[0:15] of the Albert Lea City Council for

Monday, October 27th, 2025. Clerk,   please call the role. Councilor Christensen,

here. Councilor Baker, here. Councilor Howland,

[0:25] here. Councelor Olsen, here. Councilor Van Beek,

here. Councilor Anderson here and Mayor Murray

[0:31] here. Would you please rise and join me in the

pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to

[0:37] the flag of the United States of America

and to the republic for which it stands.

[0:43] One nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

[0:51] Welcome to everybody tonight. Whether you're

here in person or online, we're glad you're here.   Uh item three tonight is ceremonial items

and uh the first one is an oath of office

[1:00] for two of our fire firefighters uh Kyo Htoo and

Blair Bonnerup. So we'll ask Karla to come down.

[1:08] First we're going to ask uh Chief Laskowske

to come up and uh give us a little talk. Well,

[1:13] good evening council mayor. Thank you. Thank you

for the opportunity to come up here and present   uh Blair Bonnerup and Kyo Htoo to you guys for uh

ceremonial pinning and swearing in. Um it's been

[1:25] an honor to work with these two for the time we've

had with them. Um they're a couple of interesting

[1:31] young young gentlemen. Um just to get to know them

a little bit. Uh Blair Bonerup comes to us from

[1:37] Hollandale Fire. That's where he got his start

was on Hollandale Fire Department. Um had quite   a few years there. Matter of fact, when I was

indicating to his chief that we were hiring him,

[1:45] he was upset with me because he thought he

wasn't gonna be able to continue to help out   his community. Um, with our full-time members

are able to continue to help out our community,

[1:52] and Blair continues to do that. Um, he's had a

lot of interesting jobs in his young life. Um,

[1:58] he's been a person that puts on a scuba diving

type suit and dives underwater and welds. Um,

[2:04] he's worked for companies building machines

where he designs it, builds a machine, and   then go takes it to the facility and teaches the

people how to use it. So from birth to inception,

[2:13] everything with the machine. So he's been a

very valuable asset to our department. U great   personality and just somebody that's a go-getter

and goes after it. So really appreciate him being

[2:22] part of the department. Uh Kyo Htoo comes to

us from our paid on call ranks. Um saw an ad,

[2:27] decided to show up one day. Um accidentally

signed the wrong line and got pulled into   our uh fire academy. Um he's always got a

smile on his face. Um, we realized that he

[2:40] was meant for the career fire service. Uh, the

day we went down for one of the Karen festivals,   it was a blast. Went down there. Uh, Deputy Chief

Berven, it was Captain Berven at the time, was

[2:49] there. He was his captain. And he walked over with

a bowl of noodles for Bart. Anything about Bart,

[2:56] Bart does not like spicy things, but he also will

not turn down. If he starts eating, he will finish

[3:01] it out of respect. Handed him the bowl of noodles,

and Bart's like, "Is this spicy?" And he goes,   "No, no, no, not spicy. not spicy at all, laughing

the whole time as Bart takes the first bite. So,

[3:12] we knew right away he was meant meant to be part

of the department. Uh, but both of these young   men embody what we expect at Albert Lea Fire

Rescue, which is part of our mission statement

[3:20] that we're committed to help people and do

what is right today and in the future. So,   at this point, I'd like to have Karla come

down and swear these two young gentlemen in.

[3:41] Okay. All right. So, raise your right hand.

I state your name. I Kyo I Blair do solemnly

[3:49] swear do solemnly swear that I will support

the Constitution of the United States that I

[3:54] will support the Constitution of the United

States and of the state of Minnesota and of   the state of Minnesota and to faithfully and

impartially and faithfully and impartially

[4:04] discharge the duties of firefighter discharge

the duties of firefighter within and for the

[4:10] city of Albert Lea Fire Rescue within and for the

city of Albert Lea and Albert Lea Fire Rescue and

[4:17] the state of Minnesota. And the state of

Minnesota. So help me God. So help me God.

[4:58] Welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you. Welcome. Welcome.

Congratulations. Glad you're here. And I'm excited

[5:12] to see these young families and these little

kids. That's wonderful. Welcome. Congratulations.

