Water rate increases for city residents were approved Monday by Marion City Council and become affective Jan. 1.
Water customers will be charged $26 for the first 1,000 gallons and $3.75 per 1,000 gallons after.
At a previous council meeting city officials had determined water rates needed to be increased to cover additional expenses associated with a new water treatment plant.
Fireworks approved for New Year’s Eve
Dave Hett again asked and the council approved a New Year’s Eve celebration on South Third Street, between Marion County Courthouse and Cooperative Grain & Supply.
Hett said fireworks will be provided by a professional pyrotechnician. He explained insurance came with the commercial display. Marion Fire Department agreed to provide a fire truck and personnel during the event.
This is the 10th year for the event which began with a handful of people with noisemakers gathering on the courthouse lawn.
A ball drop on a pole was added a few years later and the event continued to grow with several hundred people usually in attendance.
This year’s event will begin at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday with fireworks at midnight to mark the beginning of 2009.
In other business:
- Reappointments of numerous board members were approved that included Royal Smith and Rosalie Schmidtberger, three-year terms to cemetery board; Margo Yates, one-year term, and Darvin Markley, three-year term, Marion Board of Zoning Appeals; Darvin Markley and J.B. Miesse, one-year terms, Marion Planning Commission; Harold Conyers, four-year term, Marion Housing Authority; and four-year terms for Gary Ewert, Elora Robinson, Marty Fredrickson, Bud Hannaford, and Wendy Youk to Marion Historical Museum Board.
- The council held a 30-minute executive session to discuss personnel, specifically to evaluate city administrator David Mayfield. There were no decisions.
- A special meeting will be at 9 a.m. Friday in the city building for the purpose of hearing recommendations by Marion Planning Commission regarding a conditional use permit for a wrecker service, Auto House, to be located in the city’s business park. The planning commission held a public hearing Tuesday night to review the application.
- The next regular city council meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 12 in the city building.