The Flame Theatre in Wells is temporarily closed as repairs are made to the ceiling and roof after a leak caused damage.

A water leak in the roof of the Flame Theatre in Wells has caused the movie venue to shut down until further notice.

“We intend to reopen as soon as possible,” city administrator Tiffany Schrader told the Wells City Council members at their regular meeting on Nov 12. “We have hired ServiceMaster to do the cleanup work.”

Schrader said the rain soaked through to the ceiling tiles in the theater.

“We are waiting to find out if there is asbestos in those tiles before determining how to proceed,” she added. “We hope to have that report soon.”

The water leak occurred following rains that fell in the area early in the week of Nov. 3.

South Central Minnesota Emergency Medical Services (EMS) executive director Mark Griffith was at the meeting to present a total of 28 Life Save Awards to people involved in two life-saving events this past summer.

“The big takeaway from this is the level of teamwork that goes into a successful lifesaving event,” Griffith commented. “These events required that people from many different agencies work together to have positive outcomes.”

Griffith said the first event happened on July 16 when a person was found unresponsive.

“A lay person began CPR until help arrived,” Griffith stated. “Only one in 10 victims survive these situations. There were 13 responders from four different agencies that were a part of this success story.”

Griffith shared that the other event took place on Aug. 10 and involved a victim in active cardiac arrest.

“Again, the person was unresponsive and it took the teamwork of multiple agencies to obtain a successful outcome,” Griffith said.

Not all 28 people involved in the events were able to be at the meeting, but Griffith handed out certificates to those who were there.

City engineer Ben Rosol reported that most of the construction work for the year was completed and that the construction company was busy laying sod before they would pull out of the city.

Rosol also led a discussion on lighting options along the Highway 22 and Highway 109 corridors.

“As requested, we have reviewed and provided options for installing new lights along both highways,” Rosol said. “Any new lighting that will take place on these highways will need to be designed and installed to meet the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) lighting design manual. To provide a variety in costs, three different lighting options were analyzed.”

The third option, with a cost of almost $1.4 million was quickly ruled out.

“The cost of the first option, which is the basic option, starts at $489,000,” Rosol explained. “However, MnDOT can participate in 50 percent of the basic lighting system, provided the city is willing to take ownership of the system once it is completed. That would bring the cost down to $244,500.”

The base cost of the second option, which is more decorative than the first option, is $681,000.

“Once again, you can subtract half of the cost of the base system, or $244,500, from this amount,” Rosol said. “In addition, the city would also have the aesthetic budget to utilize for this option. The aesthetic budget is two percent of MnDOT’s construction costs and is currently estimated to be $160,000. That would bring the cost of the decorative option down to $276,500 compared to $244,500 for the basic option.”

“I think now is the time to update the lighting,” council member John Herman said. “Do we have to make a decision now?”

“MnDOT only needs to know that you plan on updating the lighting,” Rosol replied. “You do not have to make a decision on which option you are going to use at this time.”

A motion was made and passed to inform MnDOT that the city of Wells intends to update their lighting along the Highway 109 and 22 corridors.

The council also discussed and suggested some changes to the 2025 fee schedule but did not approve the changes at this time.

The suggested changes included increasing a golf cart permit from $20 to $100, charging $50 for a permit to build a fence, raising the cost of the three-day golf clinic from $10 to $30, increasing the daily pool pass price to $5 from $4 and upping the evening pass from $2 to $3. It was also suggested to raise the cost of a pool party from $125 to $250.

Discussion was also held on increasing the rent for the Community Center from $50 to $100 and raising the refundable rental deposit from $100 to $250. The cost to rent the Scout House or Golf Club House would increase from $25 to $50 and renting the Flame Theatre would increase from $125 per day to $250 per day if these changes are adopted.

“The Flame Theatre is rented mostly by schools,” Schrader explained.

The council expects to take action on the proposed changes at one of their next meetings.

In other business, the council:

• Passed a resolution certifying the results of the municipal general election held on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

• Approved the resignation of Wells Golf Course superintendent, Neil Berg.

• Approved the hiring of Nichole Loveless as a part-time library clerk.