The Jefferson Street/Water and Sewer/Sanitation committees met Tuesday in regular session.

The meeting started with a lengthy discussion about a homeowner’s past water bill. The committee addressed an issue of a $3,485 one month bill from 15 years ago. The homeowner claimed that a former city employee admitted, after he no longer worked for the city, to making a mistake when reading the water meter. However, the homeowner claimed that when she tried to talk to City staff about it, the City said they had enough evidence to keep the billing at the rate it was established. However, the committee will recommend to the City Council to forgive the remaining $465 on the bill and credit back the additional amount the homeowner had been paying their regular monthly bill for the past five years.

Another main topic of discussion was about making upgrades to all of the City’s lift stations. One preliminary estimate to replace all of the lift stations with generators and automatic switches was between $100,000 and $150,000. However, the committee felt the top priority was the Grimmell Road Lift Station since four of the City’s eight lift stations flow into it. The cost for just that lift station was about $45,000. The committee wanted a firm cost estimate before going before the City Council for final approval.

Alliant Energy representatives addressed the committees about their upgrades to electric and gas meters. They said in mid-September the utility company will begin to install smart meters and gas meters will also receive an upgrade in their modulares.

The committee also discussed the water usage report from May, the Highway 4 resurfacing project that will start on July 30th, financials for a walkway to Greenewood, applying for a Union Pacific Railroad grant to kick-start the east entryway project, recycling discussions and continuing to look at a quiet zone for the City on a periodic basis, with other projects being higher on the priority list.