WESTPHALIA — Westphalia Mayor Pro Tem Delbert Wieberg suggested raising sewer rates by $20 at the board’s Dec. 30 meeting. Currently, Westphalia’s sewer base rate is $21 per month, with an additional $3.50 per 1,000 gallons of water, with special rates that apply to apartment buildings, senior citizen housing, nursing homes, and the school.

“My idea is to build another (sewer) plant and, within five years of that, refurbish the old plant so that we have both going in case we would ever need them,” Wieberg explained.

He estimated a new plant would cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million, and that refurbishing the old plant would cost about $800,000.

“People are going to push us to get a grant, but it’s hard for me to ask for a grant when we haven’t raised the rates in a while,” Wieberg said. “Rates should have been raised 10 to 20 years ago.”

Currently, the city is accumulating roughly $156,000 in excess per year from the current sewer rate following the rate increase four years ago.

Unterrified Democrat Reporter Theresa Brandt commented that it seemed like a big increase to double the base rate and to propose building a new plant when the old plant is still functioning well.

Mid Mo Operations owner Aaron Lachowicz agreed with Wieberg that a new plant or improvements for the existing plant will be needed soon. “The only thing left of the current sewer plant is the clarifier, and when it fails, it’s going to be a catastrophic failure,” he said.

Brandt asked Lachowicz and Wieberg if it would be hard to get a grant since the plant was currently functional, within regulations set up by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Lachowicz conceded that was probably true and that the best deal the city was likely to get in a grant would be a 50/50 match. Lachowicz pointed out that since the city of Westphalia has a substantial amount of money on hand to use for matching funds, DNR would look at a grant option favorably.

“You really think the answer is to double the sewer rate?” Brandt asked.

“What’s wrong with that?” Delbert asked. “We’ve been cheaper than everyone else forever. We’re looking at where we want to be, and my thoughts are, if we fail on this system and have to sell out to American Water, what will the rates be then?”

Wieberg questioned why the board only raised the sewer rates by a small amount four years ago.

“I realize it is extreme to double it,” Wieberg said. “In talking to the former Mayor Chris Dickneite, the plant is 20 years old with a 25-year life expectancy.”

Wieberg asked the other aldermen what their thoughts were on a sewer rate increase.

While the others agreed that there may need to be a rate increase, they weren’t sure what that should be.

City Clerk Tammy Massman explained that there was a process to follow to make a change to the sewer rates that would include public notices, public hearings, and adopting a new ordinance.

“We’ll have a public hearing, and I’ll explain it to everyone then,” Wieberg said. “It’s a negotiable rate.”

Massman said that the board would need to set a rate to hold a public hearing, although aldermen could table the issue, put it on the agenda for the next meeting, and invite the public to discuss the issue.

Massman noted that it was also possible to set periodic rate increases over the next several years instead of doubling the rate right away.

“We could do it in three increments with a $7 increase every four years for 12 years,” Wieberg said. “We would have to do the math and see how much money that would create.”

“You’re talking about building a new plant and rehabbing a second plant, so that we would have two plants to maintain,” said Alderman Stanley Heckman. “We aren’t even at the maximum capacity for one plant. We would be maintaining two for no reason.”

Massman noted there seemed to be a lot of unknowns at this point.

“What we do know is that plants won’t last forever,” Wieberg said. “It’s something we will always need.”

Aldermen agreed to table the issue until the next meeting. Wieberg and Lachowicz plan to attend the DNR conference in January and report back on what they find out about available grants. Massman will research municipalities in the area and report on their current sewer rates.

“We can table this right now, but we will have to have a new plant one day,” Wieberg said. “Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today? That’s what my Ag teacher used to tell us.”

Wieberg asked Brandt to make sure that this part of the meeting was in the article in the UD.

“I hope this gets people talking and asking questions,” Wieberg said. “I’m not afraid to answer any questions people might have.”

In other business, aldermen questioned paying the bill for six porta-potties for the recent Christmas on Main Street event.

