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Wednesday, 11 April 2007 |
By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
If it had been a TV show it would have been canceled for low Neilson ratings. You could cram all the people that showed up for a utility hike public hearing at Norley Hall on Tuesday into a VW Bug and still had room left over.
Mayor John Shelvin opened the meeting promptly at 7 p.m. and like Tom Ring of the DEQ at the MATL transmission line hearing last Tuesday, cautioned those there to, “Keep it clean, you are being recorded.”
He really didn’t need to caution folks, because no one had a public comment on the utility hike.
Jerry and Velda Cowie, former residents of Utah, were on hand just out of curiosity and to see what was going on.
Final decision of the rates will be made at the regular council meeting on April 16 following an additional public hearing at 8 p.m.
The new rate will continue to be based off the minimum of 5,000 gallons of water use in the winter months and 10,000 gallons of summer use.
Besides water use, the utility hikes also include wastewater and solid waste rate increases.
Council members are building a reserve fund for construction costs that will meet discharge permit requirements and bring us into compliance with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
The estimated cost of improvements is about $2.3 million, which is needed to pay the bond principal and interest, provide a bond reserve, and cover engineering and inflationary costs.
A change in the solid waste rates would increase revenues for solid waste collection, fund the reserve for the possible replacement of the current system, make sure that annual alley clean-ups are continued and cover inflationary costs.
 Mayor John Shevlin
The current water rates for winter usage (5,000 gallons) are $32.08. This stays the same in the summer months when the minimum gallon use is bumped up to 10,000 gallons.
The new-metered rate, which comes out to be about three percent, would be $33.04 for the minimum 5,000 gallons of water use in the winter and would be the same for 10,000 gallons during the summer months.
If a user exceeds the minimum for the month, you would pay nine cents more per 1,000 gallons in the winter and three cents more per 1,000 gallons in the summer.
The current base rate sewer charge for a metered minimum of 1,000 gallons is $14.83. The cost over the minimum, 1,000 gallons, is $1.52.
The new proposed rate for a minimum of 1,000 gallons (metered) is proposed at $15.57 with a bump of eight cents to $1.60 for going 1,000 gallons over the minimum.
The proposed increase for the sewer would be .74 cents more per month and if the average exceeds the minimum, it would be eight cents more per 1,000 gallons.
The current charge on solid waste for a residential minimum is $7.80 with the dumpster minimum being $14.71.
The new rate increase that is proposed is $8.19 for residential and $15.45 for dumpster.
That comes out to be .39 cents more per month based on the residential minimum and .74 cents more per month based on the dumpster minimum.
There will be a final public hearing at 8 p.m. during the regular meeting of the city council on April 16. Following that, aldermen will vote on the proposed rate increases.
If you have further questions or need more information, contact Mayor Shevlin at city hall, 271-3623. |
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Wednesday, 11 April 2007 |
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has extended the time for the public to comment on the Draft environmental Impact Statement for the Montana-Alberta Tie Ltd. Transmission line until April 30.
The original comment period deadline had been April 9, however, due to the request of members of the public, an extension has been granted.
MATL submitted a Montana Major Facility Siting Act application to the DEQ to construct an electric transmission line.
The company proposes to construct, operate and maintain a 230kV transmission line between Lethbridge, Alberta and Great Falls with a major portion passing through Pondera County.
As proposed, the 130-mile line would extend from the Montana-Alberta border northeast to Cut Bank to an existing substation just north of Rainbow Dam near Great Falls.
The proposed H-frame line would cross mostly private land. Some Montana school trust land and Bureau of Land Management land would also be crossed.
The current Draft looks at the proposed alignment, two major routing alternatives and a single-pole design alternative.
The draft EIS can be viewed on-line at www.deq.mt.gov. A copy of the inch-and-a-half thick phone book size document may be obtained by contacting Greg Hallsten, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Box 200901, Helena 59620.
Comments should be mailed to the same address or e-mailed to
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by April 30.
In a related matter, the MATL has received the first in a number of regulatory approvals.
The National Energy Board in Canada, which is the same as U.S. Department of Energy, has issued a permit for construction and operation of the line in Alberta. This is one of two that are needed in Canada.
Still needed are permits from the DEQ in Montana the DOE in the U.S. The DOE ruling is needed because the line crosses an international border.
A Canadian utility board, close to what the DEQ is in Montana also has to make a ruling on the location of the line in Canada.
Approximately 48 miles of the proposed line would pass through Pondera County. If approved, depending on the alternative plan chosen, the property tax benefit estimates range from a low of $1,038,970 to a high of $1,182,684 for Pondera County.
The company would like to begin construction this summer. |
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Wednesday, 11 April 2007 |
Conrad native Callie Yeager is proud to present, The Past Four Years – A Senior Dance Concert, April 21 at the Orpheum Theatre-Wiegand Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
Yeager, a senior dance major at the UofM-Missoula, is producing her own professional concert as part of a senior project and has decided to premiere the show in her hometown.
The concert features 10 dancers from the UofM’s Dance Department performing in nine contemporary works.
Seven are original pieces choreographed by Yeager, with two others created by fellow classmates Jared Mesa and Helen Derheim.
Show highlights include: Moonlit Immersion, choreographed by Yeager, which represents an interpretation of the water elements in the zodiac sign.
 LIGHT MASTER -- Callie Yeager and George Tornga set the stage lighting on Saturday afternoon for her dance concert to be held April 21 at the Orpheum Theatre-Wiegand Auditorium. Yeager is a CHS graduate and a senior dance major at the UofM-Missoula. She is producing her own professional concert as part of a senior project. I-O Photo by Buck Traxler
Yeager tells the I-O, “I wanted to take the old and the new to create a unique water experience.”
Another routine is 10 months in February, is a lyrical trio that recently got selected by the UofM’s Drama/Dance faculty to the in the best-of-the-year dance concert.
Various musical styles are showcased throughout the performance.
The sounds of Fanny Elfman support another look at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the dancers portraying models.
Billy Idol’s White Wedding accompanies a new take on marriage. A classical ballet includes an excerpt from Le Corsair.
All tickets sales will be donated back to the Pondera Arts Council.
Tickets for the original performance premiere are available at Olson’s Drug, Village Drug, Stockman Bank and at the door. |
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