DISCUSES WATER PLANT

By Jenny Kirk The Slayton City Council spent the majority of its July 6 meeting having a robust discussion en route to making a decision regarding the water treatment plant filter.

City Administrator Josh Malchow explained that a media replacement had been budgeted for this year but that other potential issues with the water system were identified when the contractor went to replace the media.

“The media in the water treatment plant is basically what filters the water, from bigger rocks, to smaller rocks on top of gravel and then sand. It goes from bottom to top and that’s what the water passes through.” While there appeared to be some issues with the air wash system and the tubes coming in at the bottom, the biggest concern was in the troughs, which need to be open so that sand isn’t lost. The contractor reportedly paused the replacement process, stating that the trough issue needed to be 100% remedied before they would put the media back in.

The City of Slayton has an “iron/manganese filtration plant”, this means that the raw water that comes in is treated with fluoride and chlorine to purify it and the filter takes out the iron and manganese. The iron and manganese is what you’re seeing when you have brown tap water or laundry gets “rust stains” or the toilet bowl gets discolored. The fluoride and chlorine treatment ensures it is safe to drink and use.

The city contacted DGR’s Scott LaVoy, who had a water specialist come in to do his own assessment. Ultimately, he didn’t seem quite as concerned about the potential issues. The council’s discussion focused on two options: clean out the treatment plant themselves (City Works Department) or hire a professional company to come in. There was concern as to what would be discovered and the potential issues and cost to the city. It was decided, after much discussion, to have the City Works Department clean the system themselves to evaluate the condition.

As of Wed. July 12th: City Administrator Josh Malchow updated the Wheel Herald as to the status of the clean out. He was happy to report that a fantastic job was done by the public works crew and they were able to assess the filter. “It looks great for a 40 year old system that’s under water all the time. The weld points and paint are in very good condition. There are no areas that need to be repaired prior to media replacement.” The filter media will start being replaced on July 13th and should take 1-2 weeks.

New business items included a Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities discussion led by Flaherty & Hood lobbyist Marty Seifert and a 2023 department head contracts discussion led by Malchow. Seifert updated the council on how Slayton came in after all the “wrangling” that took place in the legislative session. The childcare grant program and transportation outcomes were among the highlights. Seifert noted that this year’s big holdout by Republicans centered on nursing home money. Area communities that lost nursing homes in the past five years include Balaton, Minneota, Redwood Falls and Slayton. “There’s $300 million for the nursing homes. It’s to try and save the ones that are left, at least for two years.”

As far as the department head contracts, Malchow pointed out that negotiations settled on a 4% cost of living adjustment for one year — this year constitutes a gap year as administrators work through the comp/class study to see where everything falls. The council approved the pay increase.

At the beginning of the meeting, minutes stood approved and a claim that included a $492,239.62 amount to Woodstock Communications was approved. “Materials were ordered and received for the broadband grant,” Malchow said. “They haven’t broken ground yet, but they have received the materials. We have already been reimbursed for that through the state. They were really prompt in that request.”

The remaining claims were also approved by the council after discussion about sponsors being placed on a large banner this summer versus being put on the back of recreation T-shirts for summer rec.

Malchow requested that the 2024 budgeting meetings be pushed back this year. The decision was then made to start the Monday, Aug. 21 meeting at 6 p.m. to accommodate this. A pending item included a Maple Avenue update. Malchow said the borings came back and it appears that there is concrete everywhere and that LaVoy was working on putting together a proposal for a feasibility study with the new information gathered.

The next city council meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 17 at City Hall.