Lonsdale council welcomes Pelava

By Lori Nickel, Montgomery Messenger

At the organizational meeting of the Lonsdale City Council held Thursday, January 7, re-elected Mayor Tim Rud and newly elected councillors Joe Daleiden and Scott Pelava were sworn into office. Daleiden was appointed to the council in the fall of 2008 to complete retiring Council Member Fritz Duban's term. Now elected for a four-year term, he returns to the table with a year of council experience under his belt.

New Councillor Scott Pelava was welcomed by his peers after swearing to, discharge faithfully the duties of the office of a Lonsdale council member.

Sewer Rates Increased

A public hearing to amend ordinance 2010-234 pertaining to the city fee schedule started the meeting. City Administrator Joel Erickson reviewed the list of current fees and explained proposed changes to the schedule. This included increasing the sewer base rate by two dollars per month, per household to help offset the losses in the sewer fund. No changes to the water base or usage was proposed.

Another change discussed was to the dog license fee. Instead of $25 for two years, it was suggested that the fee be dropped to $12.50 to encourage residents to get their dogs licensed, which improves the likelihood that the animal is returned to the owner should it get loose.

There was no verbal or written comments from the public on the proposed fee schedule for 2010, and later in the meeting, the ordinance came before the council, and it was approved.

No one likes to see an increase