Burlington Spotlight
April 2005

CITY AUCTION

Biannual City Auction Saturday, April 23, 2005 9 A.M Viewing – 10 A.M. Auction At the Police Department Garage

The city's biannual auction will be hosted by the Police Department on April 23, 2005. Viewing of items will be 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. and the auction from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. This will take place outside the garages in the west alley of the Police Department.

Every two years the city departments gather items they no longer have use for. These items are first shared between departments. If it is determined they are of no use to the city they are auctioned. These items range from office furniture to computer items.

The Police Department also has many items that are either located by officers as lost property or turned in by citizens as found property. The police department makes every effort to see these items are returned to the owner. Items with a value of one hundred dollars or less are posted with fliers in the Police Department and City Hall. Items with a value over one hundred dollars are posted in the local newspapers.

One of the most frequently turned in items is bicycles. The Police Department has received 79 bicycles in the past two years. Of the 79 turned in, 13 were returned to the owners because of proper city registration. The remaining 66 bicycles will be auctioned in April because the owners could not be identified. The city encourages all citizens to register their bicycles. Every bicycle to be auctioned in April did not have a city registration. Even if the license tag is removed the serial number of the bicycle will identify the owner to police and the bike can be returned.

 

CITY RESPONDS TO 15 SEWER CALLS IN 2004

The City's Vactor truck or Jet-Vac is used to keep the City's main sewer line clean and clear of debris which may cause a back-up in your lateral (the line from your house to the main collection system). Of the 15 calls we responded to in 2004, only two of them were due to blockage in the City's main line. A contractor working on a new home construction site caused one major backup; debris had fallen into a manhole, causing blockage in the City's line.

More often than not, foreign articles that may have been flushed down a toilet, such as toys, keys, diapers, underwear, towels, and even false teeth, may be the cause of a sewer backup. These articles can then become trapped in your sewer lateral causing a backup into your home. Other obstructions can include roots from trees that grow into your lateral. The lateral is the homeowner's responsibility from the house to the main sewer line in the street.

If you have a problem with a sewer backup, call the Wastewater Treatment Plant at 262-539-3646 BEFORE calling a plumber. We will check the sewer line in the street and inform you of our findings. If the problem is not in the City's main collection system, you may then wish to contact a plumber.

 

APRIL NEWS AND ACTIVITIES AT THE LIBRARY

YOUTH DEPARTMENT NEWS

Arts and Crafts Day

Come April 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. to make some fun crafts! School is out early for the day, so make the library one of your stops that afternoon. We'll have three or four tables set up with various crafts for school-age children to complete. Registration is not required.

Youth Book Group and Teen Book Club

Like to read? Then look into joining one of the library's book clubs! The Youth Book Group is for kids ages 9-12 and the Teen Book Club is for 7th grade through 12th grade. Each group meets for half an hour once a month. For more details, see Ruhama or visit the website: www.burlingtonlibrary.com/youth

Anime Club

The monthly meeting of Otaku Gaijen is April 20 from 3 to 4 p.m. You must be 13 to join and you must register for this program. See Ruhama for details.

ADULT NEWS

Genealogy Research

For those interested in genealogy research, in addition to Heritage Quest, Burlington Library now has a subscription to Ancestry Library, the library version of Ancestry.com. Some databases included in this subscription: Social Security Death Index, U.S. and U.K. Census records, Ancestry World Tree, Immigration Records, WW I Draft Registration Cards, Civil War Service Records. Ancestry Library is available only on library computers. Ask at the Reference Desk for help.

Adult Book Discussion

Join the Burlington Public Library Book Discussion Group on Monday, April 25th at 7:00 pm for a discussion of THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown. THE DA VINCI CODE has been a publishing sensation around the world and is still on best-seller lists after two years. Its' conspiracy theories and thriller style, in which two code-breakers try to track down the truth behind the Holy Grail, have caught the imaginations of millions. Its' central claim is that the Holy Grail is really the bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene-which the Church is supposed to have covered up, along with the female role in Christianity. As well as the original novel, published in 2003, another 10 books have been written to debunk its' claims. Fact or fiction? Thrilling read or a stylistic nightmare? Join us and tell us what you think!

 

WASTEWATER UTILITY UPDATE/ FACILITIES PLAN STUDY

Recently the City Council considered a recommendation from the Utility Department to conduct a Facility Plan Study of the wastewater treatment plant. What does this mean for utility users? The City would like to know what the capacity of the plant is today, and what percentage of the plant is currently being used. An analysis of future regulations anticipated from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and their impact on the plant capacity and life expectancy is desired. Also included in the study would be a rate review to determine if user fees are adequate to meet expenses. There has not been a sewer rate increase since 1992.

During discussion of this topic several Council members commented that the "new" plant was supposed to be adequate for at least twenty years and questioned why was this study required at this time. Well, time flies; the current City of Burlington Wastewater Treatment Facility was designed nearly twenty years ago, in 1988, and constructed in 1991-1992. Since that time several new residential neighborhoods have developed faster then anticipated, and several large industrial users have been added. To meet Federal and State Clean Water requirements and effectively, efficiently and economically improve the plants operation several changes have been made to the "new" plant. In 1999, a new wastewater screen was installed. In 2001, the ultra-violet disinfection system was upgraded. In 2004, a sludge biosolids tank was erected to create more solids storage.

The addition of these users and the plant improvements have all contributed to keeping the sanitary sewer rate charge at the same amount for nearly thirteen years. How many businesses can say that?

Considering that the Plant is near its present capacity rating and believing that additional capacity may be available at the plant the City Council agreed with the Utility Departments recommendation to hire Applied Technologies, Inc. of Brookfield, Wisconsin and undertake the Facilities Plan Study. Their engineers will prepare a summary report of this analysis in simple, layman terms. They will review the report with City staff, and present the report to the City Council by August 2005. Once completed, copies of the study will be available for public review at the Burlington Library.