Flush out of room

Patrick Fisher, Staff Writer

The New Prague City Council began discussing how it should handle future platting of property at its February 21 meeting, a discussion that will continue at its Monday, March 6, meeting.

The council is discussing the issue as the New Prague Wastewater Treatment Plant is nearing capacity. The plant currently has enough capacity to cover the 555 vacant platted lots within the city limits. While the city has already begun a preliminary plan to build a new plant, it must first clear such hurdles as approval from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and an Environmental Assessment Worksheet before a conceptual plan can be done. With that and construction of the plant itself, it could be 2010 before a new plant is on line.

New Prague City Planner Renee Christianson said that there is still land in the city limits that has to be platted and the city is trying to decide how it can handle that area.

Complicating matters are two recent requests by separate parties to have areas platted in Raven Stream Village.

At the February 21 meting, Christianson said that city staff had contacted Mike Zagar, a Wastewater Engineer with Short Elliott Hendrickson (S.E.H.), Inc., the city’s engineering firm. Zagar had recommended that the city not approve any more areas that could push it beyond its capacity at the plant.

Mayor Craig S. Sindelar thought that until the plan for the plant is further along the city should wait on approving additional plattings in the city.

The council decided more information would be needed and asked city staff to research the issue so the council could discuss it at the next meeting.