[5:24] Did you just make another one of them cry? I think

they took them back from the guy holding them. All

[5:30] right. Next on the list is a proclamation uh

on crash responders safety week. Whereas uh

[5:37] crash responder safety week observed November 17

through 21, 2025 is a national initiative led by

[5:44] the US Department of Transportation's Federal

Highway Administration to bring attention   to the critical work of traffic ex incident

responders and promote safe driving practices

[5:55] around emergency scenes. And whereas every day

police officers, firefighters, emergency medical

[6:01] services personnel, tow operators, and highway

maintenance workers risk their lives while   responding to roadway incidents. And where as of

September 15th, 2025, 19 first responders have

[6:14] lost their lives nationwide this year, uh, being

struck by incidents while performing their duties

[6:19] on roadways. And whereas Minnesota's move over law

requires motorists to move over one full lane when

[6:26] approaching stopped emergency or maintenance

vehicles with flashing lights activated and to

[6:31] slow down if a full lane change is not possible.

And whereas the city of Albert Lee recognizes that

[6:37] public awareness and responsible driver behavior

are critical to keeping both responders and

[6:44] motorists alike safe. And whereas the theme for

the 10th anniversary of Crash Responder Safety

[6:50] Week, safety starts with you, move over and slow

down, emphasizes that every driver can help save

[6:58] lives by staying alert, moving over, and slowing

down. And whereas the city of Albert Lea stands

[7:03] with the state of Minnesota and the US Department

of Transportation in support of crash responder

[7:08] safety week and the dedicated professionals

who serve our community safety every day.

[7:14] Now therefore, I, Rich Murray, mayor of the

city of Albert Lea, do hereby proclaim the   week of November 17th through 21st, 19 or 2025

as crash responder safety week in the city of

[7:26] Albert Lea. And we encourage all residents

to join in recognizing and supporting our

[7:31] emergency responders by practicing safe driving

habits around incident scenes. So, we'll present

[7:38] this. Uh, are one of the chiefs coming up or would

you guys like to come up? Is Teresa still here?

[7:51] Thank you. Congratulations. And did somebody

want to say a few words or and then we're

[7:58] going to have Teresa come in maybe take

a picture too for the uh Here we go.

[8:06] So, I wasn't prepared to say a few

words, so I will make it very brief,   but uh we took this opportunity because

it's a good chance to highlight the men and

[8:14] women that go out on the interstates, on the

highways, and help with crashes. Uh crashes,

[8:20] as everyone's driven by, everyone

wants to look and see what's happening,   and they're not always looking at the road. So,

this is a good way to highlight what goes on,

[8:28] the people that respond to it, and remind people

to be careful around crash scenes. Thank you.

[8:49] You're here. Get the picture. Should

have thought of that before you came.

[8:59] That'll be a good picture.

[9:15] All right. Item four on our list

tonight is a public forum. I believe   we have one speaker on our public

forum. Is that correct? Yes, sir.

[9:29] All right, we have Jeff Dolan tonight, our uh uh

veteran service officer. Come on up and tell us

[9:36] what's going on with veterans in the community

and and the other reason you're here tonight.

[9:44] Uh yeah, good evening, uh mayor, uh

city councilman, guests, and staff,

[9:49] uh everyone listening online. Hey, thank you

for allowing me this opportunity to speak about   Operation Greenlight and the meaningful initiative

that Freeborn County has taken and hopefully uh

[9:58] that Albert Lea City will will soon follow.

Um each November as we approach Veterans Day,

[10:03] we pause to recognize the men and women who have

worn the uniform and armed forces. Those who have

[10:08] served our nation, protected our freedoms, and

strengthened our communities. Here in Freeborn   County, we roughly have about 2,000 veterans.

These are our neighbors, family members,

[10:18] and community letters leaders. Uh their service

doesn't end when they return home. They continue

[10:24] to give back through participation in local

groups like the Disabled American Veterans,   the VFW, American Legions, and other veterans

groups, including Beyond the Yellow Ribbon

[10:33] and a great new group out of Clark's Grove

that's been helping a lot of veterans ride for   heroes. These civic organizations and volunteer

efforts make our country and our city stronger.

[10:44] The impact of Freeborn County is significant.

