City of Emmetsburg Newsletter

Emmetsburg Sewer and Water Rates Increasing Due to Upcoming Infrastructure Projects

Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities (EMU) would like to make customers aware of two major upcoming infrastructure projects that will have an impact on customers’ monthly bills: a new wastewater treatment plant and a new Reverse Osmosis system for the water plant. The new water and sewer rates will go into effect August 1^st, with customers receiving these bills around September 10^th.

The current wastewater treatment plant, built in the 1970s, has outlived its forty-year life expectancy and is in dire need of replacement. The new wastewater treatment plant is estimated to cost approximately $30 million. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2023 and take approximately two years for completion.

The Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities Board of Trustees has been working for over ten years to develop a cost-effective plan to reduce our chloride levels in order to comply with Iowa Department of Natural Resource (DNR) discharge requirements for the wastewater treatment plant, including the updated chloride limitations in the plant’s 2009 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The board has investigated lower cost alternatives and partnered with engineering firm Bolton & Menk to conduct a feasibility study to determine if updates could be made to the existing water plant or sewer plant to meet these standards. However, after exhausting all other options it was determined that the addition of a Reverse Osmosis system to the water plant is EMU’s only option for compliance. The estimated project cost for the Reverse Osmosis system is $8-10 million. This project is scheduled to be completed by December 2026 to comply with the DNR’s Administrative Consent Order.

EMU has been working closely with Public Financial Management (PFM), independent financial advisors and consultants, to review finances and determine necessary water and sewer rate increases to finance these infrastructure improvements in the coming years.

Water rates in fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) will increase by 20% for both base and volumetric rates. The average Emmetsburg household can expect an increase of $5.07 to the monthly water bill.

The fiscal year 2023 sewer base rate within city limits will increase from $16.75 to $25.00. The sewer volumetric rate will increase by 15%, and the sewer debt service will increase to $15.00. The average household can expect an increase of $20.39 to the monthly sewer bill.

EMU Board Chairman Kirk Haack shared, “The EMU Board of Trustees and Professional Staff are committed to managing costs efficiently and sustainably in order to ensure the safety, reliability and maintenance of our water and sewer services. We will be doing all we can to apply and qualify for grants and financial assistance to minimize the financial burden on EMU customers. Our rates and fees for service have been in the middle to lower end of the range of charges we’ve surveyed relative to area communities. We very much understand that these increased costs will be a burden for many of our fellow citizens. Unfortunately, these upcoming investments are unavoidable and cannot be put off any longer.”

Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities will continue to provide more details about these infrastructure projects through an informational series in the City of Emmetsburg newsletter, Emmetsburg Reporter-Democrat, and online in the coming months to help customers understand the background and regulations that have led to these changes as well as how these projects will affect customers and the community. If you have any questions, please contact the EMU office at 712-852-2550.

City & EMU Announcements

Closed Labor Day

The City of Emmetsburg & Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities will be closed on Monday, September 5^th in observance of Labor Day. Monday’s solid waste collection will be picked up on Tuesday, September 6^th.

EMU Natural Gas Safety Survey

Each year Emmetsburg Municipal Utilities is required to conduct a natural gas safety survey. The survey is conducted via telephone, with the call coming from EMU's number 712-852-2550. If you receive a call, please take a moment to answer a few questions. Thank you!

Chamber Matters

Updates from the Emmetsburg Chamber

The work of RAGBRAI still continues here at the office, but it is so good to hear the riders' and community’s comments and stories about our July 26 visit by 25,000 people. We will never know the actual number of guests we hosted, but no matter how many there were, our committees, our City, and our community did an absolutely outstanding job of welcoming them and hosting. To our many sponsors, thank you for making it possible for the Chamber to do this for our city. To our businesses that had great business last Tuesday, you are welcome. Either way we couldn’t have done it without you, and this is what the Chamber is here to do for you. Emmetsburg should be proud to have succeeded at our 5^th RAGBRAI overnight stay.

Business Appreciation Day (BAD) Golf is coming up on Thursday, August 18. Get your team reservations in for 9 holes of 4-person golf followed by a steak sandwich meal catered by Kirby’s Catering. Live After Six featuring the music of “Midland Vibe” will follow at 6:30. Iowa Trust & Savings Bank is sponsoring the band and The Shores at Five Island will be sponsoring the Veranda as they do every concert.

