City accepts Martens’ resignation, seeks inspector

The members of the New Richland city council reluctantly accepted the resignation of city administrator Anthony Martens during their regular monthly meeting on Monday, July 14. Along with that, the new building inspector was approved and the 2026 preliminary budget was discussed. 

 

Martens resigned as the city administrator after being offered a position with the identical job title for Blooming Prairie. Mayor Janda Ferguson and the council expressed their reluctance to see Martens leave, but wished him well.

 

“You have done a lot for the city and turned our rating for our bond to go through better. I do appreciate that,” Ferguson said. “I wish you good luck.” 

 

The council will hire a new administrator with the help of a recruitment consultant from South Central Services Cooperative.

 

Building inspector Mike Benson is also leaving his position; he offered two recommendations for hiring an outside provider: CMS out of Rochester and Prokore from Mankato. Martens said CMS does not provide all the services the council is looking for and added Prokore seems to be a better fit for a town like New Richland. Along with the new inspector, there will be a change to a majority of dealings being online, with a few hand written forms still in use. 

 

The council formed a new committee whose task it will be to determine a path for golf carts which allows them to cross a combination of public and private property near the creek which runs through a section of town. Membership will consist of one council member and any property owners who wish to be involved.

 

Continuing their discussion regarding golf carts, council members decided carts are not allowed to drive on the grass in city parks unless the owner is granted a medical exemption because of problems with mobility. Using the example of the Legion Field ball park, council members said motorized traffic in the area could be a danger to pedestrians moving from one field to another. Anyone interested in a medical exemption can submit a request at City Hall. 

 

In new business, the council approved the June check register and financials, approved the second pay estimate of the street and utility project and discussed the USDA Siren Grant. The city originally applied for two siren grants, one for the city siren and one for the St. Olaf Lake siren project. Martens said the city is eligible for a refund of about $2,000, having met its financial responsibility for the project. He suggested using that money to perform maintenance and safety checks on the city hall siren. The council tabled the discussion of finalizing next steps. 

 

In department reports, ambulance director Sarah Sundve wrote that the department had passed its state inspection and received a variance for a driver where the driver no longer needs to be an EMT or first responder. Martens added this is due to being in rural areas and a lack of personnel available. 

 

Chief of Police Tanyce Bruegger said there were 107 calls for service during June, bringing the number to 763 for the year. She said the police department passed the annual radar certification and that two “awesome things that cost us no money” were given to the department. From Eden Prairie, they were gifted two tactical vests and four helmets and from the sheriff’s office, they were given an audio and video recording system. 

 

Bob Johannsen, care center administrator, said the June average census was just shy of 37. He said there were some changes made to the admission process, along with personnel changes, in the past few months that are working out well. 

 

Johannsen said he expects with the improvements that June and July is going to be really good and is expecting to break even for the whole year. “Life is good,” he said. 

 

As for staffing, Johannsen said the center has signed contracts for five nurses from the Philippines to begin in the next few months. He said they are working with the church to help with housing and integration into the community to help make the nurses and their families’ lives easier. 

 

The meeting adjourned about an hour and a half later, with the next regular city council meeting set for 6:30 p.m.  Aug. 11.