News from the City of Carlos
Spring 2016
2016 Carlos Daze
Save the date! Saturday July 9, 2016
Parade, food & beverages, Water Fight,
Family Fun, and a Street Dance.
New this year…Bean Bag Tournament!
City Wide Garage Sales
Saturday, May 14th, 2016
7 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Anyone wanting to have a garage sale at their
own home call:
Dawn Schlosser - 103 Muyers Ave
Watch fo details in the summer newsletter.
(320) 852-7365
An ad will go out in the paper and a map will be
made showing where the different garage sales
are in town to hand out at each location. The
costs will be divided among everyone.
CALL DAWN BEFORE MAY 6TH
Dog Owners -
Reminder dog licenses are
$10.00 each year per dog. You can obtain your dog
license at the city office, during normal business
hours. Please bring proof of rabies vaccination with
you. If a complaint is received regarding a dog without
a license, a citation will be issued. Remember it is a
$100.00 fine for not having your dog licensed!
CARLOS TOWN HALL
makes a great
location for retirement parties, graduations, wedding
receptions and confirmations or just about anything.
The Carlos Lions would be pleased to schedule your
event. Please contact Charlie at (612) 759-1600.
information!
Carlos Elementary School
Waffle Feed and Book Fair
April 21, 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Carlos Elementary School will receive their
“School of Excellence”
Award on May 26 @ 1 pm. Public welcome.
News from the City of Carlos 1
City Clean Up Day
Watch for Posters around town…
CARLOS CAR NIGHT
Have a cool or unique car or motorcycle?
Last Monday of the month at 5 pm. No entrance fee.
No awards
Main Avenue in front of Herby’s
Carlos Building Inspector –
Lynn Timm:
a
Spring
is the time to start new building projects.
 The city of Carlos does administer the
Minnesota State Building Code.
 Building permits are required for most projects
including water heaters, air conditioning and
furnace replacement.
 Reroofing, residing and window replacement
permits are $40. Other permit fees are based
upon project valuation.
 The City office does have some handouts
available on general code requirements.
 Projects requiring a permit also require
inspection(s). In some cases, pictures may be
acceptable.
 Permits may be applied for at the City Office.
Generally within a week, the permits are
complete and ready to be paid and picked up
at the City Office.
 The City website has the building permit form
to download and print.
 If you should have any questions, please
contact Lynn Timm at 320-852-7079
From Carlos Public Works
by Jeff Gunderson
Thank you for helping with winter clean up and
moving vehicles for snowplowing.
Reminder to blow grass clippings back onto
your lawns and NOT in the streets to help
keep our storm sewers and rivers cleaner.
Storm sewers are not for waste or garbage.
Please dispose of these items properly.
Please dispose of your personal items in the
trash and not the sewer system.
2016 Elections - At this year’s City council
elections, the seats currently held by Todd
Burgess and Jason Thimmesh are up for
election. Also the Mayor position is elected.
Also, as Nicole Botzet was appointed to her
current position, a special election will elect a
councilor to fill the remaining term of this council
seat expiring January, 2019.
Consider running for office and making
decisions that affect your community. Call John
@ 852-3000 for more information.
Need an event posted?
If anyone would like to add information to the
SUMMER newsletter call the city office or send
an email to [email protected] by the
beginning of June so it can get sent out in early
July.
Did you know that the city has a website? Check
it out at http://cityofcarlos.com/ If you have an
event you would like to post on the website,
email [email protected] or call the city
office at 320-852-3000.
Sunday Morning Services
Trinity Lutheran Church Services
10 am
St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Belle River
Services 8:30 am Sundays 8:30 am Wednesday
SAVE THE DATE!
October 16 St. Nicholas Catholic is
celebrating 100 years!
From Chief Bradley
With spring finally in the air we need to remember that
dogs like to run. Remember we do have a leash
ordinance and out of respect for your neighbors, please
follow it. Four wheelers require a drivers’ license and
you must obey all traffic laws. Instead of burning your
leaves take them to the city brush pile
News from the City of Carlos 2
safe and great summer.
Have an old car or truck in your backyard? By John Rolf, Clerk
In 2015 over 25 abandoned, wrecked and junked vehicles were removed from the City of Carlos through letters
and notices. The City did not spend any city funds to have the vehicles removed. Most residents cooperated
and sold or disposed of their car or truck.
Carlos city ordinances deem an abandoned vehicle a public nuisance if a resident keeps a vehicle for longer
than 30 days that is wrecked, junked or abandoned on their property. A vehicle may be considered wrecked,
junked or abandoned if:
A) It does not have attached a valid or current license plate or registration tabs.
B) It has a dealers’ plate more than 30 days old.
C) It is not in an operable condition, partly dismantled, used for sale of parts, or a source of repair or
replacement parts for other vehicles, or is kept for scrapping, dismantling or salvaging of any kind.
Currently, there are over 40 vehicles that fit this description in the community. To date the council has provided
gentle reminders to various residents with these vehicles in their possession. It is possible however, for the
Police Chief to issue a citation requiring the resident to dispose of the vehicle or the City may seize, impound
and sell the vehicle.