According to the most recent GDX report for 2024,

[10:50] veterans and their families received over

$13 million in direct federal VA benefits,

[10:56] including 12 million in compensation and pension

directly to veterans and 1 million in dependency

[11:03] and indemnity compensation or pensions to their

survivors. Additionally, there was $17 million

[11:09] in indirect benefits that came to our county

through Memorial Educations programs, home loans,

[11:14] and medical care. That's a total economic impact

of over $30 million right here in Freeborn County.

[11:20] This is a powerful reminder of how deeply

our veterans are woven into the fabric of   our community. But beyond our numbers, Operation

Green Light is something that's even greater. It's

[11:29] recognition. It's letting every veteran know that

their service is seen, appreciated, and supported.

[11:35] Uh this year of course marks the fifth anniversary

of Operation Greenlight and a joint effort by the   National Association of Counties and the National

Association of County Veteran Service Officers

[11:45] which I belong to. From November 4th to November

11th, counties across the nations will illuminate

[11:50] their buildings in green and show a visible show

of gratitude and unity. By shining a green light,

[11:56] we send a simple but powerful message. You are

not forgotten. You are valued. You are home. So

[12:02] Freeborn County is proud to join the country's

the counties across the nation are passing a   resolution to declare our participation. Uh we

will light our veterans memorial and other county

[12:12] buildings in green and we encourage residents and

businesses to do the same by placing a green light

[12:17] in a window or a storefront during the week of

November 4th through the 11th. America's counties

[12:22] have a longstanding and proud history of serving

our nation's veterans, and the legacy continues

[12:28] as we work with our federal and state and local

partners to ensure that our former service members

[12:33] have access and resources to the recognition they

deserve. So, as we prepare to c celebrate Veterans

[12:40] Day and honor all those who served, I invite uh

everyone to be the one that makes a difference and

[12:45] show your support. Turn a green light. Let our

veterans know that our relief stands with them   today. always today and always. Thank you. Thank

you, Jeff. We appreciate you coming and speaking

[12:56] with us tonight and we appreciate the service

of all our veterans uh that we have here in our

[13:01] county, in our community, uh for the sacrifices

and and all that they've done for us in the past

[13:07] and continue to do for us every day. Thank you,

sir. Thank you. All right. With that, we'll move

[13:14] along to item five, the consent and approval

of agenda. A is the approval of minutes of the   October 13, 2025 regular council meeting. Item

B is approval of minutes of the October 13, 2025

[13:25] work session. Item C is the approval of minutes of

the October 18, 2025 strategic planning meeting.

[13:31] Item D is license and permits. Item E is the

appointment of Pam Schmidt to the heritage pro pre

[13:38] preservation. I wanted to say pre pres prevention

to the Heritage Preservation Commission and item F

[13:47] is the resolution supporting operation greenlight

for veterans. Council move to approve the consent

[13:53] and approval of agenda your honor. Motion by

Councilor Baker. Is there a second? Second. Second   by councilor Howland. Any further discussion?

Hearing none. All in favor of the motion signify

[14:02] by saying I. I. Oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Item

six is petitions, requests, and communications.

[14:09] We have none tonight. Item seven is unfinished

business. Item A under unfinished business is

[14:14] ordinance 25-147 amending zoning and land use

map from R2 to B2, 642 Marshall and 437 Bridge

[14:24] Avenue. This is the second reading. Security Bank

Minnesota applied to reszone 642 Marshall Street

[14:35] and a portion of 437 Bridge Avenue, a parcel with

split zoning from one to four family resident R2

[14:43] to community business B2 to allow for future

expansion of parking and building areas for

[14:49] Security Bank. A portion of 437 Bridge Avenue is

already zoned B2, which eliminates the concern for

[14:56] spot zoning. In addition, the 2040 comprehensive

plan identifies this area as commercial,

[15:02] which includes both large-scale and local

servicing areas. Planning Commission recommends

[15:09] approval of this second reading. Council move

to approve, your honor. Motion by Councilor

[15:15] Baker. Is there a second? Second. Second by

Councilor Van Beek. Any further discussion?

