Chatfield held its first city council meeting of the new year on January 8. Mayor John McBroom, in his new year address, said he “believes the city is in fantastic shape.” Brian Burkholder, public works director, noted the snowplowing policy he was presenting was basically a draft from the League of Minnesota Cities with a few changes. The policy is to service residents by … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Annual Meeting
County Administrator Bobbie Hillery called the January 2 annual meeting to order and presided over the election of officers for 2024. Duane Bakke was elected chairman and Marc Prestby was elected vice-chairman. Bakke highlighted county ongoing projects: the veterans home, jail construction with the first phase to be completed in the fall, work on extending the five-year plan, … [Read more...]
Preston Attends to Annual Business
The Preston city council held its first meeting of the new year on January 2. The relatively short agenda dealt with routine annual business. City Administrator Ryan Throckmorton asked council members if they recommended any changes to the list of proposed 2024 appointments to the various boards, commissions and appointed positions. No one asked for any changes. Charles … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments
At the December 21 meeting of the Planning Commission, public hearings were held on proposed language changes to Rural Home Based Business, Section 734 and to Subsurface Sewage Treatment System (SSTS) Ordinance, Section 802. The proposed language change to Section 734 will remove the Crop Equivalency Rating (CER). The CER soil requirement had previously been removed for new … [Read more...]
Preston Approves Rezoning Request
A rezoning request submitted by C & G Properties was considered at the December 18 meeting of the city council. The property at 413 Farmers St. NW has previously served as an office building. The request to rezone the .6-acre property from I-1(Industrial) to R-3 (Multi-family Residential) will allow for the repurposing of the building as an apartment building. The … [Read more...]
Fillmore County’s Legislative Priorities
Senator Jeremy Miller and Representative Greg Davids attended the December 19 board meeting to hear priorities detailed by each department head. County Administrator Bobbie Hillery thanked legislators for the 2024 increase in County Program Aid in the amount of $257,257 and County Engineer Ron Gregg thanked legislators for supporting state bridge bonding funds. The county … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Addresses Personnel Items
The December 12 meeting of the county board was dominated by personnel matters. Fillmore County has requested to withdraw from the Minnesota Merit System, effective January 1, 2025. Lindsi Engle, human resources officer, said all documents will be submitted as part of the certification process. The state has a year to review the documents before granting approval. DDA Human … [Read more...]
Chatfield Certifies 2024 Levy
On December 11, the last scheduled meeting of the Chatfield City Council in 2023, councilors worked their way through a lengthy agenda. During the Truth in Taxation public hearing, City Administrator Michele Peterson noted the cost drivers which included escalating equipment prices, technology security, insurance, and inflation. She broke down the distribution of property … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Looks Back at 2023, Forward to 2024
County Administrator Bobbie Hillery provided details to citizens attending the December 12 Truth in Taxation public hearing. A review of 2023 included major changes that were initiated during the year including the first year of Fillmore County Corrections, the bidding and bonding for the jail project, the restructuring of the zoning department, the addition of Children’s and … [Read more...]
Preston Certifies 2024 Budget/Levy
The December 5 meeting of the Preston City Council began with a Truth in Taxation hearing, during which information about the proposed 2024 budget/levy was presented. City Administrator Ryan Throckmorton reviewed budget details. Local Government Aid (LGA) in 2024 will be $539,116, or $31,737 more than in 2023. This was the first significant increase in LGA in over a decade. In … [Read more...]