Dennis Wagner
Crossing arms and signal lights are now in place at the Canadian National Railway crossing in Ranier.
RANIER- The Ranier City Council Monday agreed to meet with the International Falls officials regarding a proposal to end a water use credit.
A letter from International Falls Administrator Ken Anderson detailed the freeze protection credit which had been provided to the city of Ranier in the past. The credit amounted to 1,000 gallons per day to continuously run a fire hydrant in the Sunset Cove area to prevent the freezing of waterlines.
According to the letter, the credit was a carry over from when International Falls owned the Sunset Cove area, which is now owned by the city of Ranier. During the winter of 2013-2014, the city of International Falls credited the city of Ranier 1,000 gallons per day for 153 days. This added up to a total credit of $1,548 for the winter.
“One way of looking at this is that the city of International Falls paid the city of Ranier $1,548.36 to keep Ranier’s waterlines from freezing,” the letter from Anderson states.
Anderson’s proposal would discountinue the credit effective Dec. 31. Ranier Mayor Dennis Wagner said Monday he would like to meet with Anderson regarding the proposal, in order to get more information about it.
“I’m just wondering why we’re having this discussion now and didn’t bring it up a month and a half ago,” Councilor Todd Coulombe said.
Wagner said in addition to discussing the proposal, he’d like to look into the water rates the city of International Falls charges the city of Ranier.
“As far as I’m concerned I think the rates are a little out of hand to start with,” Wagner said. “I really believe we need to have a comprehensive review of their costs.”
In other business, Wagner updated the council on the railroad crossing at Spruce Street, where crossing arms and lights have been installed. The arms lower and lights flash while a train is crossing, he said, which has helped cut down on the amount of horn blowing engineers are doing.
Engineers are still blowing horns frequently, Couloumbe said. Wagner said Ranier city officials will reach out to Koochiching County Engineer Joe Sutherland and Canadian National Railway spokesman Patrick Waldron about establishing a quiet zone for the area, which will cut down on the horn blowing.
Resident Thomas Hall said the city would have to reach out to the Federal Railroad Administration in order to establish a quiet zone. Having crossing arms and lights is a prerequisite for establishing a quiet zone, he said.
In other business, the council approved the purchase of Christmas lights and accessories up to $1,000 for decorating city buildings for the season. Wagner said city Maintenence Manager Nick Sears has already identified areas where lights could be placed, and also looked into finding a Christmas hat for the Big Vic statue at the entrance of Ranier.
Wagner said he’d like Sears to complete the decorations before Thanksgiving.
Steve Shermoen
Annexing the multimodal district into International Falls took a step forward Monday with approval of an agreement by the Falls City Council.
City Attorney Steve Shermoen and Mayor Bob Anderson, members of a study group on annexation, discussed the agreement which also needs approval of the Koochiching County Board.
The annexation area includes an uninhabited 51 acres located west of Second Creek along County Highway 155 and east of the existing city boundary.
The city’s Economic Development Authority conducted a special meeting Tuesday to discuss land sale price and other terms for a proposed development in the district. The meeting was closed to the public, as allowed under state law.
Meanwhile, the study group, which includes county officials and residents adjacent to the district, accepted the agreement with slight reservations, Anderson said.
Those reservations involved a lack of direction on where in the district a Renewable Energy Clean Air Project could be located and protection of water quality and fish habitat in Second Creek.
Shermoen urged the council to approve the agreement, which was developed during four meetings. He said a public hearing is not a part of the process.
Protection of Second Creek is addressed in the agreement, Shermoen said, pointing to a sentence calling for the city and county to support efforts to improve the water quality and fish habitat in Second Creek by “ensuring proper grading and drainage and that storm water management controls and standards are met” in the district as it is developed. The annexation agreement also defines a buffer zone in which no development will occur.
The council agreed to allow Shermoen to work with a group in January to develop a document that better outlines protection of fish habitat and water quality in Second Creek. He said that document may include what restrictions to development should be adopted.
“I think the neighbors are satisfied that we are moving forward in good faith and they don’t want to hold up the annexation process,” he said.
Councilor Paul Eklund pointed out the planned development of the district will better protect Second Creek than other developments that could have occurred with less planning and resulted in yards with fertilizer run off.
Anderson agreed several items — a rock outcropping, the buffer zone and the storm water plan — addresses concerns of neighboring property owners.
RECAP is not part of the agreement, Shermoen said. Should the district be identified by county officials as a site for RECAP, the county board would propose to the city its location within the district.
In other the business, the council agreed to meet as the Budget and Finance Committee at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss the 2015 budget appropriation to five agencies: the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, the Koochiching Museums, Backus Community Center, KCCTV and Friends Against Abuse.
The council will meet at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 24 to discuss a budget presentation planned for a special meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 1, when it will conduct a required public hearing before adopting the final budget and levy.
Steve Shermoen
Dennis Wagner