[15:22] Hearing none. All in favor of the motion

signify by saying I. I oppose. Nay. Motion

[15:27] carries. Item B is ordinance 25-148

amending zoning and the land use map

[15:35] from single family residence district

R1 to Interstate Development District   ID for property located at 21133 and 21135

775th Avenue. This is the second reading.

[15:53] Terry Jensen, ALC, a listing broker on

behalf of the property owners at 21133

[16:00] and 21135 775th Avenue applied to reszone

the properties from single family residents

[16:06] R1 to Interstate Development District IDD

to proactively plan for future sale and

[16:13] development of the properties. Property directly

across Interstate I35 is currently zoned IDD,

[16:20] which eliminates the concern for zone uh spot

zoning. Planning commission recommends approval

[16:27] of this final reading. Council move to approve,

your honor. Motion by Councilor Christensen.

[16:33] Is there a second? Second, your honor. Second by

Councilor Anderson. Any further discussion? Yeah,

[16:40] your honor. Councilor Baker, I just want

to make sure that uh as I brought up

[16:45] last time that there's going to be, you

know, in the event that something does   um end up being built there, that there's

proper screening to to soften the look of

[16:56] an industrial area right across the street

from um residential. I just want to make sure

[17:03] that that's kept in focus as this goes forward.

All right. Thank you. Any further discussion?

[17:12] All in favor of the motion signify by saying

I. I oppose. Nay. Motion carries. Item eight

[17:20] is new business. A is a public hearing

regarding declaring a property without   public purpose wave planning commission

review and authorizing the sale of 917

[17:30] South Broadway Avenue. We'll open up with the

p uh with public hearing with the staff report.

[17:45] This resolution is to declare the property at   917 South Broadway Avenue with

the description of 34-033-0580

[17:55] as no longer serving a public purpose and to

authorize its sale. The property located in the

[18:01] B2 business district previously housed a blighted

structure that has since been demolished. This

[18:07] property will be divided between adjacent land

owners for future business expansion and staff

[18:13] recommends approval. I did receive a little

additional information which I will share   with you before we ask for a motion. This property

is being sold for its assessed value of $15,400.

[18:25] Given that the city has invested approximately

16,000 in code enforcement, demolition, and

[18:32] related efforts, this sale represents a favorable

outcome, recouping nearly the full amount uh

[18:38] expended. The property sale will be split between

the owner of Kelly Plumbing and Dick Davies, each

[18:44] paying $7,700. They are both in need of the extra

space, so it's a win-win for them. Kelly Plumbing

[18:51] may consider expansion in the future and Dick

Davies is looking for additional parking for his

[18:57] apartment building that he invested in a couple

doors down. Council move to approve, your honor.

[19:04] Motion by Councilor Baker. Is there a second? I'll

second, your honor. Second by Councilor Anderson.   Any further discussion, your honor. Councilor

Howland. And I since the city manager is here,

[19:13] I don't know this can be answered, but I I tried

looking at this on uh on Google Maps to determine

[19:19] what uh this property is. So just so I'm clear

on this. So this is just to the south of the

[19:26] old AS sewing property. Is that know if that's

correct? Back up there. So it's an empty lot

[19:33] now. It is an empty lot. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So, so

the one just to the north, that's the old Abest.

[19:42] And am I correct that this was a property that

we tore down? Is that right? Yes. City eEngineer

[19:48] Steve Janke. Yes. It It was a business It was

a business property that was there. It wasn't

[19:54] a residential home, right? I believe it was

a home, wasn't it? I I was thinking it was a

[20:01] home as well. Okay. You look up If you look

on Beacon, it shows a picture of the house.   Okay. Okay. Yep. All right. Thank you.

All right. Any additional questions?

[20:16] All right. Uh if there's no additional questions

from the council, we will go ahead and open it   up to the public. For the first time, would

anyone like to speak regarding this resolution?

[20:32] For the second time, would anyone like to speak?

[20:39] For the third time, would anyone like to

speak? We'll close the public hearing. I

[20:46] would entertain a resolution declaring

property without public purpose. Waive   planning commission review and authorized sale

of 917 South Broadway Avenue. Council. So moved,

[20:56] your honor. Motion by Councilor Anderson. Is

there a second? Second that, your honor. Second   by Councilor Olsen. Any additional questions from

the council? All in favor of the motion signify by

[21:08] saying I. I. I. Oppose. Nay. Motion carries.

