FREEBURG — Freeburg trustees agreed to adjust water and sewer usage fees as they apply to apartment buildings at their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The board agreed to allow a minimum of 2,000 gallons of water for each apartment, regardless of whether each unit has a water meter.  Trustees had changed the way they billed apartments, requiring each apartment to be charged the minimum usage fee, even if an apartment building only had one meter. Each meter was charged for every gallon that exceeded the minimum. The new water rates went into effect for the July billing, with bills due on Aug. 10.

“We want to treat everyone the same,” Mayor Darryl Haller said. “That way, it will be fair across the board to everyone. I talked to a few people, and it does seem like a big increase, so we are willing to change to make it fairer.”

“Basically, each unit gets the same amount of water as every house in the village,” said Trustee Scott Knoll.

The change will take effect with the next water and sewer bills, but there will be no adjustments made for past bills.

“We are only willing to change it from this point forward,” Haller said.

Village Attorney Nathan Nickolaus said that he had done some research into what other cities and villages are doing, and he found that many were charging in the same way.

While property owners who were present said they appreciated that the Board of Trustees was looking into the issues, they did not think that it would add up to a big enough cost savings for their properties.

“What it all boils down to is that we are treating all of the residents the same,” Haller explained.

“What I don’t understand is why we’re doing this based on each apartment instead of each meter,” said property owner Jacques Wieberg. “The village doesn’t have any additional cost just because there are 12 apartments.”

“I understand that the increase seems like a lot, but this is the direction we are going,” Haller said.

“It is my understanding that (apartment residents) are living within the village of Freeburg and the village is providing a service to your residents, whether it is one meter or 12 apartments; they are part of the village of Freeburg like everyone else,” Trustee Jamie Kaesik said.

The change in fees for the water and sewer service will take effect immediately, and Nickolaus will write up a new ordinance outlining changes to be passed at the November meeting.

In other business, trustees agreed to work with resident Allen Gradel to help fix the ditch in front of his house that is starting to erode. Gradel had gotten a bid for two options to fix the ditch, including putting in a drain for $1,350 or adding 2-inch rock to the ditch for $950.

Gradel was hoping the village would pay part of the cost since the ditch is on village property.

“If he just wants to put in 2-inch rock, we can do that ourselves,” said Utilities Supervisor Doug Hamacher. “We can clean it out a little bit and put in the rock. We’ve got a pile of 2-inch rock, and it would only cost the village the labor.”

Hamacher did not feel he could put the drain in properly if that was what Gradel wanted.

Hamacher planned to talk to Gradel. Trustees agreed to let Hamacher put rock in the ditch at village expense or pay half to have the drain installed.

• Nicolaus will look at the contract between the village of Freeburg and Radio Wire.

“We have a contract with Radio Wire because they use our tower and the fee is $3,000 per year to be paid on Oct. 1,” Haller said.

The mayor said that he had called and was told Radio Wire was having a hard time paying bills.

“If they don’t pay and attorneys get involved, it will cost more,” Nickolaus said.

Haller said that he will send the contract over to Nicolaus.

“We have a written agreement with them,” Haller said. “We have to ask for it each year. It’s typically a week or so late.”

• Republic Services sent out a notice that there will be a 3% increase in trash services starting Jan. 1. The cost to the city will increase from $12.58 to $12.97 per month. Freeburg charges 30% more to the residents, so the residential cost for one can will increase to $13.84.

• BlackRoads Group will be sealing village streets the week following the meeting.

• Osage County Health Department staff will be at the American Legion Hall on Oct. 21 from 4-6:30 p.m. for flu shots and other vaccinations. Everyone is welcome to participate.

• The pickleball court has been a big success, and residents have enjoyed using the new court so much that trustees hope to put in a second court next year.

Hamacher will work on painting the lines for a more permanent option; right now, the lines are only marked with tape, which is starting to show signs of wear.

• Knoll asked Hamacher if everything had been taken care of regarding the recent violations cited by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

“I’ve got everything done except one thing,” Hamacher said. “I’m waiting on the inspections of the backflow devices. Then we should be good.”

Knoll said that he had heard several residents voicing concerns and wanted to make sure everything was being addressed.

Hamacher said there was nothing for anyone to worry about.

• Trustees approved the following outstanding bills: general ($5,724.39), sewer ($536.86), wastewater and sewer project ($35,999.15), and water ($772.29).

• Freeburg had the following ending account balances: purchasing ($403.42), sewer checking ($13,577.52) general revenue checking ($11,110.57), sewer money market ($392,633.71), general revenue money market ($504,391.16), wastewater and sewer project ($103,922.76), water ($7,029.41), water replacement ($245.97), and water money market ($1,018,094.64).

• Freeburg had a 3% water loss for August. The village pumped a total of 1,781.180 gallons of water and billed 1,357,100 gallons.

• The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m.