Page 1 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 7-22-2015

CL Baseball
USPS 117-120 VOL. 145 Issue 29
Clear Lake
Mirror-Reporter
CALENDAR
Wednesday
Open mic night
The Surf Ballroom holds its
Open Mic Night each Wednes-
day. Anyone interested in per-
forming may take the stage in
the Surf ’s Cypress Lounge.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; show
time is 7 p.m. Admission is
free.
Thursday
Thursdays on Main
The Clear Lake Area
Chamber of Commerce hosts
Thursdays on Main each week.
From 6-11 p.m. Thursday, July
23, there will be live music,
featured entertainment, classic
cars, a bounce house, hand-
powered kiddie train rides, a
vendor street market and retail
stores stay open late. The night
will be topped off with a movie
in the park. Main Avenue ac-
tivities are 6-9 p.m. At 6:30,
special entertainment on the
300 block (SE corner of City
Park) will be provided by the
OTH Brass Band. From 7-9
p.m. Bill Dewey will play mu-
sic in the 400 block of Main
(next to Larson’s Mercantile)
and from 9-10:45 “Draft Day”
(PG-13) will be shown in City
Park. All activities are free.
continued
More CALENDAR
on page 2
Inside
Opinion..................... 4
Weather.................... 5
Sports................13-15
Legals..................... 17
Classifieds.........18-19
The lake level held steady over
the last week. The lake level
now stands at +1.8” above the
weir. Last year at this time the
lake measured +2.4” above the
weir.
PHONE: 641-923-2837 EXT. 3
How to contact us at:
Mail: 12 N. 4th St.,
Clear Lake, IA 50428
Telephone: 641-357-2131
Fax: 641-357-2133
Email: office@clreporter.com
Website: www.clreporter.com
@CLReporter
(641) 357-2612
www.LakeChev.com
3005 Willow Creek Ct.
Clear Lake
pg. 13
Lots of
Sunshine!
Another beautiful
weekend in store.
Highs in the mid-
80s and plenty of
sun.
More weather on page 5
July 22, 2015 Serving Clear Lake and Ventura since 1869 • Hometown newspaper of Chad & Michelle Harrison $1.50
Council paves
the way for
infrastructure
improvements
North Iowa Hazmat members put on red hazardous material suits before entering the plant about 11 a.m. Upon exiting, Clear Lake Firefighters The city’s commitment to maintaining and improving its
sprayed them off with water. infrastructure was on display at Monday night’s Clear Lake City
Council meeting. The group took action on six projects represent-
Chlorine leak causes evacuation ing millions of dollars of investment.
around water treatment plant A contract was awarded to Charlson Excavating, of Clear
A chlorine leak at the City’s Water Treat- ated. South Shore Drive was closed from 4th shut off and the area allowed to ventilate and Lake, for the West 7th Avenue North Watermain Improvement
ment Plant caused the evacuation of some Avenue North to City Park and some homes the line repaired. Officials stressed the lake Project. Charlson was the lowest of five bidders for the work at
homes and the closure of a portion of South within a block proximity were evacuated as a water was never in any danger because the $424,000. The bid was approximately 9 percent higher than the
Shore Drive Friday morning. precaution. Residents who didn’t leave were chlorine was in gas form. engineer’s estimate of $389,299. Jason Petersburg, consulting
The Clear Lake Fire Department re- instructed to stay inside and keep windows The CLFD was on the scene until 11:55 engineer with Veenstra & Kimm, of Mason City, attributed the
sponded to the plant, located at 110 1st Ave. and doors shut. City Beach was also closed a.m. No injuries were reported. elevated bid to current market conditions. City Administrator
S., at 8:36 a.m. Friday, July 17. According to during the operation. The Fire Department was assisted at Scott Flory said the city allocated $422,000 for the project, using
Fire Chief Doug Meyers, staff from the plant A technician level hazardous mate- the scene by the Clear Lake Police Depart- funds from its fiscal year 2015 and 2016 budgets.
notified the CLFD after noticing the smell rial team was requested and responded from ment, Clear Lake Public Works, and the The project entails the construction of approximately 2,750
of chlorine inside the facility. Mason City. North Iowa Regional Hazardous Materials linear feet of 12-inch water main to be installed between North
Upon the fire department’s arrival the A leak was found in a supply line from Response Team. Shore Drive (at the Department of Natural Resources’ fish hatch-
immediate area around the plant was evacu- a 175 pound storage cylinder. The tank was ery) and 19th Street West on West 7th Avenue North. The project
will begin about Aug. 10 and will be completed by Oct. 30, 2015.
