City completes EPA, billboard negotiations

The city of Spencer cleared a major hurdle in negotiations to separate its storm water from the sewer system as part of Monday's Spencer City Council meeting.

The vote to approve an Environmental Protection Agency administrative order to eliminate combined sewer overflows capped negotiations that began in late 2007.

The process was necessary because Spencer is among a collection of cities with an antiquated combined sewer overflow system. During periods of heavy rainfall or melting snow, the volume of wastewater going into city pipes can exceed the capacity. The untreated sewage then discharges into the surrounding watershed, creating health and habitat risks. The EPA is mandating a change, but the estimated cost is anywhere from $20 million to $30 million. It could take anywhere from 18-30 years to accomplish the separation of storm water from the sewer system.

Spencer City Manager Bob Fagen and council members credited city attorney Don Hemphill with adding more flexible language for the city as the massive project gets under way. Hemphill called the administrative order "as good an agreement as we're going to reach with the EPA."

"We've tried to come to some sort of compromise on how we can move forward on their, for lack of better words, mandate on combined sewers," Fagen said. "Some of the things that we philosophically had a difficult time with, we felt like we found some sort of solution to. For instance, they wanted to set the milestones on when things needed to get done, not only in the number of years, but during those number of years, when that has to be done."

The EPA is giving the city time to complete a sewer system evaluation and the results will allow the city to prioritize the project phases. The administrative order language also includes a clause that will allow the city to petition the federal agency if an unforeseen situation delays the progress of the project.

In other action, Spencer residents will be able to use their all-terrain vehicles for clearing snow this winter. Council members suspended its rules and allowed the second and third filings of a new ATV ordinance to take effect.

ATVs were previously prohibited on Spencer streets, but Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson asked for the change to help residents with the snow removal process. Some strict regulations come with the new ordinance: The driver and the ATV must be properly licensed, the four-wheeler must have a blade or snow-blower attached and it mush have 360-degree lighting when used at night.

"We will be keeping a close eye on it," Lawson told the council. Hemphill, who reviewed the ordinance language said: "This isn't a license to drive your ATV across town."

City council members also approved a grant application for the proposed Green Industrial Center. A public hearing for the project will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, at city hall.

The city and Spencer Municipal Utilities purchased the property from the Green Family Trust in 2008. City leaders want to make the 200 acres of land between the east beltway and the city's wastewater treatment plant an environmentally-friendly industrial park. The site would include rain gardens and a rural cross-section street with natural drainage rather than traditional curb and gutter.

The city is applying for a Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE) grant to secure $938,000 of the $1.4 million, first phase of the project.

Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation President and CEO Kathy Evert said industries are looking for shovel-ready sites for expansion. She also said three of the larger lots would be well-suited for wind-energy component manufacturers.

In other action, the city also approved a two-year agreement with Avery Outdoor to maintain six billboards, which promote the city of Spencer. Two of the billboards are in place at the city's main entrances. Others are near Emmetsburg, Alton, Superior and Sac City. The Spencer Alliance for a Creative Economy will design the six billboards promoting the city.

In exchange for billboard maintenance, the city will give Avery right-of-way access for 12 billboards along Highway Boulevard in north Spencer over the next two years.

Ward 3 council member Steve Bomgaars wants the city's parks department to use the two-year window to come up with a different plan for the city's north entrance. He'd like to see the billboards torn down.