and structures to be built and site locations
will and would meet with the approval of Lyre State Board of Health, and
iniHEREriS, the governing body of the Pown of Wellsburg are empowered
to take such steps as are necessary as a Mur�icip:zl Corporation Pursuant
to Chapter 538, Chapter 394, Chapter 76, and Chapters 471 and tu7z of the
Iowa Code of 1954, concerning the construction and authority to create
indebtedness in the interest of cert��in necessary pablic improvements
including a sewage treatment works, as well as purchases of other acquisition
of site and right -a -away.
WI-�1tE;�5, by all established criteria, a need appears that the 'town of
uellsburg alleviate a present undesirable health hazard by the establishment
of a sewage treatment plant upon such site as is found best suitable for
� that purpose, and within the :�inanciai capecity of the Town of irlellsburg,
as is fair, lawful, and not excessively burdensome to the citizens of the
Town of bellsburg:
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P1UW, TI-�i'{' Or2F;, BE IT ti'.ESOLVED, that the Town Council of the Town
of ��ellsburg, County of Grundy, State of Iowa, by and through its
Council and Mayor, acting in official capacity, after due consideration
of the fa:;ts, circumstances, and cor�diti_ons and of the public necessity
and convenience that wi.Ll be served by the construction of a sewage treatment
plant upon a new site location, the Council does hereby :�.nd herei��ith deerri,
the construction of a new sewage treatment plant, a Public necessity.
BE IT FUtt�l'HER .'�ULVLD, that the findings of the Engineer, employed
by the city, be hereby accepted, confirmed and ratified, both as to the
nature _�f the pls.nt design and the proposed site therefore, and that to
such end the Town of ��Jellsburg present a firm offer of �1700.J0 for
1.58 Acres of farm land together with a further offer of'�p�.00 per rod of
16 foot width right -a -away upon, through, and across such land as is
necessary to connect the existing sewa_;e lines to the new plant and similar
right -a -away from the plant site outlet to the small stream known as the
South Fork of Beaver Creek, a tributary to Cedar i-Civer, and an equitable
offer on crop damages if any, and that upon rejection of said offers by
land otimers, tenants, or other persons having a lawful interest therein,
to proceed to appropriate the same to the use of the Town by lawful
acquisition under the powers of �ninant Domain of Municipal Corporations
and that the Town Xttorney proceed accordingly.
BL IT FUh.THEk RESuLVEB that the Mayor, Luke J. Uronin;a, and the
Town Clerk, John E. Riekena, be and they are hereby autriorized and e;npowered
to sign, seal under the corporate seal and deliver appropriate certified
copies of this Resolution in such form as these officers shall deem advisable
to effect the purposes of the .:oregoing Resolution, hereby ratifyinb and
confirming all acts lawfully done oy virtue of the foregoing Resolution
and laws of the �taLe of Iowa.
llated at Wellsburg, Iowa, this lath day of July ,
' 1�57, A. D.
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p esiding offi.
J Q-'��
Attest:
wn Clerk
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The foregoin; Resolution upon consideration and discussion was
moved for adoption by COLll1c111man J. L. Fischer and Councilman
Udie Ulthoff — seconded the motion to adopt said Resolution,
and upon roll call the following vote obtained:
Ayes: J. L. Fischer
Nayes:
Lester riuisman
Alfred Meyer
Odle Ulthoff
Neil O'Kones
Norse
The Mayor declared the motion carried and the r�esoiution duly passed and
adopted.
It was moved by Councilman I-iuisrnan and seconded
by Councilman Meyer that there being no other official
business before the Council that the meeting adjourn. Motion submitted
and carried.
C
J
Mayor
J
Attest: _
Town Clerk
Passed and signed by the P4ayor this �_ clay of — ,
1957, A. D.
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Mayor
Attest • �-t�
Town Clerk
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v � J
July 12, 1957
To the Mayor and
Town Council
Wellsburg, Iowa
Gentlemen:
We are submitting herewith a report concerning the necessity of ac-
quiring the particular site indicated on our plans for the construction of
suitable treatment facilities for the Town of Wellsburg, Iowa. Sheet No. 2
of 8 of the construction plans for the treatment plant are referred to for
the purposes of this report. A copy of said plans are on file with the
Town Clerk and have been tentatively approved by the Town Council.
The existing treatment plant is located within 250 feet of the nearest
residence area and within 750 feet of the public school. Present loadings
on the plant as indicated by our tests of the strength and flow of the
sewage indicate that a complete renovation of the existing plant would be
necessary to adequately handle the present load on the plant units. A
study has shown that none of the units could be economically remodeled in
order to be used satisfactorily. Furthermore, due to odor nusiance, it
would appear unwise to use the existing plant site for purposes of construct-
ing a new plant. UJe further call attention to the fact that the State Board
of Health does not approve of a plant site this close to a residential area.
