Pine River Area Sanitary District (PRASD) employees will be handling year round maintenance in Backus thanks to an agreement between PRASD and the City of Backus.

Duties include snow plowing, mowing and maintenance on city hall and the townhomes, among other duties.

The city already contracts with PRASD for water and sewer services.

The total cost for maintenance and for the water and sewer contract for two years is $3,200 per month, according to City Clerk Jeff Turk.

Water meter project

The call to ministry was strong for Pastor John Rister. Strong enough for him to end his 20-year career in the auto industry and move his Monroe, Michigan-based family more than 1,200 miles to pursue a degree in pastoral ministries.

Rister, of Backus Nazarene Church, went from working as a millwright for Ford Motor Company to attending Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs.

Rister said the call to ministry felt scary. He was two-thirds of the way to retirement and felt that God was leading him in a different direction.

The Pine River City Council set its preliminary 2013 levy at the same amount as the prior two levies: $373,871.

The levy breakdown by fund is: General, $307,573; Library, $28,048; Fire, $28,000; Fire Association Relief $2,000; Sewer, $8,250.

The Truth in Taxation hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at city hall.

Councilors Patty Melby, Tony Desanto and Tamara Hansen were present at the Sept. 11 meeting. Mayor Jim Sabas and Councilor Ronnie Derksen were absent.