Everly sewage pond upgrades close to finished

There won't be a ribbon cutting, but a vital infrastructure improvement project is nearing the finish line in Everly.

Engineer Brian Schmidt reported June 21 that upgrades to the city's sewage treatment ponds are almost complete. A few loose ends need to be tied up, but most boxes have been checked off.

"They're really closing in on the project," said Schmidt. "There's a lot of stuff going on out there."

Once completed, the multi-million dollar upgrades will bring the sewage ponds into compliance with state regulations. They experience large amounts of discharge during heavy rain events, which is not allowed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

King Construction, of Wall Lake, was awarded the contract in the fall of 2019 after submitting a bid of $3.88 million. The price was approximately $1 million more than the project's estimated price tag; however, the council felt it was left with no choice but to accept the proposal after being forced to rebid the project once before in 2019.

Consequently, the project's completion date was pushed from Dec. 1, 2020 to Oct. 15, 2021. Schmidt said the fall deadline would be irrelevant soon.

"All the heavy lifting is done," he said. "There are a few little spots left that need to be ironed out and taken care of before it's all turned over."

The council was eager to see the finished product and is tentatively planning a walk through with Schmidt once the facility is finished.

"We're going to do a happy dance when, for lack of a better term, you hand us over the keys," said Council Member Tara Patrick.

Schmidt was also pleased to have the finish line in sight.

"It feels good to see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "It's been a long time coming."

• Untrimmed trees irk Hartmann

Everly resident Jim Hartmann is concerned that unkempt trees are going to damage his property.

Hartmann told the council a branch from a nearby cottonwood fell on his trailer, causing damage. He said the tree it fell from came from the right of way on his neighbor's property, and he said the individual had no intention of trimming it to mitigate future problems.

"That tree needs to go," he said. "I'm sick and tired of hearing, 'We don't cut down good, healthy trees in town.' That's a liability."

Hartmann claimed the tree would take out his eaves if it fell down in a certain direction.

"[Cottonwoods] are tall, they're a menace and a danger," he said. "If my Expedition had been setting there, the city would be buying me a new one."

Patrick told Hartmann the city is only responsible for the tree if it is dead. Trimming is the property owner's responsibility, and she suggested that Hartmann speak to his neighbor.

Council Member Cheri Hoye said the city used to top trees in the right of way.

"Topping them would probably be a good move," she said. "If we have to assess the property owners some token amount, well, it's just part of home ownership."

Mayor Brad Behrens said he will instruct city employees to develop a list of the worst trees and get quotes for trimming. He wasn't looking forward to the bill, though.

"We could do something to trim some of these trees up, but I don't know where you'd start and where you'd stop," he said. "You could get two trimming guys in here, and they could really trim things up good and then you've got a quarter-million dollar bill."

Behrens didn't think it was worth the city's time to go after everyone in town with a shaggy tree.

"If we start getting after everybody that needs to have some trees trimmed, we'll have everybody in here and we'll never get done," he said.