Item B is a resolution accepting donations

[21:15] as presented to the city of Albert Lea. The

City of Albert Lea is generally authorized

[21:22] to accept donations pursuant to Minnesota

statute section 465-03 for the benefit of

[21:28] its citizens. Staff recommends acceptance of the

following donations as submitted by the council   for review and approval. Uh, Chevron Renewable

Energy Group of Glennville uh presented to the

[21:39] Albert Lea Fire Department. All right. Is there

a motion from the council? So moved. Motion by

[21:46] Councelor Christensen. Is there a second? I'll

second. Second by Councilor Anderson. Any further   discussion? All in favor of the motion signify

by saying I. I. I. Opposed? Nay. Motion carries.

[22:01] Item nine is the mayor and council reports and we

will start tonight with Councilor Olson Ward 4.

[22:07] All right. Don't have much tonight, but I would

like to congratulate all the fall sports teams.

[22:13] Football had a wonderful season. Volleyball

did well. Uh the girls soccer team made their

[22:19] first trip to state in either 11 or 14 years.

I don't remember which one. Well, they got got

[22:25] to the first round and lost to the number one

rated team in the state. So, great memory for

[22:30] those girls and I'd encourage everyone to get

out in the winter season, hockey, basketball,

[22:36] wrestling, get out and cheer on those athletes

if you get a chance. That's it, your honor. All

[22:42] right. Thank you. Ward five, Councilor Van Beek.

Thank you, your honor. Um, this next Tuesday, uh,

[22:48] tomorrow, I have an HRA meeting. Um, ward items. I

have nothing to report at this time. Um, tomorrow

[22:54] I'll be meeting with John Schipper on the Eddie

Cochran Festival for next year, looking at a major

[23:00] motorcycle component. And later in the month, I've

got a meeting for with Ride for Heroes to help

[23:07] keep supporting this area for our local veterans.

That's all I got. All right. Thank you. Ward six,

[23:14] Councilor Anderson. Thank you, your honor. Uh,

no ward items right now. And uh there is an HRA

[23:21] meeting tomorrow. So that's all I have. Thank

you very much. Ward one, Councilor Christensen.

[23:26] Thank you, your honor. Uh actually, it's been a

very busy couple of weeks for me. Um the senior

[23:33] center has now um met their advisory group uh

to re review three proposals for a new facility.

[23:42] Uh there were really great turnout of members of

the senior center and its advisory council that

[23:49] met uh first to review the proposals and uh the

week after to tour uh two of the facilities that

[23:56] have made proposals. The group will be meeting

later this week to further discuss those options

[24:03] and we look forward to uh seeing what comes out

of that. Um, also with regard to our seniors,

[24:12] um, the age friendly Freeborn County group met,

they've got so many wonderful things going on. Uh,

[24:19] one of the things that's going to be happening is

they're bringing back Tech Tuesday sponsored by

[24:24] AT&T. So, we thank AT&T for doing that. Uh what

they'll do is they'll have uh people who are

[24:31] knowledgeable who can help you with your laptop

or uh with with the your cell phone or whatever

[24:40] you're having troubles with because we all know

that if you don't have a young person around you   to show you how to do it sometimes it's kind of

difficult. Um, also the National Vitality Center,

[24:52] which is the kind of the funding arm for our

blue zones project, met and started a kind of

[24:59] a planning process, trying to get refocused and

came up with some really great ideas for kind of

[25:06] re-engaging uh with the Blue Zones project

and bringing it uh back to its importance

[25:12] within our community. and and our mayor uh even

spoke. We did a strategic planning meeting la a

[25:19] week ago Saturday. He talked about that and I

was really happy to hear his support for the   blue zone saying this is something the first

certified Blue Zone city in the United States.

[25:31] It's ours and we need to keep being uh kind of

in control of that and making the most of it for

[25:37] our community because people do come here and

know about Albert Lea because of that project.