Why is an old truck or car in your backyard a public nuisance?
According to the State of Minnesota abandoned motor vehicles constitute a hazard to the health and welfare of
the residents. They can harbor noxious diseases, furnish shelter and breeding places for vermin and present
physical dangers to the safety and well-being of children and other citizens.
Letters will be mailed in the next 30 days to property owners who have abandoned vehicles located on their
lots. Let’s all work together to make Carlos more livable and attractive to our residents and future residents.
________________
What’s your water bill?
by John Rolf, Clerk
That’s been a common one line conversation starter in Carlos since mid-February when the first water bills
were mailed that reflected the change in the base charge from $23 to $38 for water service along with the cost
per 1000 gallons increasing from $2.60 to $5 per 1000 gallons. The waste water base charge of $25 has not
changed.
Late in 2014 the City council adopted the project to replace the last remaining portion of “old” water main along
portions of Victoria, Main and Fifth Street. In addition, a new water treatment plant was proposed to be built. As
all good things have a price, the rates were adjusted to begin building the necessary reserves to repay the debt
associated with the improvements. The City fully expects to repay the debt of slightly over two million dollars
with revenue from the water fund. Therefore the cost has increased. While this is a gross oversimplification of
the process, basically, the rates have to reflect the funding requirements prompted by the additional debt. The
City did try to explain the process and rates changes through two newletters in 2015 and posted notices on the
water bills several times months in advance to try and insure everyone was aware of what was going on. But
as there still are many questions, I will try and answer a few:
What is the average water/waste water bill in Carlos? Based on the most recent month the average bill is
$75-$77 for a residence.
What is the average water usage in a typical home? The old rule of thumb was an average of 50 gallons
per person per day. The last billing period in Carlos was 3,195 gallons of usage. This however did include
News from the City of Carlos 3
commercial clients also. Usage has ranged from a low of about 700 gallons per month to a few
households that use in excess of 15,000 gallons per month.
What can I do if my water bill is a lot higher? In an effort to help residents identify ways to reduce their
usage, we have included a brochure “Save water 45 ways” in this mailing. It is filled with many ideas.
I thought we were going to get grants to reduce the cost of the project? The City borrowed the funds from
the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Public Facilites Authority at a rate of 1% over 30 years.
This has resulted in savings of over $300,000 over the life of the loan due to the preferential interest rate.
While there are an infinite number of ways to raise the money for a project such as this, the programs offering
grants had much higher interest rates which would have resulted in similar or greater debt service
requirements. While some communities in Minnesota have received large grants, they usually are because
their water is contaminated or polluted and the grants are tied to cleaning up the problem.
What is the City council doing to keep the cost of city services affordable? In the past 18 months, the
council has made many decisions and changes to try and generate more income for the water fund to keep the
average residents’ cost lower.
Do we have the highest water bills in Minnesota? No absolutely not. Several within 50 miles have similar
water/waste water bills. Many communities have not addressed their aged infrastructure and water treatment
plants. Once they do their costs for municipal water will escalate similar to those in Carlos.
What can I do to help? The cost of collecting water/waste water bills is significant. When paying your water
bill with a check it is a very labor intensive process to accept, post, deposit and account for the payments.
During the last twelve months the City has adopted a system to process payment of water/waste water bills by
withdrawing your monthly bill directly from your checking or savings account. This greatly reduces the
processing costs for the City. If you decide to sign up for this service and receive your monthly bill via email,
the City will credit your water bill for $6 one time.
Other questions can be directed to the City Clerk at 320-852-3000 anytime.
Crack Sealing scheduled for April/May
During 2015 the Minnesota legislature appropriated funds for smaller municipalities in Minnesota to be used
solely to improve their streets. Carlos received $11,722. These funds will be used to seal cracks in City streets.
Bargen of Mountain Lake, MN will be doing the work. They perform the same service in many communities
throughout the upper Midwest. The process will create some dust & noise around town for a few days but
once finished the streets will be swept. http://www.bargeninc.com/asphalt/crack-sealing/
2002 Sterling Snow Plow Truck
At the March council meeting, councilors finalized plans to
purchase a replacement snowplow for the City. The State DOT
rotates their trucks every 15 years. Carlos was able to buy one of
the best of the lot from the Detroit Lakes Regional DOT for
$14,500. The City will be selling its existing truck, a 1989 Ford,
which has given dependable service for the past 17 years. While
the City hadn’t budgeted for this replacement from taxpayer funds,
it was made possible by the generous, unrestricted gift in 2015
from the Carlos Lions Club. The council felt it was prudent to
replace the 1989 model truck with a newer one to avoid major
expenditures due to its advanced age. Thank you Carlos Lions!
Election Judges - 2016 is an election year. If you would like to serve as an election judge, call 320-852-3000. Right
now we have a sufficient number but it would be helpful to have an extra one in case of emergency. There will be training
involved which is coming up this summer. You may decide to volunteer your time or you may choose to be paid $11 per
hour. A brief application is available at City Hall.
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