Wells projects could be $6.7 million
But, council told the actual cost to the city could be much less

Wells city engineer Ben Rosol explains a series of proposed projects to the Wells City Council last Monday.
The Wells City Council held three public hearings during their meeting on Monday evening, Feb. 13.
The first hearing was on the facility plan for the city and the application for funding through the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (PFA).
City engineer Ben Rosol led the discussion about the projects.
“There are a couple of different sources of financing we can apply for,” Rosol explained. “The first one is the Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (CWRF) and the other is the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRF).
Rosol also identified the streets involved in the project.
“Phase one of the project involves four different streets. Those are Sixth Avenue NW, from Trunk Highway (TH) 109 to the railroad tracks, Fifth Avenue SW, from First Street SW to West Franklin, Fifth Avenue NW, from West Franklin to Third Street NW and Third Avenue NW, from West Franklin to TH 109,” Rosol explained. “These would be scheduled for 2024.”
Rosol shared phase two of the project would be County State Aid Highway 60 (North Broadway) from West Franklin to Second Street NE.
“Phase three of the project is not scheduled to begin until 2026 and would involve utility improvements along TH 109 and TH 22 when the state is reconstructing those roads,” Rosol said.
Rosol noted these projects do not just involve the road surfaces but also the utilities which are buried beneath the roads.
“Much of the existing sanitary sewer line used vitrified clay pipe which dates prior to 1963. Many of the lines have poor pipe joints,” Rosol commented. “Additionally, many of the lines, whether it is for storm sewer, sanitary sewer or water distribution, are undersized.”
Rosol also shared the cost estimates for each phase if the city receives the funding.
“Phase one is projected to cost a total of $3,588,086 with the city’s share of the total project estimated to be $1,312,350,” he said. “Phase two, which involves CSAH 60, has no cost for the city since it is a county road. The estimated total cost for phase three, excluding Minnesota Department of Transportation costs, is $3,208,759 with the city’s share estimated to be $159,008.”
The second public hearing concerned the amount of impervious surfaces and /or buildings and structures which would be allowed on a lot.
A proposed change in the zoning code would have allowed for up to 75 percent of a lot to be occupied by impervious surfaces.
“Why so high?” council member Crystal Dulas asked. “We’ve been talking about problems with storm sewers being undersized and it seems to me this would not help the situation.”
Other council members agreed and later, when the matter was brought up for a vote, it failed to pass and the council directed city administrator Connor LaPointe to do some more research and come back to the council with a different alternative.
The final public hearing dealt with reassigning who will serve as members of the Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
If passed, the amended ordinance would have the members of the Board of Adjustment and Appeals consist of the City Council, instead of being appointed by the City Council.
The change in this ordinance was approved by the council.
During the meeting the new School Resources Officer at United South Central Schools, DJ Bullerman, took the oath of office. Bullerman is serving as the SRO at USC after previously having served in the same capacity at Blue Earth Area Schools.
During his report, LaPointe informed the council that Minnesota governor Tim Walz had signed the Juneteenth bill into law.
“With this law in place it means no public business will be conducted on June 19,” LaPointe said. “During our last round of negotiations with the union, we added a provision to the contract stating that if Juneteenth became a state holiday, it would become a paid holiday for employees as well, beginning in 2024.”
LaPointe told council members he had begun the process of conducting performance reviews with City Hall staff and he is also planning to reorganize the City Hall phone tree.
“Currently, when you call the city of Wells, the automated system reads through each employee’s name, job title and phone extension,” LaPointe commented. “We are going to change the system so that it provides an extension for each department.”
LaPointe also reminded council members about the survey the Wells Active Living Coalition (WALC) is intending to send out to city residents.
“The survey will assess what residents would like to see the former football field property be used for, before the city considers whether to take ownership of the property,” he explained. “A strong response would be very helpful to the city and to the WALC for future planning.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Faribault County Commissioner Bill Groskreutz informed the council the county was looking for someone to serve on the Advisory Board of the Faribault and Martin County Health and Human Services Department.
“We could also use someone to sit on the Prairie Lakes Transit Advisory board,” Groskreutz added.
“The latest information on ridership for Prairie Lakes Transit in January showed about 33 percent of the riders came from Faribault County which is a higher percentage than it has been,” Groskreutz added. “There were 224 rides involving USC in January.”
Groskreutz explained that the prices of new buses could be doubling in the future.
“MnDOT used to cover a majority of the cost of the bus but it appears the county will now have to come up with more money for new buses,” Groskreutz said.
In other business the council:
• Voted by a resolution to accept a donation, in the amount of $10,000, from the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation – Shirley M. Bartholomew Foundation to be used for Kernel Days.
• Passed a resolution to accept a gift from Peoples State Bank of Wells, in the amount of $2,000, to be used as funding for the Thompson Park Scoreboard.