[25:44] uh one of its subgroups, the work site wellness

committee is meeting. They too are very active

[25:49] and have a lot of things going on. Um and I

guess that's about it. All right. Thank you,

[25:56] your honor. Thank you. Ward two, Councilor

Baker. Thank you, your honor. Um I did have   one word item. I've turned it over to the chief of

police um which he's going to look into. Um I've

[26:08] also I that's the only word item I have. Um, last

Tuesday I was able I I took uh a day off from work

[26:16] and went on that Freeborn Mower Electric bus tour.

Um, first of all, we met we met at 7:00 there. Um,

[26:24] they gave us a tour of of Freeborn Mower and then

we had a little conversation with with some of the

[26:31] u people that work u work there. And from there

we went to um La Crosse where the uh headquarters

[26:41] for the Dairyland Power Company is. Um and there

they um also gave us a com you know a tour of the

[26:49] of their facility and I tell you what it's a

it's quite the facility. I mean it was really

[26:55] um informational. Um I look at it different now

when every time I flip the light on I think about

[27:02] things differently because of what I saw. And then

after we got done there, um, on the way up to,

[27:10] uh, Alma, Wisconsin, where the, uh, power station

is, we we ate a box lunch on the bus, which I

[27:16] think they the uh, bus drive was about an hour and

10 minutes. And when we got to the power station,

[27:22] they they took us through us. They sat us down and

kind of went over it. They took us and showed us

[27:27] the control panel that they have for for this

whole Dairyland power. And this is five states

[27:36] part part of five states. And this this board goes

uh it's probably twice as wide as this room and

[27:44] it's continuous from one corner to the other.

And there's there was only like five people in

[27:49] there and they're monitoring all of this stuff

throughout southern Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin,

[27:57] Illinois. Um, I think they even have a little bit

of it in South Dakota. I think they have. Um, but

[28:06] it it's amazing what they can what they can see

just by that board. They can tell when stuff is

[28:11] offline. They can tell when stuff there's issues.

Um, they're they have a great communication center

[28:17] there. Um, and then we went through the facility

and it's it's really unbelievable that as we drove

[28:23] into the facility, there's like two mountains

of coal. I forgot to say this is a coal burning

[28:29] power plant and it's it's probably it's it's

unbelievable the amount of coal they had there

[28:38] and going through that plant and some of the

things that they have there the the burners the

[28:43] generator the I mean they're huge. Um we were

I don't know fortunate or unfortunate depends

[28:50] on how you look that they were they were shut down

at the at the time that we were there. Um, and the

[28:57] reason I say unfortunate because when that plant

is running, there can be places in that plant as

[29:03] you go through it can be up to 100 degrees.

And so, um, we were able to go through the

[29:08] whole facility. And, uh, um, like I said, it was

it was a truly a learning experience. And I, um,

[29:16] I'm really grateful that I took the opportunity

to, to go. And I want to thank the people out   at Freeber Mower Electric for for putting

this on and also the people at the Dairyland

[29:26] Power who who welcomed us and was more than happy

to go through their their day and and what they

[29:34] do and how they do it. Um with that um I do have

an HRA meeting tomorrow which uh I I'm sure we'll

[29:43] discuss it at our next meeting. With that, your

honor, that'll do it. All right. Thank you. W   three. Councilor Howland. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Um, as uh uh Councelor Christensen uh already

[29:54] mentioned, uh just uh since our last meeting, I

attended the city council retreat, which all of

[29:59] us did, um and uh hashed out uh over uh a day uh

coming up with plans for a strategic plan for the

[30:10] city. So, I want to thank uh all those involved

in in uh uh putting that together and all the city

[30:17] staff that were there and participated in in those

conversations and uh excited to see uh uh what

[30:23] we come up with here in the future. Uh other than

that, uh last week attended the park and rec board

[30:29] meeting and um and it was out at city arena and

so uh the park and recck board got a tour of of

[30:37] uh some of the progress that's happened out at the

arena. Uh uh there is ice now in uh the main arena

[30:44] in Nystrom Arena. So uh the ice went in a little

over a week ago and it's getting used quite a bit.

[30:51] Uh I can't remember how many hours they said

of ice time every day, but um um thankful uh

[30:58] for all of the uh user groups that use the ice

for their patience and understanding. I know

[31:03] uh some of the teams are having to go in there. I

think it's like 5:00 in the morning to to be able

[31:08] to to use the ice until we get that second sheet

of ice on there. But um the ice is up and running.

