From the Mayor
Residents of Underwood: Greeting from your City Council!
Our mission to efficiently and effectively represent the tax payers’ investment in this community continues.
We welcome James Hanson to the community as our new maintenance superintendent! James comes to us highly recommended and experienced in small town infrastructure. Please introduce yourself to him and join us wishing him success at his new position.
And thanks to all the Council members and Underwood citizens who pitched in and helped with the city maintenance while this position was vacant. The community appreciates your efforts as conveyed to me by many!
The city is excited to have approved 5 zoning permits this year for new houses. We look forward to these new homes going up in our community. This is a record for one year for the City! That number of new entrants says a lot about how folks view our town. Thanks to all of you who helped make our city an attractive place to live!
The council is considering options to effectively utilize the old ball park area. Please share your ideas with one of us as currently there isn’t any tax revenue derived from the property, plus the city expends dollars to maintain it.
As always, if you have any concerns feel free to call me at 612-805-1048.
The Council and I wish you all a safe and happy winter season.
Mayor Paul Hoff
218-826-6566
Cell 612-805-1048
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS NOVEMBER 1! SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE YOU GO TO BED!!
HYRDARNT FLUSHING SCHEDULE
Maintenance Supervisor James Hanson has set up the regular hydrant flushing schedule for 2016. Hydrants will be flushed the first weekof May and October, weather permitting.
I will have the dates posted in the front window at the office and at the post office. I will also try to put a reminder on your water/sewer billing cards. Please remember that this is a tentative schedule, but we will do our best to adhere to it. Call the office if you have any questions.
For those of you with rusty water, the best thing is to let it run a bit before using. We urge people not to wash clothes on the scheduled days, especially whites. Flushing will loosen sediment and could cause discoloration.
NOTE: IF THE WEATHER COOPERATES WE WILL TRY TO DO A FINAL FLUSHAS SCHEDULED ON OCTOBER 7 & 8TH!
If for some reason we can’t get it done then, we will do it on the 12th & 13th.
Please watch for children and obey the traffic laws in town. We want this community safe for everyone!
PARKING RESTRICTIONS BEGIN ON NOVEMBER 1!
SNOW REMOVAL AND PARKING
Ordinance #76
- No vehicles shall be parked on any residential street in the City of Underwood from November 1 through March 31, except in those areas zoned as commercial and except for visitors to the City of Underwood.
- The owner of any vehicle violating this ordinance will be issued a citation by the designated City Official.
- Any vehicle, for which a citation has been issued, if not removed from the street within 12 hours of the issuance of said citation, shall be towed by a commercial towing service at the owner’s expense.
- Vehicles which have been towed pursuant to this ordinance shall not be released to the owner until the owner provides the commercial towing service with proof of payment of the fine issued, pursuant to the citation and payment of all towing charges to the commercial towing service.
- The fine for issuance of the citation shall be in the amount of $50.00 for each offense. The third offense within any November 1 through March 31 season will result in the vehicle, owed by a person receiving three citations, to be towed immediately.
- It is incumbent upon the owner of the vehicle for which the citation is issued to provide proof satisfactory to the Clerk of the City of Underwood that said vehicle is owned by a visitor to the City of Underwood.
ANNUAL NOTICE TO ALL RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
The Minnesota Cold Weather Rule is designed to protect people who may have trouble paying their utility bills in winter. The Minnesota Cold Weather Rule applies from October 15 to April 15 of each year. The rule, established by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, means that you’re utility cannot disconnect your residential electric service during the winter if the customer meets the following requirement:
- Utility disconnection would affect the customer’s primary heat source;
- The customer has declared inability to pay on forms provided by the utility (Note: Customers receiving “any form of public assistance, including emergency assistance, are deemed to have qualified for inability to pay status”);
- The household income of the customer is less than 50% of the state median income level, as documented by the customer to the utility; and
- The customer enters into and makes reasonably timely payments under a payment agreement that considers the financial resources of the household…
If you have trouble paying your utility bill, local agencies may be able to provide payment assistance. The State Department of Human Services recommends you call the county in which you live. Understand that this does not apply to those households where the primary heat source is not dependant on water.
Energy Assistance Applications as well as Rental Assistance information will be available at the Clerk’s office.
Upcoming Events
HALLOWEEN PARTY --- The Underwood Lions will be hosting a Halloween Party of October 31 at the Underwood Community Center. Hot dogs, chips beverage and treats will be available for all the goblins. The party will start at 4:00 p.m. until everything is gone. Stop in before trick – or- treating!
FLU SHOTS --- This year the shots are scheduled for November 3 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Community Center. Posters will be out.
SANTA DAY--- December 12--Believe it or not the Christmas holiday is fast approaching! Santa will be at the Community Center from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Over the years the Underwood community has been very generous when it comes to the children at Christmas time. There is a “Santa Days” account set up at Farmers State Bank, and we would appreciate any donations be made to the account by November 21st, 2015, to allow enough time for shopping. . If you are interested in helping, whether financially or with the shopping, setting up or cleaning up, please contact Amber Olson at 218-770-5343.
