The Blue Earth City Council conducted a marathon of a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Among the first of the weightier items on the agenda was a discussion about the proposed construction of an eight-court tennis facility at Blue Earth Area (BEA) High School.
At a previous City Council meeting on Feb. 6, the council had resumed conversations about the project, which the city agreed to jointly finance with the School District last spring. Per the original agreement, the city would initially finance the project in full, and the School District would reimburse the city for a sizable percentage of the costs at a later date.
The council reviewed its options for funding the tennis court project on Feb. 6 with Doug Green, a BakerTilly representative. Because the city has reached its annual limit on general obligation and abatement bonding, it will need to take out lease revenue bonds to initially fund the project, which is estimated to cost $1.2 million. Through this process, the School District will lease the land at the project site to the Blue Earth Economic Development Authority (EDA), and the EDA, in turn, will sublease the land to the city.
As city administrator Mary Kennedy explained to the council, “The school will pay its loan repayment to the city every year, and the city will make lease payments to the bank using the payments from the school. Once the bond is paid off after 15 years, the ground lease is done, and the school will own the tennis courts.”
Though the process sounds complicated, the council observed the city has used a similar funding strategy before to construct Blue Earth’s Fire Hall.
The real question facing the council on Tuesday was what percentage of the project’s costs they would like to ask the School District to reimburse.
Council members Ann Hanna and John Huisman, also members of the School/City Facility Joint Powers Committee, shared the committee had met recently and had discussed the School District’s funding capabilities for the project.
Huisman reported superintendent Mandy Fletcher had said it would be feasible for the School District to commit to a 70/30 cost split, with the School District reimbursing the city for 70 percent of the project’s costs.
Hanna also observed the benefits to the city of Blue Earth – namely, that the courts would be available for public use – if the city partners with the School District to help finance their construction.
“Years ago, the school helped us build Putnam Park, and it’s my opinion that it’s our turn to help them build these eight courts,” Hanna said.
The council unanimously passed a motion agreeing to a 70/30 split of the project’s cost, and also directed Kennedy to begin working with BakerTilly on the bond requests, contingent on the School Board’s approval of the 70/30 cost split when they meet on Monday, Feb. 27.
Al Hanson and Susie Rosenau, both members of the Blue Earth Area Tennis Association, were also present at the meeting to share some good news.
Rosenau informed the council that the association has very recently been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Minnesota branch of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), which could be used to help finance the construction of the new courts. Additionally, this development opens up an opportunity for the Blue Earth Area Tennis Association to apply for a national USTA grant, which could be as much as $50,000 or $60,000.
“Sustaining this great program is our goal,” Hanson concluded as he addressed the council.
In other business, the Blue Earth City Council:
• Voted to move forward with the process of annexing Riverside Heights to the city of Blue Earth. The annexation has proved the most cost-effective method of three proposals to solve sewer and water issues in Riverside Heights.
• Unanimously approved the sale of city-owned property at the West Industrial Park to Blue Earth Light and Water (BELW) for $1. BELW intends to construct a new water treatment facility on the property.
• Reviewed a draft of the proposed Street Project Tree Replacement Reimbursement Program, which would allow Blue Earth residents to apply for reimbursement funds for trees removed as part of Blue Earth street projects. The council discussed reimbursing residents for 100 percent of costs associated with purchasing and installing new trees – up to $600 – for up to the maximum number of trees which were removed.
The council will review and potentially approve the program at its next meeting.
• Received an update about Golden Spike Speedway from Bret Osborn, who shared the track had a successful season in 2022 and expects to host more large races in 2023. Osborn requested expanded parking for racing events, which the council agreed to discuss in the future.
• Approved a proposed project for renaming Blue Earth’s Third Ward Park. The Parks and Recreation Committee suggested collaborating with BEA Elementary School so K-5 students may participate in a contest to select the park’s name, with prizes offered to the winning classroom.
• Approved a $2 wage increase for Blue Earth lifeguards and moved to reimburse lifeguards at the end of their season for a $200 New Guard Certification course fee.
• Approved recommended changes to the 2023 Blue Earth Swimming Pool rates. In 2023, babysitter passes will cost $25, lessons for toddlers and preschoolers will cost $25 and one-week private lessons will cost $70.
• Approved Addendum No. 1 to a professional agreement for general engineering services with Bolton & Menk for the design, bidding and construction phase of an improvement project at the Valley Highland Lift Station.
• Approved recommended changes to the city’s Personnel Policy, which clarify that employees are not permitted to take floating holidays, or work on official holidays unless they are called in by a supervisor or have received prior approval from the city administrator. Employees called to work on an official holiday will receive premium pay for a minimum of two hours.
• Approved Shirl Maher’s request for an $82.90 reimbursement for repair work done to fix a leak in her water service, which originated from last summer’s street projects.
• Approved a one-time sewer credit request from Josie Rheingans in the amount of $263.36.
• Went into closed session to discuss a real estate offer on two lots in the Prairie View Subdivision in the amount of $21,500. The council accepted the offer and directed city attorney David Frundt to draft an ordinance conveying the property to the buyer at the next City Council meeting.
• Went into closed session to review an Internal Affairs Investigation Report, about which the council took no action on at the Feb. 21 meeting.
• Reviewed the roles and responsibilities of the city’s various boards and commissions at a 4:30 p.m. worksession.
• Approved a raffle permit for the Blue Earth Area Youth Baseball Association, for an event scheduled on July 15.
• Approved a travel request from police chief Tom Fletcher, who will be attending the Executive Training Institute at the Minnesota Chiefs Conference in April.
• Approved a travel request from fire chief Steve Brown, who will be attending the FDIC International Convention in April.
• Approved an event request for the Faribault County EDA, which will be hosting a job fair at the Ag Center on April 26.
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