KEMB’s 6^th Homebrew Fest was held on Saturday, with tastings of craft beer and wine, homebrew, Ribfest, lots of beef grilled by the Cattlemen, beverage garden and live music. This was a fun time to gain support for our non-profit community radio station so that we can continue to bring school sports and activities as well as community information right to your radio and webstream. During the 2022-2023 school year, we are proud to say that KEMB will be adding broadcasts of Lady E-Hawk Volleyball to the airwaves besides football, wrestling, girls and boys basketball, softball and baseball!

Congratulations to Alberta Moffitt as the winner of the Ridiculous Days Drawing for $100 Chamber Bucks. Alberta shopped at Blossoming Creations during the event and is thrilled as she says she has never won anything ever before. Thanks for shopping local!

Stay in touch with the Chamber on Facebook

Afterschool Homework Help & More

Emmetsburg Public Library

The library will once again be offering Afterschool Homework Help during the school year, Monday through Thursday afternoons from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. A member of the library staff will be available to help children with their assigned work and will have practice materials in various subjects available during this time. Priority will be given to those who have scheduled in advance, but walk-ins are also welcome. Priority will be given to children needing help with school work assigned by a teacher.

If expertise is required beyond the library staff capabilities, then students will be referred to BrainFuse's Help Now online tutoring available through the library. This free online homework help is available to students outside of the library's Afterschool Homework Help program. All they need is an internet connection, a computer or mobile device, and their library card. Contact the library if you need help getting set up with this wonderful service.
While their is no Afterschool Homework Help Fridays after school, there is still something fun to do. Friday afternoons, 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. the library will be offering a Pokémon Club. The club's main focus will be learning and playing the Pokémon Trading Card game, but all Pokémon activities are encouraged.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is actually a very good teacher for children. There is math on every turn, and it certainly helps a player to form a strategy as they think ahead turns and weigh risks as they play. We teach it to be played by the rules and enforce good sportsmanship. When children trade their cards, we help to referee trades to make sure that participants know the value of what they are trading and trading for. Expect treats, prizes, and crafts with each week offering something different. If attendance at the Pokéman programs the library has hosted over the last year is any indication, then this club should prove quite popular.

2022 Project AWARE Success & Statistics

This year’s Iowa Project AWARE event was a huge success! 348 volunteers helped with the 19th Annual Iowa Project AWARE from July 10-15th on the West Fork of the Des Moines River. Volunteers traveled 61 river miles from the Petersburg Access in Minnesota to River Runner Access near West Bend, cleaning up trash and recyclables from the river as they went.

Total Trash & Recyclables

Recyclables: 33,046 lbs (16.5 tons)

Tires - 300 (10,250 lbs; 5.1 tons)
Scrap Metal – 21,460 lbs (10.7 tons)
Misc. recycling (plastic; cardboard; pop cans; glass; compost) – 1,336 lbs. (0.67 tons)

Trash – 4,193 lbs. (2.1 tons)

Share The Road

During the 2021 Community Visioning Program facilitated by Trees Forever and ISU Extension & Outreach, the Emmetsburg Community Visioning Committee developed multiple landscape and transportation enhancement concepts for Emmetsburg, including a "Community Connections" concept with proposed mobility enhancements for primary transportation corridors that would better connect many of the city's schools, parks, and community hubs (i.e. downtown, fairgrounds, ball fields). The Community Visioning committee was granted funding through Palo Alto County Gaming Development Corporation (PACGDC) to to enhance the existing pedestrian/bike lane on North Superior Street with upgraded paint and signage, and create new pedestrian/bike pathways with "share the road" signage and pavement markings. These improvements will provide safer corridors for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel between the college/library/wellness center, middle/high school, elementary school, Harrison Park, Soper Park, and more.

Progress is being made on the Emmetsburg Community Visioning's bike and pedestrian improvements in the community. "Share the road" signage has been installed along designated pathways to alert motorists to the presence of bicycle users and/or pedestrians utilizing the roadway. Additionally, sharrows are being painted on the pavement along these pathways. Sharrows are white pavement markings showing a bicycle symbol with two chevrons on top that improve safety on streets that are too narrow for designated pedestrian/bike lanes. Sharrows indicate to drivers that the road is a bicycle/pedestrian route and warn motorists they should be prepared to share the road.