The proposed site, as shown on the plans, is located approximately 0.3
mile west of the City limits, and would be easily accessible from the main
county trunk road leading into the Town in all weather. This site neces-
sitates the laying of 3783 linear feet of 10" sewer and 15 manholes in
order2to bring the main to the sewer. The cost of this line is estimated
at �t�19,000.00. Of this amount, a conservative estimate indicates that
within the next few years approximately 5�5,000.00 of this cost could be
recovered by the Town from the collection of connection charges from the
recently developed lots shown on the plans which lay west of Jackson Street
and south of ��1est Fifth Street.
Sufficient head or fall is available at this site to eliminate the
necessity of building a pumping station either for the pumping of raw sewage
into the plant or for pumping through any of the plant units, vrith thc�
exception of the sludge pump loct�ted in the secondary settling tank. This
pump would be required regardless of the site selected.
It can be readily seen from the plan referred to that the only other
feasible site would be located across the creek to the south of the existing
site. This would require the laying of approximately 1400 feet of 10�' sevrer
including 50 feet of 10�' cast iron pipe and 5 manholes; the construction of
a lift station to lift the raw sewage a height of approximately 20 feet;
_the construction of a suitable bridge across the creek; and the construction
of 0.4 mile of suitable,�roadway into the plant. The cost of construction of
these items is estimated at �29,000.00.
In addition, the operation and maintenance of the pumping equipment
would raise the annual cost of operation of the treatment plant over and
above the cost of operation of the plant at the recommended site.
To further clarify the reasons for the selection of the proposed
plant site we shall discuss briefly the difficulties encountered in attempt-
ing to locate the plant at another site.
,; The close proximity of the platted portion of the Town to the east,
northeast, north and immediate northwest of the existing plant site of
course eliminates the possibility of moving the plant in any of these
directions.
The selection of a site to the southeast, south, or southwest of the
existing plant involves tYie difficulties encountered and mentioned previously
in this report concerning the necessity for pumping, access to the plant,
and consequent higher cost of construction. The foregoing difficulties are
also true of the area lying south and west of the creek which runs westerly
and northerly from the existing plant site.
The area lying immediately north and east of the creek which runs
westerly and northerly from the existing plant site, would be unsuitable due
both to its proximity to the platted area for the residences and its
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proximity to the farm house located in this area. It would be impossible
to locate a plant in this area and maintain the minimum requirement for
distance from a residence as required by the State Board of Health.
The proposed plant site is located approximately midway between two
farmhouses, one located directly west and the other east and across the
road to the south. As the distance from each farmhouse to the nearest unit
of the treatmentfplant is at an absolute minimum, it would be impossible
to locate the pl t either east or west of the proposed site. Also, a
location to the west of the proposed site would involve a creek crossing
and a lift station.
If a site were selected north or northwest of the proposed site,
pumping of the ra�v sewage would be necessary. This is due to the fact that
in order to have gravity flow through the plant units, the sewer line
leading into the plant wou�_d be above the ground level. This may be
clarified. by calling attention to the stream bed elevation as shown on the
plan as 22.4 at the point of discharge from the proposed plant. The fall
through the plant ���as kept at an absolute minimum of 12.'7 feet, giving an
elevation of 35.06 as the flow line at the manhole at the entrance of the
sevrer into the proposed plant site. As the ground elevation to the north
and northeas�,,.i���round Elevation 34.0, it can be seen. that in order to
maintain gravity -'flow it would be necessary to fill over the pipe for a
considerable distance. This would not be feasible as it would obstruct
the drainage of the farm land and render the land useless along the sewer
line as a minimum of four feet of fill would be required over the existing
?round level. According to the plans, the proposed line into the plant
would have sufficient cover so as not to obstruct drainage or hinder
farming operations.
The area to the northeast of the proposed site vrould not be feasible
due to the proximity to the residence area of the Town. Also, if moved in
this direction, it would need to be located a minimum of 800 feet North of
the County Trunk Road in order to be far enough away from the farmhouse
located east of the proposed plant site. This would necessitate the
construction of an 800 foot roadway into the plant 'and approximately one,��;
fourth of a mile of outfall sewer from the plant�to the creek. We believe
this would disrupt the farmland to a greater extent thin the proposed site,
and would increase the cost of construction by an estimated y�8,000.
Our conclusion on the location of this particular proposed site for
the plant has been based on an extensive topographic survey and study of
the entire area. The site has been approved by the State Board of Health
after a survey by 'the Public Health Engineer in a letter to us dated
January 29, 1957. Also, a permit for construction has been granted by the
State Board of: Health as of July 11, 195'7.
i Respectfully submitted,
Hollis E. Ryken
Consulting Engineer
Ackley, Iovra