BACKUS — The Backus City Council agreed to pay Pine River Electric $2,650 to convert nine city streetlights to LED bulbs.
The council has received comments from the Pine Mountaineer Senior Citizen Center that the streetlight outside their building is out. Clerk Ann Swanson spoke to Minnesota Power to determine that specific light belongs to the city, along with eight others.
Upon learning of the ownership, Swanson contacted Holden Electric and Pine River Electric for quotes. Holden Electric came in higher at $5,350.
A representative from the senior center said someone is taking advantage of the darkness to trespass around the building and possibly commit vandalism.
The council discussed other vandalism issues, including writing on the equipment at the playground and vandalism on city property below the water tower. The council is likely to look into options to combat vandalism at future meetings.
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In other business Monday, the council:
- Approved a quote by Stonemark Land Surveying to perform a survey of the property surrounding the water tower for $1,600.
- Approved purchase of a backflow for a fire hydrant for $631 plus freight.
- Agreed to look into having a sewer line for the fire hall and city hall dug up and repaired.
- Approved a $3,277 contract with O'Day Equipment LLC for maintenance of the underground fuel tanks at the airport.
- Approved inspection and cleaning for the water tower.
Travis Grimler is a staff writer for the Pineandlakes Echo Journal weekly newspaper in Pequot Lakes/Pine River. He may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com.
