“Road Closed” signs are still stationed along Gorman Street, but overall Blue Earth’s summer street improvement project is near completion.

At a Blue Earth City Council meeting held on Monday, Nov. 7, the council discussed the 2022 Street Improvement Project’s few remaining steps to completion.

City engineer Ben Rosol, of Bolton & Menk, was present at the council meeting to provide updates on the project’s dwindling to-do list.

“The street project is about wrapped up,” he summarized.

Rosol said there are a few areas left where sod needs to be installed. There are also several signs around town which have been staked, but not installed.

Rosol informed the council that Bolton & Menk’s biggest concern, as of now, is project contractor Holtmeier Construction’s insufficient watering of newly-planted sod.

“So far, about seven blocks of sod have been placed on this project, about a month ago,” Rosol said. “We are not impressed with the watering job.” 

He told the council that, typically, new sod needs to be watered every three days, at minimum, for the first month following its installation.

He estimates that Holtmeier Construction has watered the newly-placed sod once a week, at most, over the past month.

Rosol said he has been in conversation with Holtmeier Construction about the issue. The company has been informed that Bolton & Menk will be carefully evaluating the condition of the sod next spring.

“We’re not willing to approve the condition of it now – we want to see how it takes in the spring,” Rosol explained.

If Bolton & Menk is not satisfied with the condition of the sod next spring, Rosol assured the council there are funds which can be held back in recognition of Holtmeier’s failure to fulfill their contract with the city.

Rosol added Bolton & Menk intends to take steps in the future to ensure sod is properly watered by project contractors.

“Going forward, we are going to take a step back to see how we can write specs for watering; how to hold (the contractor) accountable,” Rosol said. “We’ll look at penalties.” 

A member of the public inquired about reimbursement for residents who have been watering new sod themselves, and the council suggested affected property members bring proof of their increased water usage to the city. The council can then consider their eligibility for reimbursement.

The council also recommended eligible residents do not request reimbursement until after they have received all bills which reflect increased water usage.

There was, in fact, a resident - Beverly Dummer - who submitted a sewer forgiveness request to the City Council for the month of September.

The council approved a $12.21 one-time credit to Dummer.

The council also wished to emphasize to residents that the council only approves sewer forgiveness requests on a one-time basis.

The council also discussed setting both a minimum and maximum amount which the city will credit residents requesting sewer forgiveness.

In other business, the Blue Earth City Council: 

• Approved the implementation of a new Honorary Council Member Program, which will allow a Blue Earth Area High School junior or senior to sit as an honorary member of the Blue Earth City Council next year, from January through May.

Applications for the position will be due on Dec. 7, and the student selected for the position will be announced on Dec. 19.

• Approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for the Statewide Monitoring of Per- and Polyfluoralkyl Substances (PFAS).

The MOU allows the MPCA to conduct testing in Blue Earth for PFAS, a known class of environmental contaminants.

“They are ultimately microscopic bits of plastic,” Public Works director Jamie Holland summarized.

• Approved Resolution 22-28 accepting a donation to the Blue Earth Community Library and Fossil Discovery Center from Jim Pollard. Pollard is donating a fossilized male Pteranodon Longiceps to the library with an estimated value of $40,000.

• Approved Resolution 22-27 adopting assessments for unpaid charges for mowing services against Joseph Sanders in the amount of $425.

• Discussed rectifying longstanding city code violations at a Blue Earth property located on E. Sixth Street. The city will take steps to clean up the property’s yard and store the items which are in violation of the city code.

City attorney David Frundt also informed the council he is moving forward with court proceedings regarding the property.

The council voted to direct Frundt to contact the property owner and see if he would be willing to sell the property to the city for $1.