The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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March 3, 2009

Sewer pipe project to get county aid

By Dan Linehan

MANKATO — Blue Earth County will lend funds to enlarge a sewer pipe running between Mankato and Madison Lake so lakeshore owners can get hooked up, the County Board decided after a public hearing Tuesday.

The hearing was strictly about a plan to finance the estimated $355,000 cost for making the pipe big enough to handle the lakes’ capacity.

The board decided it didn’t want to pass up a chance to piggyback on the larger pipe. The county can charge the cost to enlarge the pipe to benefitting property owners. It’s estimated at about $800 per property.

No one at the hearing spoke about the oversizing issue itself, but a few people testified about the financial hardship expected down the road, when expensive individual hookups to the sewer system are mandatory.

Duck Lake cottage owner Lyle Pearson asked if he’ll be forced to pay $15,000 on a property only valued at $9,000.

And he said worries about that cost are shared by “more than just him and I,” a reference to another Duck Lake owner who testified about similar concerns.

The short answer is yes: All hookups will likely cost the same amount, regardless of whether the beneficiary is a seasonal cabin or a year-round house, said Adam Ripple, an attorney with a St. Cloud law firm preparing the legal framework for the sewer district.

The firm also helped with the formation of the Lake Washington Sanitary District, which offered residents five years to pay for their hookups.

Engineers have estimated those hookup costs to vary depending on local terrain. On Duck Lake, it’s estimated to be $11,800, which rises to $14,000 on Ballantyne Lake and either $17,800 or $18,800 on Madison Lake.

Ongoing costs will include monthly administrative fees, which are also the same for everyone, and the costs of treatment, which will vary according to how much sewage is produced.

Kim Schwickert, who has a seasonal cabin on Madison Lake, said he was in favor of the sewer plan, even if it means high initial costs.

He’s done minor remodels twice since buying the cabin in 2000. Each time the cabin was inspected to get a building permit and both times code had changed, so he was out of compliance. So he anticipates pollution regulators developing stricter guidelines.

“Which they should,” Schwickert said. “Our lakes are getting polluted.”

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