Joe Drennan
Staff Writer

Water is one step closer to becoming a reality in the freeway district in Columbus Township. At the Wednesday, Feb. 22 Colummbus Town Board meeting supervisors voted unanimously to allow the township engineer to move forward with plans and specifications for well number one and to advertise for bids.

The township can move forward with well number one without having to purchase an extra strip of land on the well site property after a landowner on the east side of I-35, Dr. Ervin Savord, contacted the township with a willingness to sell some of his land for a second well and treatment plant.

ìItís always been in the plans to have a well on the east side of the freeway and this site will allow us to have a treatment plant without any mitigation like there would have been on well site number one,î Town Engineer Larry Bohrer said.

Ordinance 06-01

At the previous town board meeting there was some discussion about whether or not there should be a time limit on existing residents to hook up to sewer service once the service is available to them.

ìAfter thinking about it I think we have to put some sort of time on it,î Mettler said.

ìI know Glen and Tom have talked about the impact on the landowners, and it sounds like a heck of a hit, but they have a five or more year notice.î

Upon further discussion the town board discovered that the ordinance does include text allowing for a deferral of hook up. The board would have the decision to defer an assessment longer if they felt the landowner had a hardship.

ìI think if the time element doesnít work for the home owner they should come to the Board and talk to us,î Supervisor Mark Walsh said. ìWe can work with them.î

Not everyone was so sure about the deferral option.

ìI like to see that in there, but I am still in disagreement with putting a time limit on hooking up because I think weíre trying to compare ourselves to communities that have their own unique situations.î

With the text for a deferral in the ordinance, the board voted 3-1 to approve the ordinance with an eight year time limit for landowners to hook up to the sewer once itís made available to them.

East Bethel meeting

On Feb. 15 Mettler and Walsh attended the East Bethel City Council meeting where they were seeking a resolution supporting Columbus Township in their incorporation.

During the meeting an East Bethel city council member asked about the possibility of East Bethel annexing a small portion of Columbus as they plan their own sewer system in the Coon Lake area.

ìI didnít say it was something weíd do,î Mettler said, ìI said Iíd bring it up at our next meeting and thatís tonight.î

As the town board talked about it more it became apparent the township and city could work together in a joint powers agreement, allowing East Bethel to accomplish their sewer project.

ìItís not uncommon for bordering communities to have joint powers agreements with utilities, and since Columbus has been involved in joint powers agreements for more than 20 years this would make more sense,î Town Attorney Bill Griffith said.

The town board made no motions in reference to the possibility of a ìfriendlyî annexation, but mentioned theyíd look into the joint powers agreement possibility more.

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Forest Lake Times
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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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