The Blue Earth City Council approved necessary funding for the purchase of a new 2021 Main Line Pumper #332 for the Blue Earth Fire Department. Firefighter Jim Wirkus is pictured with the new truck, above.

The Blue Earth City Council wrapped up a busy year at their last regularly scheduled meeting in 2021 on Monday, Dec. 20, at 5 p.m.

Per usual, an important item on the agenda was setting the 2022 property tax levy for the city of Blue Earth. Though the council had discussed and tentatively decided upon a levy amount at their previous meeting on Dec. 6, they decided to table the official vote until Dec. 20.

The council unanimously voted to set Blue Earth’s 2022 property tax levy at $1,795,033.64, representing a technical 4.1 percent increase over last year’s levy.

Members of the council wished to make clear that most Blue Earth citizens will actually feel the effects of a 3.5 percent increase.

New properties recently developed by the city, such as the duplexes which it has recently constructed in conjunction with the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), have become sources of property taxes.

“It is an $11,000 increase over what we were getting before,” explained mayor Rick Scholtes.

By accounting for these additional funds, the council is driving the levy up to a mathematical increase of 4.1 percent. This portion of the levy’s increase will have little-to-no impact upon Blue Earth’s general population, however.

“It’s our way of capitalizing on what we have, to make sure we have the funds we need in our budget,” Scholtes reasoned.

The council addressed other financial matters through passing a litany of agreements and resolutions which were necessary to facilitate funding via grants for new public works equipment.

A USDA community facilities grant will provide funding in the amount of $64,500 for a Bobcat compact track loader, while the rest of the equipment’s cost will be covered by a USDA loan in the amount of $52,916. The total cost of the equipment will be $117,416.

The council also reviewed agreements and resolutions related to the Blue Earth Fire Department’s purchase of a brand-new fire truck, a 2021 Main Line Pumper #332.

The new truck will replace the fire department’s current 1982 Ford 8000 City Pumper.

The city will receive a community facilities grant in the amount of $55,000 to help fund the fire truck’s purchase, which will amount to a total cost of $555,000.

The city plans to fund the remainder of the cost through a federal loan of $450,000 borrowed at an interest rate of 2.165 percent, which will be paid back over the course of 20 years.

In addition to finalizing financing for the new fire truck, the council also approved the Blue Earth Fire Department to sell its surplus property, the old 1982 Ford 8000 City Pumper, on MN-Bid Site.

An additional piece of business which the council addressed on Monday night extends beyond 2021 into years past.

The Blue Earth Economic Development Authority (EDA) addressed a letter to the City Council expressing their concerns after the council went against an EDA recommendation regarding the local Three Sisters Project on Blue Earth’s Main Street.

The EDA communicated their intention to no longer provide recommendations to the council regarding city-owned property, unless the EDA is the recorded owner of said property.

The City Council presented a divided response to the correspondence.

Council member Glenn Gaylord asserted, “I thought I was doing you (the EDA) a favor. It was at a stalemate, in my opinion. You guys were swamped with all the stuff you were doing for this project. This frees you guys up to work on other projects.” 

Council member John Huisman disagreed, reminding the council he had voted in dissent to the motion. “It went through very quickly,” he noted. “I don’t believe everyone had a clear understanding of the situation.” 

Scholtes, who had been absent at the time of the vote, agreed, saying, “I feel like if I’d been here, you wouldn’t have made the decision you made. It went straight through with no discussion.” 

EDA board member Bill Rosenau concluded, “A lot of EDA members were upset at the amount of time we spent going over these buildings over the last few years. We want, and need, a cooperative relationship with the City, but we just want a clearer relationship with how we need to manage our time going forward.” 

Other business discussed by the Blue Earth City Council on Dec. 20 included:

• Conducting a public hearing for the property located at 405 N. Moore Street, which is owned by Andres Pascual Andres and Noeli Carolina Garcia Ortega.

The Council had received numerous complaints concerning unusable and dangerous furniture, furnishings and appliances stored on the property’s lawn rather than housed within a building. As such, the city had found the owners in violation of Blue Earth City Code Subsection 510.02.

Upon concluding the hearing, the City Council passed a motion requiring Andres to remove the furniture items which are in violation of city codes from his lawn before Jan. 1 of next year.

Office specialist Tammy Davis also set up a meeting with Andres on Dec. 21, at which time she will explain clearly which items at the property are in violation of city code.

• Accepting a letter of resignation from Public Works Department employee Devin Stephens.

• Receiving updates from city engineer Wes Brown regarding the Safe Routes to School Project. Previously, the project has been held up due to the permitting process regarding a railroad crossing near Leland Parkway.

Brown shared he was recently able to elicit an agreement from the railroad which may be executed to move the permitting process forward.

• Accepting the terms of Bolton & Menk’s 2022 general engineering agreement with the city of Blue Earth.

• Approving several annual resolutions and agreements, including a resolution of participation in the Law Enforcement Support Office program for the Blue Earth Police Department, and the South Central Drug Investigation Unit Joint Powers Agreement.

• Entering into a closed session during which a discussion took place on the purchase price of two lots located in Prairie View Subdivision. No decision was made during the session.