Doug Lindner

SOLON– How many water meters are there in the City of Solon?
Care to guess?
Public Works Director Scott Kleppe estimated somewhere around 1,200, but we’ll find out for sure pretty soon.
That’s because the city is looking to replace all of them next year in an attempt to further improve the efficiency of the municipal water system.
City council members discussed the pending project at an Oct. 4 meeting, and expect to follow up with action in the next month or two.

SOLON– “The most important things that you will do in your life will come from being of service,” Eric Munson told the students.
Munson, a 2004 graduate of Solon High School, was the featured speaker at a Nov. 14 Veterans Day program at the Solon Center for the Arts, and he was passing on the greatest single lesson he learned from his military service.

SOLON– Within a few months, portions of the former Solon Middle School may be open for public use.
Solon city and school officials have been working behind the scenes to investigate a collaboration which may eventually offer residents something they haven’t had before– a community center.
“The public is extremely eager to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Solon City Council member Lauren Whitehead.
The Solon Community School District (SCSD) has committed to maintaining ownership of the building, and will continue to utilize the oldest portion for administrative offices.

SOLON– It was a long meeting.
So what comes next?
Members of the Solon City Council and a standing-room-only crowd packed into City Hall Tuesday, Oct. 24, to question representatives of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about efforts to resolve water supply issues for a nearby rural subdivision.
No official action was taken from council members and it wasn’t clear whether the marathon meeting shed any new light on how best to deal with unacceptable levels of arsenic in Gallery Acres West’s (GAW) drinking water.

SOLON– The city can’t investigate providing rural water if it doesn’t know how many local subdivisions would be interested.
And the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is apparently not very interested in helping determine that number.
According to discussions at the Oct. 18 meeting of the Solon City Council, the DNR stepped back from its lead role in determining whether municipal water could help resolve arsenic issues in developments outside the city.
For the city’s elected officials, the news brought their interest in researching the problem to a screeching halt.