Mayor Rick Scholtes proclaimed Oct. 15-21 as Friends of the Libraries Week on Oct. 16. He is pictured with Friends of the Library president Pat Smith.

At the start of a Blue Earth City Council meeting held on Monday, Oct. 16, the council chambers offered standing room only.

A crowd had assembled to challenge a proposal to relocate the Blue Earth Senior Center from its downtown location to St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center.

However, the public’s concerns were soon put to rest – before mayor Rick Scholtes opened the meeting for public comment, council member John Huisman cut in with a motion.

“I would like to make a motion that the city does not consider St. Luke’s campus as a location for the Senior Center,” Huisman said. “We will evaluate the building maintenance and the ADA renovation costs for the existing Senior Center location.”

Huisman’s motion was met with applause from the public, and it was approved unanimously by the rest of the council.

Janet Gaylord, who has spoken out multiple times against relocating the Senior Center, responded on behalf of the assembled public.

“Thank you for serving – every time I’ve been at a meeting, every (council member) has been in attendance,” Gaylord said. “Thank you, John, for all your consideration.” 

After assuaging the public’s concerns about the Senior Center, the council moved forward with other items on the agenda, including the approval of several resolutions.

One resolution to amend the courthouse’s zoning district had been tabled at a previous council meeting.

Faribault County submitted a request to re-zone the property because it wants to construct a parking lot near the courthouse. Currently, the proposed area for the parking lot – the corner at the intersection of Main and Second Streets – is improperly zoned for the project.

The resolution had been tabled due to the council’s concerns about spot zoning.

“Spot zoning is a process where you have a zone created by itself, surrounded by other zones,” city attorney David Frundt reminded the council on Oct. 16.

City administrator Mary Kennedy said she had consulted planners at Bolton & Menk about the issue, and they were of the opinion that passing the resolution would not be spot zoning.

As such, the council approved the resolution.

The council also approved a resolution setting the city’s major industrial sewer and stormwater service rates at a five percent increase.

“This is going up the standard percentage rate,” Kennedy explained.

The council approved another resolution setting the city’s residential and commercial sewer service rates for 2024-2026. Those rates will increase by four percent, which represents another standard rate of increase.

In other business, the Blue Earth City Council: 

• Discussed the city’s snow plowing policy at a 4:30 p.m. work session.

The council directed Kennedy to draft several alterations to the policy, including one which grants Public Works director Jamie Holland the authority to declare a snow emergency.

The council also wants to adjust penalties issued for snow emergency protocol violations. Violators would receive a warning after their first offense, and a fine of $50, plus towing expenses, after their second offense.

The council discussed the plowing policy for blocks of Main Street between Fourth Street and Ninth Street and agreed to survey the area’s business owners about their preferences for plowing.

• Reviewed a draft of the city’s Sewer Forgiveness Policy. Under the new policy, credit requests would be reviewed by the city administrator, and no sewer credits under $20 or over $500 would be granted.

Residents would have three months to submit a sewer forgiveness request following a period of abnormally high usage. They could submit a request once every two years.

The council will review the amended policy draft at its next meeting on Nov. 6.

• Denied a sewer forgiveness request because it was for a bill received five years ago, in October of 2018. The credit would have been in the amount of $113.

• Was updated about the Blue Earth Municipal Airport’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) by Bolton & Menk aviation design engineer Nick Grahek and airport manager Luke Steier.

The CIP had previously included the replacement of a fuel system with the assumption that the project would qualify for a 95 percent grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) to cover its $850,000 estimated cost. However, the airport recently learned the FFA will no longer fund the grant after changing how it interprets its rules.

Now, Grahek anticipates the project will likely receive 70 percent in state funding, and require 30 percent in local funding.

Scholtes wondered if the city could bond for the extra cost of the project, and requested that Kennedy look into that possibility.

• Approved a $14,983 bill from G&S Drainage Excavation for the installation of a drainage system at the airport following major storm damage in 2018.

• Opened and approved Chet Malwitz’s sealed $10,550 bid for city-owned property across from Cedar Inn Drive-In.

• Approved updates to the fire department’s by-laws which were discussed at the Oct. 2 council meeting.

• Learned that the Putnam Park Tennis Court project is near completion for the year.

“It will sit for the winter, then we will do the concrete work next spring before the tennis season,” Bolton & Menk engineer Ben Rosol said.

The council decided to visit the tennis courts to review the project’s progress at a work session on Nov. 6.

• Approved changes to the 2024 Street and Utility Improvement Project preliminary assessment roll.

A total of $39,000 will be credited to residents of the 10th, 11th and Second Street project areas where assessment fees were recently paid for a separate project.

• Learned that the two-year correction period for improvements to the 10th, Nicollet, Walnut and Hood Street area ends this month.

Bolton & Menk examined the areas for any deficiencies and found a few miscellaneous repairs to be brought to the attention of the project’s contractor.

• Directed Frundt to write a letter on the city’s behalf to the owner of a property at East Fifth Street offering to purchase the property. If the letter receives no response, Frundt will obtain a search warrant for the property.

• Scheduled a public hearing on Nov. 6 for a property on South Moore Street. The house’s chimney is structurally unsound and poses a safety hazard.

• Scheduled a public hearing on Nov. 6 for an ordinance amending a City Code subsection concerning assessment deferments for residents who are 65 or older. The amendment will remove the ordinance’s complicated formula for determining assessment deferral qualifications.

• Approved an $11,334 assessment deferral request from a resident over 65 years of age.

• Proclaimed Oct. 15-21 as Friends of the Libraries Week in Blue Earth.

• Approved $2,889.81 in donations to the city.

• Approved Jason Casias’s hire to the fire department pending his successful completion of written and agility tests.

• Approved an event request for an Octknoberfest Block Party at Oak Knoll Court on Oct. 21.

• Discussed a real estate transaction in closed session. Following the closed session, the council scheduled a special meeting on Oct. 23, at 4:30 p.m., to resume the discussion in closed session.

• Went into closed session to discuss certain security matters. The council then approved updated hours for City Hall.

Effective Monday, Oct. 23, City Hall will be open 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays. The building will be closed and locked the remaining hours.

The new open hours will be in place through the end of the year.