Mound City Council — Transcript
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Water Infrastructure Projects & Contractor Performance
Gillespie Center Operations & Community Impact
City Staffing & Organizational Strategy
Annual Delinquent Assessments
Water Treatment Plant Construction Bid Review
Votes (6)
Approval of Consent Agenda Items A, B, C, F
Moved by Council member Mcanini [0:29:43] · Seconded by Council member Heric [0:29:48]
Items D and E were pulled from the consent agenda for separate discussion. The remaining items, including minutes of September 22nd regular council meeting, check registry for September 2026, Resolution 2656 Met Council planning grant application, and 737 Wildhurst Lane settlement agreement, were approved without further debate.
Pay Request Number Eight to Minger Construction for Water Treatment Infrastructure Improvements Phase 2
Moved by Council member Mcanini [0:33:14] · Seconded by Council member Heric [0:33:20]
Council member Mcanini questioned the 'work completed' phrasing for Phase 2, seeking clarity that it's a progress payment, not final completion. Staff confirmed it was for work completed between August 21st and September 25th, not the entire phase. Finance Director Lindsay Erdman proposed including itemized lists of services in future pay applications for transparency, which was well-received by the council.
Pay Request Number Four to GH Asphalt for 2026 Street Improvements Projects 2601 and 2602
Moved by Council member Mcanini [0:48:42] · Seconded by Council member Heric [0:48:47]
Council members raised concerns about the GH Asphalt project on Gumwood Road, mirroring public comments about poor project management, lack of communication, and property damage. Consulting City Engineer Brian Simmons explained the process of partial payments, retaining a 5% retainage, and contract controls including liquidated damages for delays. Staff committed to better communication, including notices about winterization plans for landscaping and updated project timelines, acknowledging resident frustration and the need for accountability.
Public Hearing and Resolution 26-68 Adopting Assessment for Delinquent Municipal Utility Bills
Moved by Council member Mcanini [0:55:09] · Seconded by Council member Heric [0:55:14]
Finance Director Lindsay Erdman presented the resolution, noting approximately $500,000 in outstanding delinquent utility bills. Residents were advised to pay by November 16th at 4:30 p.m. to avoid assessment to property tax roles for 2027 and a 5% annual interest rate. The public hearing was opened and closed without public comment.
Public Hearing and Resolution 26-69 Adopting Assessment for Miscellaneous Expenses
Moved by Council member Mcanini [0:56:07] · Seconded by Council member Heric [0:56:11]
Finance Director Lindsay Erdman presented the resolution, which included approximately $2,000 in miscellaneous abatements to be assessed. Similar to the utility bills, residents have until November 16th at 4:30 p.m. to pay to avoid property tax assessment and a 5% annual interest rate. The public hearing was opened and closed with no public comments.
Water Treatment Plant Bid Award
Moved by Pending discussion · Seconded by Pending discussion
City Manager Jesse Dixon introduced the item as a long-awaited discussion. Consulting City Engineer Brian Simmons and City Engineer Matt Bowman provided a detailed presentation on the history (dating back to 2020/2021 manganese detection), the need for the plant (to remove manganese, iron, and other contaminants), the chosen solution (a single-site plant behind Sorbo Park, 1.8 MGD capacity), and progress on infrastructure (Phase 1 & 2 underway). Renderings and site plans were shown, confirming zoning and permitting (MDH permit obtained June 2026). The presentation was still underway when the transcript concluded, with the formal bid award action pending.
Notable Quotes (8)
Can we word that a little differently from here on out? Improvements to this date or I I just want to be specific so it doesn't imply they finished phase two because I think that's confusing at least to the general public.
So we're paying Minger the we'll just round it up for simplicity. The $700,000 for work that was completed between August 21st and September 25th. As a part of this pay application, the city expects that we get like an itemized list of like every single thing that we're paying for within those dates.
We withhold 5% of the total project cost. And then as we near the end, we withhold 5% of the remaining work... this allows the contractor to pay his laborers, pay for materials, right? And then when we get to the very end... we don't do that until we are satisfied, you are satisfied, the residents are satisfied that the work is complete and that we have, you know, a remedy in place or it's already been fixed or we have a plan for some sort of a remedy.
I'm hearing some significant feedback, too, that we we need to continue to do a better job on communicating, you know, acknowledging the things that that maybe haven't met the schedules that we initially communicated... I've also heard tonight you know an ask for accountability.
on Gumwood, we have put that contractor on notice. They've received a legal letter from us saying that they are essentially in breach of contract, which means that we are counting days for liquidated damages.
The city has about $500,000 outstanding in delinquent utility bills... payments... must be received by the 16th. If something is sent in the mail and received on the 17th, unfortunately, we won't be able to accept it because we have to meet the Henipin County deadlines.
When the EPA began enforcing that health-based guideline for manganesees, that was when we started on this journey. Mound is served currently by two wells. Uh, and we don't have any treatment in addition to some chemical injection.
I hear from people as I've sat in a lot of these meetings over the last year and a half or so um and just heard about the quality of water in this city and it's utterly atrocious. Um we need a water treatment plant to fix that. We absolutely need that and as a card carrying libertarian I am just going to hate myself for saying this. If you have to raise my taxes, raise my taxes to do it.
Ordinances & Resolutions (10)
Met Council Planning Grant Application.
Payment to Minger Construction for water treatment infrastructure improvements phase 2.
Payment to GH Asphalt for 2026 street improvements projects 2601 and 2602.
Settlement agreement on the consent agenda.
Adopting assessment for delinquent municipal utility bills.
Adopting assessment for miscellaneous expenses.
Future Management Plan, referenced for modeling potential future staffing positions.
Permit received for the water treatment plant as of June 2026.
Online application platform for city job postings.
Conditional Use Permit meeting where specific design elements for the water treatment plant were discussed.