Downtown building to be removed

On Monday, June 12, the Janesville city council held what City Administrator Clinton Rogers called “possibly the shortest public hearing ever,” which was about changing the city code to create a “no overnight parking” rule in a city-owned lot near First Street between Highway 14 Auto and an alleyway.

The hearing consisted of Rogers explaining that Chapter 47 of the city code concerning parking schedules would be expanded to include the wording, “The city-owned parking lot east of the alley between Main Street and Market Street, located adjacent to First Street shall change to ‘no overnight parking.’” The council approved Ordinance 2023-J to make the addition. The public hearing closed at 7:03 p.m.

The council gave its blessing to allow the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to remove the building at 109 N. Main Street, which has been in disrepair for years. The bid they received from Borneke Construction of Janesville to tear down the building was $30,000, much lower than the estimated $300,000 bid they received in 2019 for the same teardown.

Council member Ivan Maas pointed out the bid doesn’t include resurfacing the space left empty by removing the building. Mayor Andy Arnoldt said that the resurfacing could be a shared cost between nearby business owners.

The council then approved moving forward with incorporating a sergeant position within the Janesville Police Department. The intent is to promote someone from within the department rather than hiring additional staff. 

Arnoldt explained that the city’s personnel committee recommended that anyone advanced to the position must be acquainted with the community of Janesville. Given this expectation, he claimed it would not make sense to advertise the position to the general public.

Police chief Dave Ulmen explained that many other police departments do this. “We want to keep it internally to all Janesville officers,” he said. “Many other departments keep these positions in house so they can promote from within and give opportunities for officers who have served for a long time to move up.

“We also don’t have the money to outright add a position,” Ulmen added.

The deadline to apply will be the end of June with the intention of starting interviews for the position by the first week of July. The position would require administrative experience or training, which Arnoldt assured would be something that an accepted applicant without experience could receive before taking on the role.

The state has required that Juneteenth (June 19) be recognized as a holiday. This was to go into effect in 2024, but the legislature moved to make it effective this year. In keeping with the state ruling, the city will not be open next Monday.

“We are not allowed to conduct any business that day,” Rogers explained. “We have to be closed.”

The city will recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

The council then approved tletting the Purple Goose use a section of Second Street between Blasing Electric and the library for an outdoor bean bag tournament on Saturday, June 24. Rogers said the space they would take up was comparable to the Chamber tent during Hay Daze.

Then council members gave a blessing for Gina Pederson with the EDA’s Community Center Committee to apply for grant money from the state legislature for the future community center project. Rogers elaborated that the state omnibus bill for this year provided more money for facilities such as community centers.

The city approved a bid of $54,600 from Minnesota Pipe Works in Dundas for lift station repairs west of town. The other bid, for $61,000, was from TJ’s Trucking and Excavating of Winona. Rogers said the money to pay for the repairs was already budgeted in the city’s sewer fund. Public works manager Joe Ziemke plans on looking for bids to replace the control panel for the lift station next year.

Reports

City office manager Andrea Moen shared that Janesville Utilities installed a new transformer last week and were currently working to get the new transformer energized. She was happy to report that the installation process went smoothly.

The AMI electric meter systems will be installed soon, according to Moen. When she receives more info about when the meters will be shipped to the city, she will send flyers to residents explaining the process. Unlike the case of  recently added water meters, most of the electric units can be installed without residents having to make an appointment. 

“We will work with businesses on Main Street to get it done,” she added.

Clinton Rogers shared that the city will be receiving $106,000 in public safety aid from the state of Minnesota. Chief Ulmen explained that the aid program is new; city staff does not yet know the timeframe for receiving and spending the funds, nor does it know whether the aid will be repeated in subsequent years.

The city received the first half of  property taxes, which totaled $705,000; the second half will be distributed by the county in December. 

The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m.