At the April 25 meeting of the Chatfield City Council, a public hearing was held prior to the adoption of a tax increment financing plan for TIF district 3-5. The new TIF district is requested in part due to rising construction costs for site improvements for a new athletic club. It is to be located on vacant property along Highway 52 south of Chatfield. Plans include the … [Read more...]
Fillmore County declares state of emergency
Emergency Manager/Deputy Don Kullot described the damage resulting from the April 12 storm at a special meeting of the Fillmore County Board held on April 19. Already, damage estimates that qualify for public assistance have exceeded the necessary threshold of $43,500 required by the state. Preliminary numbers from MiEnergy are at least $50,000. MiEnergy and other damages in … [Read more...]
Preston approves infrastructure construction and repairs
Several agenda items to be considered at the April 18 Preston City Council meeting were related to upgrades of city infrastructure. The first infrastructure improvement considered was the street storm sewer project. City Engineer Brett Grabau reported that he has now received verbal commitments from three property owners (Wood, Amdahl, and Johnston) to allow stormwater … [Read more...]
Chatfield improvements for parks and pool
Brian Burkholder, Public Works, requested approval for park and recreation maintenance and improvement items at the April 11 meeting of the Chatfield city council. The Aqua zip line at the swimming pool has been a popular feature, but there have been issues with the current retractor style system. Burkholder explained there is a new design that is gravity fed and does not … [Read more...]
Fillmore County commissioner districts remain unchanged
At the April 12 meeting of the Fillmore County Board, commissioners decided unanimously to leave the commissioner districts unchanged. Auditor/Treasurer Christy Smith had reached out to cities and townships to see if any of them were going to have any boundary line changes. No city or township reported any boundary changes due to the 2020 census. Commissioners had discussed … [Read more...]
Preston City Council has two open seats
Councilman Robert Maust submitted his resignation, due his health and age, effective April 30. At the April 4 meeting two resolutions each declaring a vacancy on the city council were approved, one for councilman David Collett who passed on March 14 and the other for Maust. City hall is accepting letters of application from city residents who are interested in serving as a … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Jail process moves forward
At the county board’s April 5 meeting, a pre-design contract with BKV Group, for the county jail, was unanimously approved. After some clarifications and a few changes, the board took another step forward. Bruce Schwartzman, BKV Group, had met with engineers and some county staff last week to take a critical look at the existing jail building. They determined it can definitely … [Read more...]
Chatfield Charter Commission recommendation for city administrator fails
At the March 28 meeting of the Chatfield City Council, councilors voted on the second consideration of two ordinances recommended by the Charter Commission. In order for the recommended amendments to become part of the city’s charter, there must be a unanimous vote on the second consideration. Ordinance 458-Elimination of the position of Health Officer was approved with a … [Read more...]
Fillmore County proclaims April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month
At the March 22 Fillmore County Board meeting, Sarah Monroe, DFO Victim Services; Laura Nauman, Women’s Shelter; and Andrea White, Regional Safe Harbor Navigator, asked the board to consider proclaiming April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Monroe noted Sexual Assault Awareness Month was first observed nationally in 2001. It is an effort to bring further awareness of … [Read more...]
Preston appoints Charles Sparks as mayor pro-tem
The first order of business at the March 21 Preston City Council meeting was to appoint a mayor pro-tem. Councilman David Collett, who had been serving as mayor pro-tem, passed away on March 14. Mayor Kurt Reicks was absent. Sparks then presided over the meeting. As mayor pro-tem, Sparks was approved to sign checks for the city at F & M Community Bank for checking/savings … [Read more...]