[31:14] it is with the temporary uh chillers until uh they

get the main uh chiller in there in place here

[31:21] hopefully in the next few months. But um second

sheet of ice is expected to uh hopefully be in uh

[31:28] Colstrup Arena. Uh I think the plan is in January.

Let's cross our fingers that that does not get

[31:34] pushed back um any more than it already has.

But um uh yeah, the it's amazing how many groups

[31:42] uh utilize the city arena every day. There's

everything from the high school teams, girls and

[31:48] boys hockey to youth hockey to uh figure skating,

the Waldorf College team, um and many others that

[31:57] uh are using that ice every day. So, uh, kudos to

staff for scheduling all of that ice time and and

[32:03] making sure that, uh, everybody's as happy as they

can be when it comes to that. Also, some of the,

[32:08] u, uh, improvements made to the arena, I think,

uh, people once they step in are really going to,   uh, uh, kind of step back and say, "Wow, this

is really nice." So, uh, the lobby that, uh,

[32:20] the lobby extension that's been added, uh, wasn't

quite finished when we were there uh, last week,

[32:25] but uh, it's it's coming along really nice. And

uh once it's all up and running and has all the

[32:31] furnishings and everything, I think it's uh people

are going to be really proud of that. And uh as   well as uh some of the um efficiencies made in uh

like the skate rentals and that office space area

[32:42] is is uh all positives. So all good things out at

the city arena and um won't be long and there'll

[32:50] be hockey games starting pretty quick. That's it,

your honor. That's good to hear. I know there's a   lot of groups that are awfully happy to have that

sheet of ice back in action. So, that's good. All

[32:59] right. Uh my report on uh October 14th, I had a

lead a project review meeting. And then on the

[33:05] 15th, uh the city manager and I met with a few

members of the watershed uh committee uh to talk

[33:11] about some different things that we're working on

together. Uh on the 15th, which was a Wednesday,   I joined the Crime Victims Crisis Center on their

walk from Central Park on over to New Denmark

[33:22] Park. Um and uh on the 16th I went out to the St.

Croix Hospice uh group. I met with a number of

[33:30] their staff and uh and then got to uh be the judge

for their pumpkin fest. So they had all decorated

[33:37] some pumpkins. So we had a little fun with that.

But a nice uh group of people. There were probably

[33:43] uh close to 30 employees there. So that was

nice to see. So they employ quite a few. Um

[33:50] our executive or our group at ALEDA is also

uh beginning the executive search. Uh so we're

[33:56] working on that with DDA. Um we got together on

the 17th and and started that process uh on the

[34:02] 18th as a few other members have mentioned. We

had our strategic uh planning meeting. I'm hoping

[34:08] great things come out of that. I think we had

some good ideas that day and I think we kind of   come to a consensus on what some of the important

things that the city should be working on. So,

[34:17] uh, it'll be, uh, fun to get the those things

going and and keep this momentum going that we   built in this city. And then on the, uh, 20th,

we had a groundbreaking for a new location,

[34:29] a new building for Affinity Credit Union, uh,

which will be out on East Main. So, it was fun

[34:34] to be out there and, uh, visit with the local

group that works there. Plus, they had people   come in from some of their other home office

and things like that. So, that was good to see.

[34:43] Uh you probably saw some dirt start getting moved

out there over the last few days and uh you'll

[34:48] see a building going up there uh shortly. Uh on

Tuesday the 21st uh the chamber had their annual

[34:54] meeting. Congratulations to Cargill, our large uh

employer of the year. Uh to the Children's Center,

[35:00] our medium employee of the year, employer of

the year, and then also to Three Oak Vineyard

[35:07] and Winery, which is our small employer of the

year. So congratulations to them. Uh it was a

[35:13] great program that night. We had a lot of fun. Um

people got to meet uh the new uh chamber director.

[35:19] So that was uh that was fun to uh get to meet

her and just hear her speak about some ideas

[35:25] uh going forward. So if you get a chance, stop

by and uh visit with the new uh chamber director.

