Council gets visit from Rep. Sexton

Representative Tom Sexton appeared at the Nov. 4 meeting of the Waseca city council meeting requesting council members’ input prior to a visit from the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee Tour which was to stop at Clear Lake Park at 2:45 pm Wednesday, Nov. 5. The purpose of the 30-minute visit was to acquire more information about large-scale projects the city hopes to carry out with financial assistance from the state.  

 

Don White, operations manager for SMART Transit provided a presentation about the service, saying his drivers have provided 11,000 rides over the past year. He mentioned the service now has three full-time drivers and 4 part-time workers. They service 35 children; and 10 percent of all passengers are disabled.

 

City engineer Nate Willey presented the Eighth Avenue NE reconstruction project assessment, which consisted of the reconstruction of Eighth Ave NE from Third Street NE to Clear Lake Drive. Total length of the project was 3,160 feet; work was completed Nov. 1 of 2024.  For any properties without reduction factors, the final rates per assessable foot would have been as follows: Property Land Use Type: Residential/Duplex $150, Multi-Family $171, Commercial/Tax Exempt $193. Assessments can be paid in full to the city without interest on or before December 4, 2025. After December 4, payments must be made to the Waseca County Auditor’s Office. Assessments are paid with property taxes over a 10-year period at four percent interest beginning in 2026. David Snider, a resident along Eighth Ave NE expressed dissatisfaction regarding the dirt used to fill his yard back in after work was complete: “You couldn’t even dig your heel into the dirt. It was crap dirt, they’ve got to bring in the good stuff.” The council will revisit this during the city council meeting on May 5, 2026, to discuss any additional problems with Eighth Avenue.

 

Wiley also presented information about the Fourth Street SW rehabilitation project, which ran between Fifth Avenue SW and Johnson Avenue. Total improved street length was approximately 1,930 feet. Final rates for residential/duplex will be $17, Multi-Family housing  $27, commercial/tax exempt $30.

 

Ordinance 1123 Amending the Shoreland Overlay Provisions of the city code were last updated in 2016. The DNR has numerous ordinances Waseca must follow; the list has since been updated and approved by the DNR and the planning commission.

 

Council members approved redirection of Environmental Protection Agency grant funding in the amount of $750,000, to a new water tower. The current city hall water tower, which was built in 1954, will need to be renovated within the next five years.

 

Council member Conrath said about Treats on the Streets, he had to sit through two green lights because people kept walking on the crosswalks, not honoring the WALK signs. Conrath expressed concern that if pedestrians don’t pay attention to the control lights, “Someone could get hurt and I don’t want to see Treats on the Streets ending because of that.” He suggested asking for more volunteers from the Sheriff’s Posse since officer volunteers are so short. Council member Schroeder added, “Congratulations go to Allie Kopischke for her contribution to cross country.”