A sign is now in front of the former Wells Fargo building letting everyone know it will be the new Blue Earth City Hall.

The Blue Earth City Council discussed the future home of Blue Earth’s City Hall at a meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

The new City Hall will be located at the former Wells Fargo building on E. Seventh Street. The city purchased the building last November for the purpose of relocating City Hall to a more secure building.

The council hopes to complete the relocation project by the end of 2024.

The council approved the publication of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for architectural services for the project on Dec. 18, and city administrator Mary Kennedy shared that the RFQ received an overwhelming response.

“I met with 14 architects,” Kennedy reported. “I think that’s really good that we have this kind of interest in the project.”

She clarified that because the city had requested RFQs, the council should review the responses solely based on the firms’ qualifications for the project.

The council felt most comfortable with Brunton Architects and Engineers, which has completed other projects in the city of Blue Earth, including the Giant Welcome Center and the Blue Earth Light & Water building.

The council directed Kennedy to begin negotiations with Brunton. The matter will be brought back to the council at a future meeting for a final decision.

The council also discussed how the city will finance renovations to the Wells Fargo building.

The city had previously considered applying for a USDA Rural Development Loan, but Kennedy advised the council that the loan program may not be the best fit for the project.

“It’s really good when you need it, and when bonds are hard to come by, but at this point I would recommend we don’t pursue a rural development loan,” Kennedy said. “When you use those funds, there is a significant amount of oversight needed – it’s very time consuming. With the push to get into the new building in 2024, that would not happen with a rural development loan.”

Instead, Kennedy suggested the city pursue a general obligation bond. The council was interested in a bond with a 20-year term at a four percent interest rate, which would represent a $76,000 annual payment.

Kennedy will continue exploring the city’s options for bonding for the project.

In other business, the Blue Earth City Council:

• Scheduled a second reading and public hearing on Feb. 20 for the proposed assessments against property owners benefiting from the 2023 Street and Infrastructure Improvement Project.

The project’s estimated total cost is $4,478,731, $1,018,870 of which is proposed to be covered through assessments.

• Conducted a first reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s snow and ice control policies. Among other changes, the amendment gives the public works director the authority to declare a snow emergency.

The council scheduled a special meeting to conduct a second reading and public hearing for the amended ordinance so it can be put in place before the next bout of inclement weather. The special meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m.

• Approved a resolution concerning the Pteranodon mounted on the north wall of the Blue Earth Community Library.

The resolution dictates the terms under which the fossil will be returned to local fossil collector Jim Pollard and the newly-formed Blue Earth Children’s Museum Foundation, Inc.

• Received a report from archery hunt coordinator Tharen Haugh about the 2023 City Deer Hunt.

“This year was one of our best years we’ve had,” Haugh said. “We had a full group again of 20 hunters, and we ended up harvesting a total of 23 deer.”

• Authorized the city to sign a purchase agreement for the sale of 110 Bluestem Drive to Jared Bruellman for $5,000.

• Approved an impound kenneling services proposal from Paws for Cause and agreed to move forward with drawing up a contract with the organization.

The proposal suggests a daily cost of $20 per animal, per day that it is held on behalf of the city. The city would also pay $500 per month to rent two kennels at Paws for Cause.

• Reviewed accounting system proposals from Software Solutions and Tyler Technologies.

“I think both systems would serve us very well,” Kennedy said. “Software Solutions felt a little more personable.”

The council approved the proposal from Software Solutions, which requests a $50,000 one-time fee for software and services, plus an annual $30,000 subscription fee.

• Held a closed session to discuss pending litigation associated with the Riverside Heights Annexation Project.

“The council got updated on negotiations and talked about where to go from there,” city attorney David Frundt said. “No action has been taken.”

• Went into closed session to discuss pending litigation involving an appeal of a special assessment of the street improvement project which was certified last fall.

“The council discussed proceedings and options associated with the pending matter,” Frundt said. “No action was taken.”

• Went into closed session to conduct Kennedy’s annual performance evaluation.

“Mary’s average score across all categories was 9.16 this year,” mayor Rick Scholtes reported, adding that the average represents an increase from last year’s scores.

The council approved a $2,000 raise in Kennedy’s annual salary given her satisfactory review.

• Received an update from Bolton & Menk engineer Wes Brown regarding proposed new discharge limits on sulfate levels.

“We were not aware that was coming,” Brown said. “Targeting sulfate production is next to impossible in the waste stream.”

Brown said it may be possible for the city to apply for a variance from the requirements, or the city could create a compliance plan to see if it is feasible to reduce sulfate production enough to meet requirements.

• Reviewed a draft of a 2024 Strategic Outline regarding the council’s priorities for the upcoming year.

The highest priority items included promoting livability and economy in Blue Earth.

• Watched a demonstration of Placer, a location analytics platform, at a 4:30 p.m. work session.

The program sources data from mobile devices to track their latitude and longitude for the purposes of driving economic success in communities.

“We can tell you how many people visit any given location at a time, where they live, where they work, the roads they’re taking to get there,” said Caitlin Green, a Placer representative.

The council will reach out to Kennedy if they have further interest in subscribing to the program, which Blue Earth would use to further its economic development.