By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A long awaited contract extension, that at times has made for some tense discussions between the communities of Ottertail and Henning, was overwhelmingly approved by the Ottertail City Council last week.

During its regularly scheduled meeting last Thursday night, the Ottertail City Council approved a 20-year contract that will continue a long-standing arrangement with the City of Henning to provide water for the City of Ottertail. The agreement will go into effect at the start of 2027 and the council granted city representatives the opportunity to work with the city attorney to make necessary minor changes if needed to put the contract into action. 

The approved contract also awaits the blessing of the Henning City Council, which did not formally approve the contract during its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Oct. 19 as that council identified a few minor changes it wanted to address before fully implementing the contract. It is expected to act on the contract as soon as its next meeting on November 2. 

Ottertail representatives complimented the negotiations that led to the continuance of the mutual agreement.

The original water contract was approved by both communities in 1999 and was amended in 2021. As part of the agreement, the City of Henning produces and sells water for the City of Ottertail. Water is sent to Ottertail through a pipe with the City of Ottertail paying the Gross Production Cost plus 10 percent, however, the production cost can be adjusted annually if needed. 

In order to assist with future repairs, which Ottertail is not responsible for in the future, the City of Ottertail will pay the City of Henning $.50 per thousand gallons of water, which will be deposited into an account to go towards future maintenance and repairs. 

The contract was set to expire at the end of 2029, but both sides have worked at a fevered pace to get a contract extension finalized. If an extension was not reached the City of Ottertail would need to build its own water facility, or look to another community to provide water for its growing town.

City clerk/treasurer Amanda Thorson complimented the City of Henning as both sides came to an agreement that she feels works well for both communities.

“I think they have been very good to work with,” she said.

Council members agreed that the updated contract will be a win for both communities as it attempts to clarify some questions that were raised with the previous agreement, while also providing an opportunity for both towns to continue a unique arrangement that has worked well for nearly 30 years.

“It makes a lot of sense for two cities to share the maintenance and repair of one well,” said councilman Jerry Martin. “It just makes good sense to keep doing this with Henning.”

The current extension will be for 20 years and will go into effect at the start of 2027. The contract will expire at the end of 2046, but could be extended in the future if both sides agree to do so. 

The contract will still need to be approved by the Henning City Council, before it is implemented.

In other news

• Approved an amendment for a tax abatement for Chris Hutmacher for a property located at 220 Hoot Lane in Ottertail. The amendment coincided with updating the property number and parcel number of the single-family home. 

• Approved an agreement between the city and Thumper Pond Resort for snow removal for the winter of 2026-27 for Red Pine Trail, Thumper Lodge Road, Acorn Trail, Spruce Trail, Thumper Pond Drive and Fair View Way. 

• Accepted the following donations: $5,000 from Ottertail Convention and Tourism and $5,000 from the Ottertail Community Association. 

• Approved a grant request from Nash and Ella to make repairs and paint the former Family Dollar building in Ottertail. The request was for $5,000 and the plan was to make a number of repairs to the facility and locate the Nash and Ella store in Ottertail to the Family Dollar building, which has been vacant for a number of years. A representative from Nash and Ella said the plan is to also operate a store in its current location in Ottertail, but those details have not been finalized. 

• Heard an update on the head of the new tornado siren that was damaged during shipment. The head has been replaced and two weeks ago the siren was installed and tested.

• Heard that fall hydrant flushing is currently uncertain due to the ongoing rehabilitation work with the Henning water treatment facility. Ottertail’s flushing depends on Henning completing its flushing first. If Henning is unable to flush its hydrants this fall, Ottertail will postpone its fall flushing as Maintenance Coordinator Justin Lohse said it would not be beneficial to flush Ottertail’s system before Henning flushes its hydrants. 

• Received an update on the continued clean up of a pair of properties located at 108 Lake Ave S and 110 Lake Ave S. The city staff said it was pleased with the continued progress and recommended not moving forward with abatement as long as progress continues to clean up the properties. 

• Approved a purchase agreement for $1 for the Fergus Falls Habitat to Humanity to construct a new habitat house located at 451 2nd St E in Ottertail. This will be the third Habitat for Humanity home to be located in Ottertail. 

• Discussed the potential of constructing an ice skating rink on city property located near the new family wellness center, as well as the former Smokin’ Iron track. However, the council expressed several concerns over the potential location of the skating rink on city property and will seek more information from the Ottertail Community and Wellness Center group about the concept of a community skating rink on city property and operated by the community and wellness center. The city previously had a skating rink that was located in the parking lot of Thumper Pond, which donated the boards to the Ottertail Community and Wellness Center.