$20 for your trouble: City to credit water users for water quality issues

 When New Rockford residents get their next utility bill in the mail, they’ll likely notice that it’s a little less expensive.

 At their regular commission meeting on Monday, Nov. 7, the New Rockford City Commission made a decision to reimburse residents for the inconveniences and costs the water project may have caused.

 But first, an update on the long-overdue water project was provided by Wade Senger of Interstate Engineering.

 Senger told commissioners the project is in its final phase, as he’s currently working on closeout paperwork with Sentry Crane. Tweaking of the plant will continue as needed, he said, “but we’re 90-95 percent of the way there at this point.”

 Senger added, “Looking at the water chemistry from … 2019 when we started the design of the project, compared to the water chemistry that’s leaving the plant now, the plant is producing substantially better quality water.”

 Recently, many residents in town were dismayed to find that water in their home had turned brown, which was caused by the city flushing its hydrants. That flushing is now complete, said Senger, and so the brown water many residents were seeing should be gone.

 However, throughout that flushing process, residents were advised to keep their water running in order to clear any brown water in their homes - the latest in a string of inconveniences for New Rockford residents related to the water project.

 Later in the meeting, commissioners discussed ways to credit water users in New Rockford for having to put up with poor water quality for so long, and they agreed that residents should be reimbursed for having to run excess water, which for some may have led to higher water bills.

 “We’ve been telling people to ‘please run the water,’ and well, that does cost money,” said New Rockford Mayor Stuart Richter. “Yes I know it’s very minimal, but it is a cost.”

 “It’s been awful for not only us, but for everyone in the community,” he added. “... Let’s figure out something that we can do to ease some pain.”

 A few different ideas were discussed on what exactly should be done, but Commissioner Jim Belquist’s suggestion of an across-the-board credit for all water users in the city carried the day.

 City Auditor Becki Schumacher told commissioners that most water bills in New Rockford total $20.25.

 Commissioners then voted unanimously in favor of a $20 adjustment for all water users in the City of New Rockford, meaning many residents will see their water expense nearly zero’d out when their next utility bill comes in the mail.

 Schumacher added that New Rockford sends out roughly 700 water bills to residents in town, and that a $20 credit to each of them equates to approximately $14,000 in lost revenue for the city.

 Meanwhile, negotiations are still underway between the City of New Rockford and Sentry Crane regarding payment for work on the water project.

 Both Senger and Richter reported that progress has been made in negotiations, and Senger said he’s optimistic he can have a recommendation for the commission at their December meeting.

 However, not everything Senger told commissioners Monday night was positive.

 Senger reported that Bituminous Paving, the company charged with milling and paving New Rockford’s streets as part of the New Rockford Street Improvement Project, have recently left town for the season.

 “We have been working with Bituminous Paving over the last month or so,” said Senger. “Knowing the weather would turn at some point in November, we were looking for sort of a stop point to where it would make sense to leave the city in a traversable condition for snow removal, and for pedestrians and vehicle traffic to be able to use the streets during the winter.”

 Senger added, “They maybe could have worked for another few days beyond that, but they wouldn’t have been able to complete what they had started, and it would have been a worse situation.”

 The project had originally been scheduled for completion by Nov. 1, but with inclement weather well on its way, Bituminous Paving will have to return to New Rockford after winter to finish the project.

 Multiple streets east of Hwy. 281, as well as parts of the truck route west of the bowling alley, have not been milled or paved, nor has any graveling been completed.

 “There is quite a bit of work to do still, and they realize that,” said Senger, “but hopefully with what they have done everybody can see the results and hopefully everybody is satisfied with that.”

 The next regular City Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in City Hall.