Mike Humpal, of South Central Service Cooperative, addressed the council during the work session.

An unexpected administrative gap was brought to light at the Blue Earth City Council meeting on March 3, prompting the council to problem-solve on the fly and reassess the duties of their staff so that important projects could still be undertaken.

At the last city council meeting, held on Feb. 18, the council approved 6-1 a raise of $10 for Public Works director Jamie Holland to be the council’s point of contact for zoning administration after the departure of city administrator Mary Athey until a new administrator could be hired. However, council member Ann Hanna brought forth a dissenting opinion at the March meeting questioning the necessity of the pay raise.

“While I appreciate that Holland has offered to take on these extra responsibilities, I’m not entirely sure a raise of $10 an hour is necessary,” Hanna says. “I also question his qualifications to be taking over this position in Athey’s absence.”

Several members of the council disagreed with Hanna, affirming that Holland was more than qualified to take over the position. Hanna then clarified her reason for dissent, citing a lack of understanding regarding the actual administrative duties that Holland would be undertaking in this position.

“I guess what I’m asking is, do we have a job description for Holland pertaining to the duties he will be undertaking after Athey leaves?” Hanna asked. “Because I’m only willing to pay for the time he spends on the job here, and not for his other work for the city.”

Councilmember John Huisman voiced his agreement with Hanna, raising further concern over having approved the pay raise if the council did not know at the time what duties Holland would be assigned for taking over this position.

“Nobody should be taking on extra duties beyond what they are hired for,” Huisman adds. “If Jamie doesn’t know what those duties are, and if we don’t know what those duties are, I’m not sure we should be paying him extra for it.”

Brief discussion among the council came to the conclusion that there was not, in fact, a decisive job description that they could provide Holland with at this time. Holland, who was in attendance at the meeting, also expressed his concerns over the position.

“Currently, I’m working about a twelve-hour day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and that’s covering both my work here and at my other job,” Holland explains. “I’ll admit, zoning is probably my weakest point at my current job – I’m not entirely sure I’m qualified to sign off on any big zoning decisions that the city needs to make.”

Further discussion among the council revealed that while the current staff who are filling in for Athey are more than capable of keeping the department running smoothly, none of them currently have the required administrative power to sign off on potential zoning projects, raising the question of what should be done to remedy this gap.

“If the current staff are capable of taking care of the rest of the paperwork, which I know they are, all we’d need is someone with the administrative power to sign off on these projects,” Holland says. “I’m just not sure I have that authority.”

Further discussion among the council floated the idea of appointing someone as a temporary zoning authority, who would have the power to sign off on such decisions on behalf of the current staff. Current city administrator Mary Athey reminded the council of the verdict which had been reached at the February meeting, and offered to stay on as a temporary zoning authority by the same standards which had been agreed on then.

“If that’s all we need, I’m happy to be the person to sign off on those decisions,” Athey volunteered. “I’ll be here until we can find a new city administrator, and I’m already being paid to do something similar currently. I can cut my hourly wage, and only come in to sign off on those agreements should it be required.”

Following this statement, a motion was made and seconded to hire Athey back on as a temporary zoning administrator for an hourly wage to approve future zoning projects, provided the current city staff would be the ones completing the actual paperwork and Holland would remain the council’s point of contact after Athey left. Holland voiced his approval for the motion, and it was passed unanimously by the council.

Other topics that were discussed at the Monday night meeting included:

• At the work session prior to the City Council meeting, South Central Service Cooperative representative Mike Humpal presented a timeline for the hiring of a new city administrator. After receiving pushback on the proposed timeline from the council for being too lengthy of a process, an agreement was reached with Humpal to draft a revised timeline aiming to approve a new administrator by the June 16 city council meeting.

• 2025 license renewals and permits for city businesses were presented for approval by the council. The permit for Bummy’s BBQ food truck was approved contingent on receiving payment for the permit from the applicant, as it had not yet been received at the time of the meeting. All other licenses were approved unanimously by the council.

• A public hearing on the 2026-2030 Blue Earth Capital Improvement Plan was held by city engineer Ben Rosol, discussing the proposed five-phase project and the means by which it would be funded through Public Facilities Authority (PFA) loans. This project would see a range of utility and street updates addressing the aging and undersized sewer mains, as well as improving street surface conditions across the city of Blue Earth.

• City Attorney David Frundt provided a status update on the abandoned properties located at 1006 and 525 East Fifth Street. Following a notice from a personal representative of the 525 property, the city has been given permission to move forward with inspecting the property. Regarding the 1006 property, the council unanimously passed a motion to approve an enforcement order and start probate proceedings in order to acquire both the property and the land it was built on in order to demolish the building.

• A $200 “option to purchase” agreement for Tom and Mandy Fletcher regarding lots 007 and 008, Block 2 (102 and 108 Prairie Rose Drive) was unanimously approved by the council. Under this agreement, the Fletchers will have 18 months to decide whether they wish to move forward with the purchase of the lots at the listed price and build a house, or withdraw from the purchase and leave the properties open to another buyer. Should the city receive a valid offer for the properties at the listed price of $10,000 from another party during that 18-month period, the Fletchers will have first choice as to whether they purchase the property at the aforementioned price or withdraw.