QUILTS OF VALOR—March 17 will be doing their annual fundraiser at the Underwood Legion Post 489. There will be corn beef and cabbage, silent auction and other activities.
Like the Liquor Store on Facebook!
Anita has put the Underwood Liquor Store on Facebook. Like us and check out specials and new products!
We can be found at We will continue to add items as we progress. Please let us know what you would like to see. It may take some time, but your comments and suggestions will be considered.
Lolly Stratton is retiring on October 14. She has been an employee of the Liquor Store since early 2011. All of us at the City would like to wish her the best of luck with her retirement. She has been a delight to get to know and we will miss her around her. Stop in October 14th from 3:30 to 9 p.m. to wish her farewell!
New Employees
City Maintenance –The City has hired James Hanson as our new maintenance supervisor. He and his wife Lauri (see below), lived in Ottertail where he worked for Carr’s Tree Service. Jim worked for the City of Ada for the past 3 years. They and their dog, Lucy, are happy to be back in the area and enjoy riding their vintage Harley around the lakes. The also enjoy going to auctions and are always looking for old treasures to add to their collections.
Liquor Store- We would like to welcome Pauline Nelson to our staff. Pauline joined us in late April. She resides in Fergus, but is an Underwood graduate. Her parents still live on the homestead on North Turtle Lake and she enjoys spending as much time as possible there in the summer. She has 2 boys, Brandon, 21 and Conner, 10 who is attending 5th grade at Underwood. She also works at Nelson Auto Center in Fergus. When Pauline has spare time she attends her son’s sporting events, enjoys gardening, hiking, 4- wheeling, snowmobiling and other outdoor activities.
Steve Smedsrud joined the staff in June. He lives here in Underwood with his family, wife Tracy, and 3 children, Deb, Liz and Gabe.. Steve Is retired from the Army. He also is the owner of Data Wranglers, a computer services company. He designed and updates our city web page.
Lauri Hanson just joined us. She previously worked at the Ada Municipal Liquor Store after a long career in the pharmaceutical industry. She has 2 grown children, Lucas, living in Warroad and daughter Jewel, attending nursing school in St. Louis, MO. Lauri enjoys reading and sewing and has a collection of vintage sewing machines.
FYI from the Office
SPECIAL THANKS –Goes to the hard working members of the Centennial Park fund raising committee and those community members who worked so hard on the construction. Our park and new equipment looks phenomenal! I have received many positive comments in the office. It’s a great addition to our city.
OFFICE CLOSINGS - Unless there is an emergency, I will always post office closings on the door and leave a revised message on the answering machine at least 1 week in advance. If you absolutely need to reach me I will leave contact information on the notice and in the message. Regular hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
RECYCLING – For those of you who recycle, (and that should be all of you), you may have noticed a trailer for cans for Boy Scout Troop 325. They have set this up to help off-set their increasing costs and to reduce the number of fundraisers through the year. They donate half of what they earn to the Otter Tail County Humane Society. They are however, getting dog & cat food cans and also household trash. They can only take aluminum cans (pop & beer). So, load them up! Good Job, Boys!
MAINTENANCE REQUEST – For those of you who have mail boxes, especially those with multiple boxes on one post, our Maintenance Supervisor is asking if they (the main post) can be raised. The postal service recommends the bottom of the box should be between 45-48 inches from the ground. This will aid in cleaner & closer snow removal. Also, please make sure that the outside meter readers are accessible this winter. Remove snow or shovel a path to the reader.
Please remember that even though a product says it’s “Flushable” doesn’t mean that it is. Disposal wipes, diapers, sanitary products and paper towels that are flushed can cause tens of thousands of dollars in repairs for the sewer lines, lift stations and pumping systems. Please dispose of these products by throwing them out not by flushing.
UTILITY FEES - The City has instituted fees some years ago that some of you may not be familiar with. A late fee of $10.00 is applied to accounts that are not paid by the due date of the 15th. This shows up on your next bill.
A $40.00 accessibility fees is applied to any connection where there is no usage (snow birds, unoccupied homes). As high as our rates seem, this fee was established to keep the overall fees down. We have to charge enough to cover our loan payments and maintain a feasible operating and maintenance budget. Remember if you are connected to the system you are paying for it.
If your service is shut off for non-payment there is a $30.00 reconnect fee this needs to be paid before your service is reconnected. If you question your bill, please contact the office as soon as possible. The meters are extremely accurate so high usage usually means something is running.A simple test you can do is put food coloring in the tank of your toilet and let it stand for a couple of hours (or overnight). If the water in the bowl changes color, it’s leaking. Check faucets for drips. Young children have a tendency to not shut off faucets tightly. Remember with spring and summer right around the corner it is easy to forget to shut off or check the outside spigot. If you are not satisfied with the determination of the office you have every right to appeal to the City Council. You can also pay by credit or debit card. I can do this either in the office or you can go on-line to pay. Call me for more information.
Hope everyone has a safe and mild winter. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!