Council meets new staff, hears updates

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation annual update and new employee introductions occupied nearly the entire 29-minute span of the brief, August 2 Waseca city council meeting. Council member James Ebertowski was the only one to oppose the adjournment of the meeting, as he was hoping to make it to at least the half-hour mark. 

During the requests and presentations part of the meeting, new employees were introduced. Chief of Police Penny Vought presented a new officer, Seth Crouse.

“As the oldest member of the Waseca Police Department,” Vought said, “I introduce you to the youngest member.”  

Larry Sipe, chairperson of the Waseca Area Neighborhood Service Center, introduced the council to Cindy Kolander, the Center’s new executive director. Kolander thanked the council and led them through some of the many programs the center is offering. 

Sara Scheffert, a Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) employee, gave an update to the council and thanked them for what she called “continual support.” 

Scheffert mentioned three areas of focus for the SMIF: early childhood, economic development and community support. The SMIF, located in Owatonna, gives away free books for young children and provides free training for daycare providers. For economic development, SMIF gives grants for small towns, including providing Waseca with the Paint the Town grant multiple times. Another focus of SMIF is keeping local dollars local, something Scheffert said is done well since for every one dollar donated to SMIF, $16 is given back to the county. 

Scheffert said the city council has provided support of around $2,000 each year and hopes they will continue supporting SMIF. 

The council also gave consideration to a letter from a citizen concerning use of golf carts on city streets. The letter, which Mayor Randy Zimmerman read aloud, observed that even though side-by-side four wheelers can legally be driven on city streets, golf carts cannot. The citizen asked council members to  expand the policy to allow golf carts as well. 

Items approved during the meeting included previous council meeting minutes, payroll and expenditures and the appointment of Steve Jes to Historic Preservation Commission as Planning Commission Representative. 

There were no items on the action agenda.