By Jolene Farley
Rock County Rural Water Representative Dan Cook attended the Hills City Council meeting Tuesday to answer questions about the proposed $219,000 improvement project.
Cook told the council that the installation of a six-inch line from two miles north of Hills to the northern edge of town should be adequate for the city at this point.
"That should handle your peak delivery," he said. "We feel we can deliver the 2.94 million gallons with the equipment we have with no problems."
The larger water line would increase water pressure and capacity from 1,680,000 gallons per year to 2,940,000 gallons per year.
The system could be modified, should water needs increase due to growth or a new industry in Hills, according to Cook.
The wording of the contract from Rock County Rural Water was changed to eliminate the phrase off-peak usage period.
At the December meeting, the council questioned why the contract guaranteed certain usage only during off-peak periods. The off-peak periods weren’t specified in the contract.
Cook expects the improvements to be complete by June 1. Rock County Rural Water is working on obtaining easements for the desired areas.
"Weather conditions play 100 percent of the situation now," he said.
Council members haven’t voted on where to seek financing for the project. They are currently considering financing through Rural Development, Exchange State Bank, or Rock County Rural Water.
Rural Development currently isn’t loaning money because its budget isn’t finalized, according to City Clerk Connie Wiertzema.
"We’ve got to know where to go with our financing," said Jellema.
In other business
The council voted to assess $22,801 in sewer costs and $3,770 in platting costs back to the Park View Third Addition properties. Gerald Haak, Wilmer Elbers and Tony Bosch are developing the residential lots, located south of the city park.
These amounts will be assessed to the properties over a period of 10 years at 5.25 percent interest. No water costs where included in the assessments.