Natural gas could come to Rugby and other communities in the area as soon as 2023, according to information given to the Rugby Public Works Committee at its regular meeting March 17.

The committee listened as Greg Palmer and Cody Chilson of Dakota Natural Gas, LLC presented a proposal via conference call to tap into the Alliance natural gas pipeline, which runs diagonally across North Dakota from Canada.

“Recently we were approached by the city of Harvey about providing natural gas,” Chilson told the committee, adding the discussion led him to conclude “it should be more of a regional project.”

Chilson and Palmer outlined various uses for natural gas, including residential heating and agricultural applications such as grain drying.

Committee members and Mayor Sue Steinke asked the representatives several questions, most of them about the project’s cost.

“Your feasibility study and any costs for infrastructure, that is all going to be borne by you. The city would not be liable or on the hook for any of those costs, correct?” Steinke asked.

“That is correct,” Chilson answered, adding he would ask the city to collect names and phone numbers of potential business customers and users to participate in the study.

“We take it from there at no cost to the city,” Chilson said. “We design the system to the cost feasibility and continue from there and the cost to install and all that falls on us and we recover our cost through the businesses that sign up and use gas through our meter fees and through our rates.”

Both Chilson and Palmer said that residents who decline to sign up for natural gas would not pay for the service or infrastructure in their utility bills.

Committee member Gary Kraft asked, “If you’re putting infrastructure in town, do you put a line to every place whether they have the capability to use natural gas or not?”

“No, we don’t,” Chilson answered. “We put the line to people who want it and they pay a connection fee.”

“There is a meter charge,” Chilson noted, “but not for the people that aren’t using a meter. If someone does not choose natural gas and they don’t have a meter, there’s no charge on their bill.”

Describing the service Dakota Natural Gas offers customers in Hillsboro, Chilson said, “If someone signs up before July, it’s $75, and if it’s after July, it’s $175, so basically that’s to encourage people to sign up early so we don’t have to mobilize a crew (later). It costs us a lot more than $175 to install service. We don’t want people signing up for services they don’t use because we still have to pay property tax on that, we still have to do a leak survey on that.”

“Our prices are controlled by the Public Service Commission,” Chison added.

When asked by Kraft about the per-therm cost for natural gas, Chilson said, “Our most recent residential rate is 72 cents a therm and for people that are using propane, the equivalent is 66 cents per gallon. So, if you can purchase your propane for 66 cents a gallon or less, it makes sense to stay with propane. If you pay more than that, then there’s a cost savings for natural gas.”

Chilson said prices for natural gas are locked in when the company makes purchases from the Natural Gas Exchange.

“There are additional savings for interruptible customers (those whose service is turned off during peak times),” Our per-therm price for those customers is 50 cents per gallon propane equivalent,” Chilson said.

“If somebody’s not ready for natural gas and they want to stick with what they have and their fuel oil furnace goes out and they want to replace it, we’ll be there to install service when they’re ready for it if they’re ready for it,” Chilson said.

Both Chilson and Palmer suggested the committee and other city officials contact their legislative representatives to access funds through grants for the project.

Steinke invited the Dakota Natural Gas representatives to speak at a future city council meeting.

After Chilson and Palmer ended their call, committee members agreed to discuss bringing natural gas to Rugby further in the future.

“If the council wants to work with them, they can,” Steinke noted. “This is the first company that has actually come back to say they don’t want any funding from the city whatsoever.”

The Public Works Committee also heard an update from engineer Jim Olson, who told the members a new carbon dioxide tank had been installed at the city water plant. The committee voted to recommend paying bills to Borscheim Crane and AWG Trucking for costs associated with the delivery and installation of the tank. The committee also voted to recommend purchasing security fencing around the new tank.

The committee also reviewed two bids for software updates for the water plant.

In other committee business, Olson discussed plans to begin work on the area near 6th Street and 2 ¢ Avenue. Olson told committee members city workers would make sure residents in the neighborhood would have continuous sewer service and uninterrupted street access. Olson said City Attorney Bill Hartl would negotiate an easement for property near the street owned by M.J. McGuire Company.

Rugby City Auditor Jennifer Stewart reported the city had received $383,582.25 from the federal COVID Relief Act.

Stewart said money would go into separate fund for tracking and documenting purposes.

Olson also attended the Buildings Committee meeting, where he presented estimates for work to be done on the building housing the Rugby pool. Olson noted replacing the building’s roof with one made of higher-quality materials would cost “upwards of $597,000.”

Committee members decided to look at making a few improvements at a time for the building, beginning with new windows and a ventilation system to control humidity in the building. The committee also suggested restoring double doors, which had been replaced by a single door on the building.

Olson presented bids to replace windows on the Rugby Armory. The estimates ranged from $106,400 to $188,000 depending on the materials used. “We’d want to replace the items and match the new items for aesthetics,” Olson said. “So, everything on the south side of the armory would be replaced all the way up. Then, we added in there the two doors on each side as well.”

Stewart said money for the projects would have to come from the city budget and community development block grant funds.

The building committee also discussed recoating the armory floor in the summer but did not decide on a company to provide the service.

Both the Buildings and Public Works Committees addressed requirements for the city to meet in order to receive USDA grant funds for city infrastructure projects.

The grant requires city buildings be accessible to water and sewer service customers with disabilities. Committee members acknowledged meetings for the city currently take place in council chambers on the second floor of city hall. Members discussed modifications necessary on doorways and relocating council chambers to a ground floor or adding an elevator to city hall.

The grant also requires the city to accommodate non-English speaking water and sewer service customers. Committee members discussed ways to meet that requirement.

The city Finance Committee approved cash reports, expenditures and revenues for February and reviewed purchasing procedures and policies for Harvey and Carrington as guidelines in developing new city purchasing policies.

The city Recreation Committee discussed an application received for advertised job openings for a city recreation director and a city recreation manager. The committee decided to advertise for job openings for coaches and lifeguards in April.

In other committee business, the city Ordinance Committee declined to grant a request by a Massachusetts resident considering a move to Rugby. The potential Rugby resident asked to change Ordinance 6.08.010, which would allow her to keep snakes as pets within the city limits.

The city Public Safety Committee approved the city police report for February. Rugby Police Chief John Rose reported the department’s new officer-in-training was making progress and would be ready to respond to calls on his own later in March.

Rose reported the department had received a new patrol vehicle. He said another patrol car for the department had a “worn out” rear axle and approximately 110,000 miles on it. “It’s ready to retire,” Rose said of the car.

Committee member Frank LaRocque asked for an update on a complaint of feral cats in Rugby neighborhoods. Stewart reported city hall had received no calls.

Committee member Wayne Trottier reported receiving a call from an anonymous resident about a Rugby resident who allegedly owns snakes.

Since the city ordinance pertaining to keeping snakes in Rugby had not been changed, Rose said officers would investigate the matter.

The committee also discussed concerns about trees obstructing view of Highway 3 at Fourth Street Southwest and lilac bushes on a boulevard near Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue Southwest. The committee voted to recommend removing the lilacs, which are on city property. Rose said the trees are on private property and he was unaware of any traffic collisions or problems created by them.

The committee also discussed placing portable, solar-powered traffic signage on Main Avenue near Rugby High School and other frequently used streets in town to remind residents to drive safely.