Lanesboro City Council: Short meeting as promised

By News Team
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Fri, Jan 24th, 2003
Posted in Features

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Mayor Steven Rahn had vowed to keep short the second meeting of each month and he certainly delivered on that promise at the Lanesboro City Council meeting Tuesday night. In less than an hour Rahn and the council dispensed with the business before the council. No citizens appeared before the council with business, so the council moved on, quickly approving public utilities, zoning, and city council schedules and reappointing Robert Norby and Jon Willford to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Lynn Jacobson was accepted as a new city representative to the library board. Jacobson�s appointment balanced the board, increasing the number of city residents on it.

Feeling that the public utilities commission faced a tough year ahead with a possible rate increase, the council opted to reappoint veteran Gerald Evenson for another two-year term. The council had previously asked for volunteers for the commissions and had little response. Council member Peggy Hanson encouraged interested potential volunteers to come to the meetings and learn about the commissions and their work, reminding the council that some of the current members have served for quite some time and might be ready to leave their positions.

Perusing the bills, council members questioned a bill from the Fillmore County Sheriff�s Department. Apparently the Sheriff�s Department had billed for work they had done in the city while the city had an officer on duty. Police Chief Stotts and city administrator Barbara Hoyhtya considered that to be mutual aid since an officer was on duty and felt the city should not have been billed. Previously the Sheriff�s Department had helped out when the city had no police chief and billed the city for those services.

In their final action of the night the council heard a plan to post spotters to watch for cars for the Winterfest Sledding down the golf course hill for two to three hours on February 8. An earlier request to block streets off had been refused.

With the city business taken care of, the council adjourned in time for its members to join the open house held for new Police Chief Stuart Stotts. Stotts had rearranged the tables in the community room and brought the coffee and cookies to the table, creating a welcoming setting for citizens to meet their new chief. An affable Stotts answered traffic and parking questions, and warmly greeted citizens he�d already met, inquiring about their families. Doris Grindeland expressed her feelings as she met the newly arrived chief with a hearty, "Thank God you�re here!"

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