Waseca council holds first meeting of 2025

The Waseca City Council’s first meeting of the year was largely organizational. During the Jan. 7 meeting, the first order of business was to issue the oath of office to all council members, both continuing and newly elected. 

Gary Conrath was the only new member sworn in; Stacey Schroeder, Mark Christiansen and Mayor Randy Zimmerman also took the oath. 

During a discussion about local board and commission appointments, Conrath made a remark which left the council chamber silent and resulted in a verbal reprimand from councilperson Schroeder.

“I’m probably the only one up here who is retired,” Conrath said before correcting himself to say he didn’t intend to say he was r*******. 

After the meeting Schroeder said she was upset and appalled that Conrath used the socially unacceptable word which refers to individuals with special needs.

“As elected officials, city council members carry a profound responsibility,” she said. “The language we use as council members carries significant weight and impacts our entire community. Every word we speak represents not just our personal views, but the values and character of our city government. This requires us to be mindful and intentional in our communication, avoiding any derogatory terms or language that could marginalize or diminish any member of our diverse community.”

The meeting, largely organizational, also had two other incidents involving Conraths, Gary and his son, fellow council member Jeremy. 

Jeremy was the lone vote against the appointment of Mark Christiansen as Mayor Pro Tem for 2025. 

Gary questioned Mayor Zimmerman after the vote.

“Do we follow Robert’s rules?” he said, asking why the mayor hadn’t asked three times whether there were more discussion on the subject.

City Manager Carl Sonnenberg clarified that the city has not formally adopted Robert’s Rules of Order. 

A representative from Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership gave a presentation about a grant program available to homeowners who wish to make improvements to their homes. Near the conclusion of the presentation, she stated firmly that she does not recommend the program, first because of how difficult it is to be approved due to the regulations involved and second, because the program is coming to an end. 

At the end of the meeting Mayor Zimmerman announced he had attended a positive meeting with Xcel Energy; he summarized that this spring the company intends to present a new project involving running 345 kilobolts of power through new lines along the Highway 14 corridor. This would be an alternative to an earlier plan to use the Highway 60 corridor. If this were to come to fruition, Zimmerman claimed there is “potential for great things to happen.” 

He concluded, “This could be a fundamental change for Waseca.”

The meeting concluded at 7:29 p.m; the council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.