Rib Lake to switch to radio control water meters

The Rib Lake Village Board at its meeting on May 12 approved spending $60,100 to switch to radio control smart water meters.

Trustee Vernell Van Hecker said the current system used by the village requires a public works employee to touch the water meter with a hand-held device to download the reading into the device. He said due to topography, the new devices should allow approximately 90 percent of the village’s meters to be read from the village clerk’s office. He said the rest of the village would require someone from the village driving through the area and “ping” the meters to download the readings into a hand-held computer.

Van Hecker said the new system would speed up the billing process and make it easier for the village clerk. He said when a person moves out of an apartment, it would also allow the clerk to read the meter rather than sending someone from the public works department to read it. Van Hecker said the new system could also help if a water leak developed. He said the smart meters could detect an abnormal use of water and “ping” the system that there was a potential problem much sooner than it might normally be discovered. Trustee Cliff Mann added the new meters would also detect if someone tried to tamper with it and alert the system.

The new meters would be installed over a three-year period. Once the new system was installed, there would be a maintenance and support fee of $2,400 per year.

The board approved price quotes from American Asphalt of $23,847 to pave Ella Street and $8,090 to pave Park Row from the asphalt to the cemetery gate.

Van Hecker said American Asphalt thought it wouldn’t have to grind Ella Street because the base was in very good shape. He said there were a few places in the road and along the gutters that would need to be milled before an overlay of asphalt was put down over the street to build up the crown so the water would run into the gutters rather than pooling in the middle of the street. Van Hecker said American Asphalt would be paving on Fawn Avenue and will do Ella Street and Park Row while they had their equipment in the area.

The village had also received a price quote from American Asphalt of $4,700 to pave in the park from where the blacktop on the driveway ends around the bathrooms and back out to Park Row. Both trustees Mann and George Tesch had concerns that large heavy camper units making tight turns on the blacktop could damage it. Mann also asked if it was necessary to blacktop in the park. Van Hecker said it wasn’t and that the blacktop was just a suggestion to improve the park. The board briefly discussed the issue and decided to blacktop Ella Street and Park Row only.

The board conditionally approved a bid of $11,997 from Jensen & Son to crack seal the streets in the village. The village received two other bids, one from Lakes Asphalt for $13,167 and another from a Pennsylvania company, which the board rejected since it listed just the unit price and not an overall cost to do the project.

Van Hecker asked if the bids included the Department of Transportation (DOT) specifications for the product being used. Village clerk Kristin Lueck said they did not. Van Hecker said he thought the village usually asked that it be included in the bid. Lueck replied she used the advertisement for the quotes that was published last year and just changed the dates. Following a brief discussion, the board approved the Jensen bid contingent on Van Hecker checking with Jensen to find out if the material to be used meets DOT specifications.

The board approved a quote of $2,267 from Quik Print to print 16 photographs and captions for the Railroad Project to be displayed in the hallway and community meeting room at the village hall.

The board had previously approved a request by Bob Rusch on behalf of the Rib Lake Historical Society to fund printing seven or eight photographs as part of the project at a cost of approximately $1,200. Lueck said since then, Rusch had expanded the project to 16 photographs.

Village president Bill Shreiner said the village has received many compliments on the photographs that were already on display in the village hall and the board felt it was a worthwhile expenditure.

The board approved a capital improvement plan to be submitted with the village’s application for grant funding for the Landall and McComb street project.

Pat Morrow from MSA Professional Services said one of the questions on the application asked if the project was part of a capital improvement plan. He said MSA has been working with the village to draft a plan that calls for the McComb and Landall project to be done in 2022 at an estimate cost of $1.1 million, the water tower rehab project in 2023 at an estimate cost of $450,000, improvements to Third Street from Railroad Street to Church Street in 2024 at an estimate cost of $155,000, and improvements to North Front Street from Fayette Avenue to North Street in 2025 at an estimated cost of $310,000.

Morrow told the board just because the village adopts the capital improvement plan, doesn’t mean it is committed to the schedule. He said the projects can be done at anytime when sufficient funds are available. Morrow said the main reason for adopting the plan was so the village could earn extra points on its grant application.

Morrow said MSA was recommending the village wait until next year to apply for funding for the water tower rehabilitation project, based on an inspection report that indicated repairs to the tower were not urgently required. He said Rib Lake’s score of 74 was not high enough to guarantee the village would receive a grant to help fund the project.

Morrow said with the potential of record-setting contributions to the Clean Water Fund, Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding through the Federal Infrastructure Stimulus, the village’s chances of receiving financial assistance next year are believed to be much greater. He said Rib Lake should still move forward with having design plans and specifications ready this year so that the project can be shovel-ready and meet shovel-worthy requirements when the village applies for funding next year.

One of the items on the agenda for consideration was converting the two volleyball courts in the park into one. Van Hecker said he put the item on the agenda because someone had asked him about it.

Mann said one of the things he noticed is that the village doesn’t advertise that the park has volleyball courts and horseshoe pits. He said it’s not listed where campers register that the courts and horseshoe pits are part of the park and asked if they were listed on the village’s website. Mann said the village should advertise they have volleyball courts before considering taking them out, saying he has had campers mention to him they didn’t know the park had a volleyball court. He said people bring their own volleyball equipment and horseshoes with them and if the village doesn’t tell them about the courts and horseshoe pits, they’re not going to bring that equipment along when they stay at the campground. Mann said he had looked at the courts and horseshoe pits and while they could use some “sprucing up,” they were in good shape. He said if people know the courts and horseshoe pits are there, they will use them.

The board agreed to follow Mann’s suggest and “spruce up” the courts and horseshoe pits, as well as better advertise that they are available for the public to use.