Village Board discusses hiring seasonal workers
The Village of Phillips appears to have solved its sewage lagoon problem in record time.
At the February meeting of the Village Board, trustees were told that the village’s three relatively new settling ponds located north of town were almost at capacity and about to overflow. At that time the board discussed the possibility of land-applying the excess water as a way to lower the level of the ponds.
Land application involves pumping the water to nearby agricultural land. The meeting adjourned with an understanding that such a solution would be looked into but no official action was taken.
When the board convened for its March monthly meeting last Tuesday, the problem had already been solved and the ponds lowered to an acceptable level.
Village Utilities Supt. Scott Hooley reported that Vankirk Brothers Contracting of Sutton had been hired two weeks earlier to come and pump the water onto nearby pasture land after getting permission from the land owner.
“Things are looking a lot better down there,” he reported.
Hooley said he took over operation of the diesel-powered pump after the first couple of days and planned to lower the level of the ponds another 18 ibnches before returning the pump. He said if the ponds are drained too low, the sunlight will destroy the bacteria in the ponds that breaks down the solids.
Another item of discussion at the March meeting was the hiring of part-time seasonal employees to help Hooley with mowing and other summertime duties. Trustee Jordan Watson reported that there has been some local interest in taking on such duties and the board discussed what would be a suitable salary offer for such a position. The board decided to proceed with the plan and take official action at the April meeting.
Watson also reported that interest has been expressed by village residents in turning the current tennis courts at the park into pickleball courts. He suggested some of the interested parties may also be willing to provide volunteer labor to make the transition.
Near the end of the meeting the board heard a report from Sam Reinke of the Southern Public Power District (SPPD), which provides electrical service to the community. Reinke reported that in 2023 SPPD had more than $289,000 in energy sales in Phillips, and said he was happy to announce that for the 11th straight year the company was not planning any rate increases for 2024.