Clear Lake Sanitary District
News and Information Update
From the Administrator/Superintendent, Kevin Moler

January, 2005

Trustee Changes

The Clear Lake Sanitary District thanks Willard Gisel and Wes Shubert for their service and dedication as trustees for the last 13 and 9 years, respectively. Their time that they gave during the renovations completed during the last 10 years is much appreciated. I have received many comments that lake contamination would have continued if it weren't for the added determination of these two gentlemen to build a reliable pumping and treatment system.

I personally would like to thank Wes Shubert for his service to the board of trustees and for his dedication to this industry. If any one person was ever deserving of a life time achievement award it certainly would be Wes Shubert. It is a sad affair that many of you may only know Wes as a result of the required sewer rate increase and not for his knowledge and experience that he brought to the board. The 25 year Water Reuse Service Contract between the Emery Generation plant and the Clear Lake Sanitary District is just one example of how we all benefit from Wes Shubert's talents now and for years to come.

As a Professional Engineer and a certified plant operator I am thankful that I had the opportunity to work with Wes. I truly believe that my 8 years experience with Mr. Shubert is just as valuable as any graduate degree. Wes not only provided leadership but a philosophy that only a successful, educated and experienced business person could. Wes, I will most certainly miss your board presence. Thank you for the education.

Clear Lake residents Tom Lincoln and Kelly McLaughlin were elected to replace Willard and Wes and will certainly have big shoes to fill. Everyone can welcome Tom and Kelly by attending their first board meeting January 11, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. in the sanitary district board room located at 5631 235^th Street (treatment plant).

Sewer Projects

The Clear Lake Sanitary District recently completed the construction of Pump Station #9 located on 27^th Avenue S., Clear Lake. This pump station will serve current and future development along the S. 8^th Street and 27^th Avenue S. corridor. Total project cost was $385,000.

The board of trustees approved a construction contract with Larsen Contracting of Lake Mills that includes the construction of a 600 square feet sludge building to house the District's sludge thickening device. Total project cost is $160,000 and should be complete my June 1, 2005.

Housing growth in Ventura is at an all time high. With development occurring on W. Lake St. the board approved a construction contract for Pump Station #10 that will provide sewer service for current and future development areas in the W. Lake St. vicinity including the area directly north of Highway 18. The total project cost of $640,000 will include the pump station, sewer force main and gravity sewer pipe construction.

Pump Station #7 located in Ventura Heights received an overhaul this past fall after numerous attempts to save the aging steel structure that was placed below ground in 1960. The project also includes the replacement of over 500 feet of sewer force main pipe in an area where we have experienced serious pipe deterioration from aggressive soils and electrolysis and gravity sewer extension to areas under development. Total project cost is approximately $150,000.

The board of trustees recently discussed relocating existing Pump Station #2 which is located on lakeshore property, two lots northeast of the former Harbor Inn Restaurant. When the pump station was constructed in 1954 the surrounding property was undeveloped. The area has since developed thus requiring District personnel to access the pump station via front yards of adjacent lake front property owners. The board has evaluated the many benefits of relocating, which includes reduced reliability, 24/7 unlimited access and adding back to the tax base and believe that this project has great merit.

Should the board receive a legitimate offer for the Pump Station #2 property and receive a permanent easement from the IDNR to relocate the pump station to State property directly west of the former Harbor Inn building trustees will give the approval for proceeding with relocation plans and specifications. Relocation costs are currently estimated at $150,000. Proceeds from the sale of the existing pump station property will assist with offsetting the cost of relocating. A Public Hearing date to discuss the sale of public property has been set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday January 11, 2005 at the Clear Lake Sanitary District board room. A Public Notice will/was (be) published on Wednesday December 29, 2004 announcing the Public Sale.

The board of trustees hired Fox Engineering from Ames, Iowa to conduct a preliminary study of providing sewer to areas east of Interstate 35 along Highway 122. Current and future development in this area has resulted in a waster extension construction project approved by Clear Lake officials. The board of trustees will review this preliminary information provided by the engineer and proceed accordingly with a possible sewer construction project.

Sewer Rates

The Clear Lake Sanitary District's monthly sewer rates have remained unchanged since July 1, 1997, nearly 7 years. The same cannot be said for the District's tax rate. Since July 2001 the District's tax rate has decreased from $1.80 to $1.67 per $1,000 valuation. Even though it doesn't seem like much the decrease is magnified when considering the recent additional tax roll back implemented, i.e. in stead of paying property tax on 51% of your assessed property value politicians have lowered that figure to 49%.

A copy of a sewer rate survey completed by the City of Ames, Iowa in September 2003 is listed below in Table 1 for Iowa cities with population equivalents of 10,000 or more. This survey also generated a second rate study, Table 2, that lists the annual average monthly sewer rates for the same communities listed in Table 1 from 1958 to 2003.

It is interesting to note that the Clear Lake Sanitary District population equivalence is one of the smallest if not the smallest of those included in this survey. You would expect to see communities with smaller populations to have higher sewer rates as compared to communities with larger populations. Table 1 indicates this for the most part. The exact opposite occurs in Table 2 when comparing the median monthly values from 1958 through 2003. The reason for this inequity is that the sewer rates for the Clear Lake Sanitary District's pumping and treatment systems constructed in 1955 did not budget for proper maintenance, asset management or replacement costs. Therefore, the current rates reflect new pumping systems, forcemain pipes and treatment systems that were required to be built in 1995 to replace the old and inadequate pumping and treatment systems.

The costly events that occurred to the Clear Lake Sanitary District between 1958 and 1991 are good lessons for any community to learn from so that other councils/boards can ensure that these mistakes are not repeated. Budgeting for an adequate asset management program will ensure that funds are available to maintain and or replace equipment and infrastructure as they reach the end of their useful lives. Without this type of approach the public will not receive the most efficient use of their tax dollars.