Randalia residents question why their community is a town

RANDALIA | Some of the 65 residents of this town complain their cost of living outweighs benefits of the town's status as an incorporated city.

At the urging of U.S. Department of Agriculture, which granted a loan to the tiny town in central Fayette County to install a wastewater system in 2001, Randalia raised its monthly assessment on residents to $32.

The city owes a little more than $110,000 on the loan, which matures in 2041, according to the State of Iowa Treasurer's Office reporting of outstanding obligations for cities.

Gary Lauer said he's been paying the monthly fee the past 2 1/2 years even though there's no water, sewer or electric service being used at the property he owns in town. An over-the-road driver, Lauer parks his semi at the site, which he also claims as his residence, sleeping in his truck.

"This is an old can of worms," Mayor Mark Amos said. "Everyone in the city has his own water supply, so no one was happy when the sewer system was put in if they had a perfectly good septic system. People weren't happy then, and they aren't happy now."

The council said until the sewer service is capped and structures on a property demolished, the fee will be assessed.

Resident Albert Baillargeon questioned why not all residents are billed.

"Why isn't everyone hooked up to it?" he asked.

Councilman Dean Teague said a lift station would have been required to serve homes on the north end of town at an additional cost of $250,000, so they were excluded from the project.

Originally, the assessment was $20 per month, but over the years that amount crept upward.

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Randalia residents question why their community is a town