“We were billed for six of them at $100 each for a total of $600, as opposed to the four that were approved by the board,” Massman said.

“That should be on the (Christmas on Main Street) committee, not the city,” Heckman said. “They should pay for the two extra porta-potties.”

Massman confirmed that the porta-potties were billed to the city of Westphalia.

“If we stipulated that we would pay for four and they got six, next time they might get eight,” Heckman said. “They are basically saying what was agreed to doesn’t matter.”

Massman noted that last year, aldermen approved two porta-potties and were billed for four. The committee was informed but never repaid the city, which ended up paying the entire bill.

“That’s two years in a row, and the number keeps going up,” Massman said.

“Before we pay it, we should at least talk to the committee, let them know what is going on, and address the issue,” Heckman said.

Wieberg noted that going forward, it would make sense for the city to order the porta-potties so aldermen could control the number ordered and the total cost.

• Aldermen increased the values on nearly all the items insured through the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund (MOPERM), and will ask for a new estimate on how much it will cost to insure everything at the new values. Currently, the city’s property is insured for $1,099,731, with a yearly premium of $4,522.

Aldermen increased the value of the following properties: City Hall (from $110,000 to $120,000), garage (from $143,468 to $200,000), Highway 63 Lift Station (from $15,978 to $30,000), City View Lift Station (from $10,652 to $12,000), Massman Lane Lift Station (from $5,326 to $9,000) and Devin Lane Lift Station (from $10,652 to $12,000). The board did not increase the insured value of the streetlights, leaving them at $62,135. Aldermen did not assign a new amount for the sewer treatment plant, currently listed as $659,321, and they will have the salt shed removed from the estimate.

Heckman wanted to know what insurance would cover for the various buildings, and not just increase the values, if there is no benefit to the city.

“I’m more concerned if there would be an earthquake at the sewer plant,” Wieberg said. “We know it is not going to cover things that go out from wear and tear.”

“It would be nice to know what the insurance is actually going to cover,” Heckman said. “By the time we raise all of these values, we are going to double our insurance payment.”

“It’s always a gamble,” Wieberg replied.

Massman will send in the proposed changes and ask for a new quote. She will also ask what things are covered by the policy and send the information out to the aldermen.

• Westphalia will not have an election in April since three people filed for the three open positions available. Mayor Pro Tem Delbert Wieberg has filed for the mayor position. Alderman Caitlin Berhorst had filed to retain her seat, and Chris Dickneite will replace Heckman.

Massman noted that Wieberg’s seat will be open after he assumes the mayor position in April, and the seat could be filled by appointment.

• The city of Westphalia announces the following winners for the Christmas Decorating Contest: first place with a $50 cash prize were Brian and Ashley DuValeus at 48 Devin Lane, second place with a $40 prize went to Brenda Rehagen at 205 West Main Street, Joe and Mary Rakestraw at 136 East Main took third place with a $30 prize, and fourth place and a $20 prize went to Mike Kliethermes at 132 East Main Street.

• Lachowicz reported that the new pump had been installed at the Highway 63 Lift Station. He also reported that manhole inspections had been completed and that the manhole cover behind the retirement center was continuing to degrade. Lachowicz noted it would need to be replaced in the next two to three years.

Lachowicz had priced lining the manhole, but the cost was prohibitive compared to replacing it with a new one. He is continuing to work on the quarterly reports that are due in January.

• The city had the following receipts: city ($11,576.63), sewer ($9,215.01), and special road district ($17,631.36).

• Aldermen approved the following outstanding expenses: city ($16,409.24), sewer ($7,119.91), and special road district ($3,269.40).

• Westphalia had the following account balances: city checking ($137,480.72), sewer system checking ($94,855.80), special road district checking ($118,709.85), and special road district savings ($5,135.06).

• The city holds the following certificates of deposit: city ($462,920.83), sewer system ($549,790.35), and special road district ($553,867.14).

• The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m.