PAGING THROUGH H
ABBOTSFORD T RIBUNE PUBLISHED IN ABBOTSFORD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1951
Medo-Farms Dairy Plant inspected by man Sunday
THE TRIBUNE-P HONOGRAPH PUBLISHED IN ABBOTSFORD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1981
Abby argues for water rate increase An open house at the newly completed Medo-Farms Dairy Plant Sunday brought an estimated crowd of 1,500 persons. The viewed with interest the automatic bottle filler and washer, the homogenizer and the pasteurizer.
Production at the plant is about 1,000 bottles daily and present equipment is large enough to handle twice that amount of milk. Also included in the machinery are a cream separator, completed weighing tank, two standdrive trucks for delivery and insulated milk van for picking up milk from the producers.
White walls and stainless steel equipment make an attractive plant. The floor in the bottling room is abrasive tile while the adjoining sales room is asphalt tile in green and tan colors.
The sales room is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Here dairy products are sold. The dairy bar, where a variety of ice cream, sundaes, malteds and sandwiches are sold, is open from noon until 11:30 p.m. Parking space off the highway has been made available.
At the present time, the staff includes Herb Wilhelmi, owner, sale supervisor, plant supervision, etc; Dick Preller, co-owner, in charge of sales and laboratory technician, public relations; Sonny Karsten, sales; Louis Nacker, producer pick-up and processing room; Elna Wilhelmi, plan supervision and dairy bar management; Myrtle Preller, clerical and dairy bar supervision; Bernice Nacker, part time clerical.
The city of Abbotsford has had its “day in court” in an attempt to get is water rates raised, and will find out from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in several weeks if its efforts were successful.
Mayor Val Wojner, City Attorney Frank Nikolay, City Clerk Dennis Weix, and Dick Shurbert, the city’s fi nancial consultant, traveled to Madison to plead the city’s case in the Nov. 19 hearing. It is expected to be reviewed no later than a month from now. In testimony presented 10 the commission, however, Robert Norcross, a PSC accountant, said that in its judgement, the increase in water rates applied for by Abby was too high.
Abby wants to increase it gross revenue from water sales by about $88,000 a year. Norcross’ testimony, written in response to the city’s application, stated that an increase of $53,000 would be more realistic.
The Abbotsford water utility is in debt to the city’s general fund to the tune of over $350,000. The requested rate hike was designed to begin paying back that debt, among other things. The city’s estimated $88,000 increase is the annual payment it would make on a 10-year $400,000 mortgage revenue bond bearing 12 percent interest. That would eventually repay the utility debt to the general fund.
Nocross’ statement recommended a 20-year bond, which would require $53,000 annual payments. He said the city’s request, which would generate over a 20 percent return, was “in our opinion, unreasonable and unjust.”