[35:31] We'll be going out and hopefully doing some calls

together with some of our local businesses. Um,   on the 22nd I had an interview with Peter Cox,

uh, who was with NPR now, uh, and he came down and

[35:43] talking about how cities and counties, especially

in rural Minnesota, are adapting to these,

[35:49] uh, huge budget increases that we're all faced

with right now. Uh, interesting note on Peter

[35:54] Cox. He got his start at the Albert Lea Tribune,

I believe, back around 99 to 2000, somewhere

[36:01] right in there, and also attended college at St.

Olaf. and he was naming off some of the Albert   Leans that he went to school with. So, that was

kind of interesting uh to chat with him. So, uh

[36:11] that should be on their website uh coming up. Uh

10-22 uh we had a bonding committee meeting. So,

[36:18] uh engineer Steve Jahnke and several others on

there talking about what we need to put together   for our bonding meeting coming up here uh in a

week. We'll be having having the House bonding

[36:28] committee down here to talk about our wastewater

treatment plan. So, we want to make sure that we   can, you know, get a good presentation to them

and just show how important this project is for

[36:38] uh Albert Lea and the surrounding area. And then

I would just like to echo uh Councilor Olson's uh

[36:45] comments there on some of our sports teams. It

was exciting to watch the girls soccer go off

[36:52] to state. Um pretty tough that they got to play

Providence Academy first game. Uh and they have a

[36:58] heck of a team. So anyway, uh but it's fun to see

him get there. Um soccer, we've got Andrew Schaw,

[37:04] uh who will be going up to state, so good to see

uh him or on the cross country team. So that's

[37:09] good. And then the football team won their first

game uh come up a little short in the second game,   but what a year. And so just exciting

watching all our fall sports. So get out,

[37:19] support these kids. Uh as Councelor Olson said,

a lot of uh winter activities that'll be starting

[37:24] up. I think we have about a two week break right

now and then we'll start up with all the winter   activities. So get out and support those kids.

Uh very very important. And then what's going on

[37:32] uh in the calendar here? Wednesday, October

29th will be the last farmers market of the   season. Uh so um get out there and uh see what

they have yet and get some goodies. Uh Thursday,

[37:44] October 30th, the spooktacular trick-or- treat

event in downtown Albert Lea from 4:00 to 7:00   p.m. at participating businesses. And then

after trick-or-treating downtown on Thursday,

[37:54] you can head to the History Center of Freeborn

County for the creepy doll scavenger hunt. This   is a free event and goes from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00

p.m. at 1031 Bridge Avenue. And that is the end of

[38:06] my report. Item 10 is the city manager report. And

all we're going to say tonight is the city manager

[38:12] is off at a conference. He's learning a few

things about housing. So hopefully he brings back   uh some good ideas and thoughts for us. So,

uh, he'll be back at our next meeting and I

[38:22] I think he gets back to town Wednesday. So, with

that, we'll move along to item 11 is approval of

[38:28] claims. A is a resolution approving claims and

one is a presentation of claims over 25,000.

[38:36] We have $57,217.35 to Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative

Electric Service and the wastewater

[38:44] treatment plant. And then $57,804.15

to Platinum Plumbing Solutions. This

[38:49] is pay estimate 14 for lead service line

replacement project. We have $72,892.27

[38:57] to Jensen Excavating and Trucking. This is pay

estimate 5 for the Eberhart Street and Water

[39:03] Construction job 2413. We have $107,114.40

cents to Neo Electric Solutions pay estimate

[39:12] one AWOS replacement project and then we have

$148,092.79 cents to Midwest Injection Inc. This

[39:21] is biosolid removal. Uh $198,021.56 to Brennan

Construction. This is pay estimate number seven,

[39:30] the recreational facilities project, the arena

lobby. And then lastly, we've got $203,769.40

[39:39] to Brennan Construction. This is pay estimate six

for the recreational facilities project. Again,

[39:44] the arena library lobby. Um council moved to

approve, your honor. Motion by Councilor Baker.

[39:50] Is there a second? Second. Second by Councilor Van

Beek. Any questions or further discussion? All in

[39:56] favor of the motion signify by saying I. I oppose.

Nay. Motion carries. Item 12 is adjournment. Move

[40:03] to adjourn your motion by Councilor Howland. Is

there a second? I'll second. Second by Councilor