WESTPHALIA — Westphalia aldermen announced the winners of the Christmas Decorating Contest at their meeting last Tuesday night.

Three of the four top prizes went to residents on Devin Lane — Tyler and Brittany Plassmeyer (first), Bryan and Ashley DuValeus (second), and George and Joan Coppler (fourth) — as Dennis and Steve Holterman on Bridge Avenue earned fourth.

Alderman Jake Plassmeyer joked that maybe Devin Lane should be renamed Christmas Lane.

Winners will receive cash prizes and certificates in the mail.

Mary Joe Schaefer, Mike and Melissa Kliethermes, Raymond Wieberg, and Stephan and Kathy Johannesmeyer received honorable mention.

Mayor Tammy Massman noted that there seemed to be less participation in the decorating contest this year than in years past and thought that aldermen should consider cutting down on the number of honorable mentions next year.

In other business, Alderman Delbert Wieberg asked if any other citizens signed up for the April election. Massman replied that no one had signed up at the time of the meeting, noting that the last day to register for the election is Dec. 26.

Alderman Lori Asel noted that she has talked to several people and tried to get them interested in serving on the board.

• Plassmeyer said he had received several complaints about the poor condition of the road that goes to the new location for the recycle bin. Everyone agreed the road was in poor condition and would benefit from some additional gravel, but it is a county road and not the city’s responsibility.

Mayor Massman said that she would reach out to the county.

• Aaron Lachowicz from Mid Mo Operations reported that the blower mower had come in, and he planned to install it last weekend. The initial quote to replace the clarifier gear box was $10,000. Lachowicz said that the clarifier box is still working, and they have reached out to three companies for replacement prices.

Lachowicz explained that they may have to modify a gear box to work for the replacement.

Manholes have been inspected for the year.

Wieberg said that he had not written a scope of work for replacing the air headers at the wastewater treatment plant. He has reached out to several companies who said they were very busy, and since the project won’t begin until spring, he believes there’s plenty of time to work on writing out the specifications for the scope of work.

Lachowicz noted that Mid Mo Operations is on schedule to submit fourth-quarter reports before the due date.

Overall, Lachowicz said that everything at the treatment plant is running well.

• Aldermen approved the following outstanding bills: city fund ($3,100), sewer system ($6,219.91), and special road district ($1,589.40).

• Westphalia had the following receipts for the month: city ($7,163.03), sewer ($8,277.97), and special road district ($.58).

• The city had the following account balances: city checking ($169,680.51), sewer system checking ($67,793.19), road district checking ($69,127.70), American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) checking ($60,530.57), and special road district savings ($5,119.74).

• Westphalia holds the following certificates of deposit: city ($445,633.43), sewer system ($528,815.01), and special road district ($532,055.27).

• The next meeting will be held on Jan. 30, 2024, at 7 p.m.