The Council accepted the work and made final payment to
Visu-Sewer, of Pewaukee, Wis., for the 2015 Sewer Rehabilitation
Project. The project, which involved the rehabilitation of approxi-
mately 5,300 linear feet of sewer pipe, with point repairs and man-
holes, along with lining for a 24-inch diameter drain tile that runs
across Highway 18 within the DOT right-of-way, was $260,825.
The North 6th Street Reconstruction Project was also accepted
and payment to Heartland Asphalt, of Mason City, was approved.
The hot-mix asphalt paving project cost the city $168,400, which
was 5 percent less than the engineer’s estimate. North 6th Street
between Highway 18 and 10th Avenue North was reconstructed,
with a new eight-inch sewer main, manhole, eight-inch water
main, concrete driveway approaches sidewalks and curb. City of-
ficials noted the project improved the area to facilitate construc-
tion of a new Dollar General Store. Dollar General represented
approximately 55 percent of the $53,313 which was assessed to
property owners for the work. Assessments, which comprised 32
percent of the project cost, typically came in 25 percent lower than
preliminary assessments given to property owners.
The Council also approved final payment to Landmark Struc-
tures, of Fort Worth, Texas for its work on the new Northwest
Water Tower.
Project updates were provided on the North Shore Drive
Street Reconstruction Project, as well as the Water Treatment
Plant High Service Replacement Project.
See CITY COUNCIL on page 2
Clear Lake man sentenced to 15
years on drug dealer conviction
ing and change of plea hearings
Two men have been sen- revealed that, during the con-
tenced to federal prison for spiracy between June 2014 and
their roles in a Mason City area December 2014, Zimmerman
methamphetamine distribution supplied methamphetamine to
conspiracy. McRoberts, who sold metham-
Shawn Benedict Zimmer- phetamine for him. Zimmer-
man, 42, of Clear Lake, received man controlled the operation.
his prison term after an April McRoberts was selling metham-
20, 2015, guilty plea and Shane phetamine sourced by Zimmer-
Lester McRoberts, age 28, of man. During his involvement
Nora Springs, Iowa, received SHAWN ZIMMERMAN in the conspiracy McRoberts Better get used to it
his prison term after an April ute methamphetamine. distributed more than 5 grams
16, 2015, guilty plea. Zimmer- Information provided by of pure methamphetamine. We are two-weeks into a major Highway 18 resurfacing project through Clear Lake. The highway will
man and McRoberts each pled the United States at the sentenc- See SENTENCE on page 2 remain open during the project, but most areas will be reduced to one lane in each direction, starting at
guilty to conspiracy to distrib- the 1400 block of the highway, to just east of the North 20th Street intersection. The project is slated
for completion in October. Heartland Asphalt, of Mason City, had the winning bid for the work at
$2,221,150. -Reporter ohoto by Chris Barragy.
Ventura will make shift to ‘smart’ water meter use
Ventura city officials are readying the com- network to provide an effective and efficient two- greater access, consumers are not only able to ground checks and will be wearing an identifiable
munity for mandatory replacement of all water way remote communications channel between more closely monitor and modify behaviors, they vest. An adult must be present for the installer to
meters. utilities and water meters. Traditional meters only can use the data to identify potential issues early, enter the home.
According to City Clerk Else Taylor, installa- send readings once every 30 to 60 days, but with allowing the utility to detect and repair minor “At this point, we would like homeowners to
tion of new meters will begin in mid-August. The smart meters, a reading is typically reported back problems before they become major issues. check their inside water shut-off valve before the
installation is mandatory to continue receiving once a day. Taylor reports a letter will be sent prior to the meter, to make sure that it is functioning prop-
water service. There is no cost for the installation Smart meters also create a more informed beginning of the installation program and a con- erly,” said Taylor. “The water will need to be shut-
of the new meter, however, there may be residual consumer. Rather than waiting weeks, or even tact number will be provided for homeowners to off before the meter for the installation. It is the
costs involved with faulty shut-off valves inside months to provide water usage data, a smart wa- schedule the appointment. A door hanger will be homeowner’s responsibility for the homeowner to
the home. ter meter supplies real-time information, allowing placed at residences during the installation if ap- have a functioning water shut-off valve inside the
The city has contracted with Midwest Testing consumers to better understand and monitor wa- pointments have not been scheduled. house.”
LLC, of St. Louis Park, (Minneapolis), Minn. to ter consumption daily. Unknowns such as leaks, The installation takes approximately 20 min- More information will be released as it be-
install “smart meters.” breaks and other inefficiencies can be identified utes. During that time the installer will need to comes available.
The new meters will use a modern cellular instantaneously, saving water and money. With enter the residence. All installers have had back-
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