The October 7 Lanesboro City Council meeting opened with two public hearings. The first hearing was regarding the proposed city ordinances 31.80, 31.82, 31.82, and 31.83 about the library board. Multiple community members spoke out against the proposed ordinances. Anna Loney presented a petition with 178 names asking the council not to change the library board to advisory. She stated that she felt the ordinance lacked buy-in from the public. Peter Torkelson said that the ordinance was in direct conflict with Minnesota state statute 134 and stated that it could be challenged in the legal system. Susan Ritter noted that while the council had promised not to interfere with book orders, programming, etc, none of those promises were in the proposed ordinance, leading to a lack of trust. Library board member Sarah Pieper said that an employee issue was what started the whole thing and asked the council and city administrator to work with the library board on the matter rather than just passing the ordinance. Dr. Stephanie Jakim, a former long-time library board member, noted that whatever the council decided would be their legacy and cautioned them to think long and hard before moving forward. She expressed concerns that changing the board from governing to advisory could mean no longer being compliant with SELCO. Several people urged the council to table the matter to allow time to discuss it further with the library board. City Administrator Mitchell Walbridge read two written submissions out loud that also spoke out against the ordinance. Library board member Sheila Goetzke stated that the beliefs about the proposed ordinance having catastrophic results for the library were not true and pointed out that the city council is also made up of Lanesboro citizens. She encouraged everyone to listen to the council with an open mind.
A public hearing for the proposed amendments to city ordinance chapter 151 regarding land use was opened. John Pieper noted that he was satisfied with the ordinance, but that the included map needed to be updated. Sarah Pieper questioned whether more research had been done on the matter as Planning and Zoning did not have a meeting last month at which they could have discussed it.
Karen Heimdahl encouraged the council to try to keep the Filthy 50 bike race in Lanesboro, noting that if it was denied, it would still take place, but with a different starting and ending point. She noted that it is one of the top rated gravel events in the country with riders coming from all over to participate which brings visibility to Lanesboro. All of the proceeds from the race are donated to the community where the event is held.
John Pieper noted that enforcement of the city’s current ordinances is needed, citing a parked trailer with an expired permit.
The consent agenda was approved and included the accounts payable, the 2025 liquor and tobacco license renewals, temporary liquor licenses for Lanesboro Arts for the dates of October 26 and December 20, Resolution 2024-33 authorizing the transfer of public funds, the adoption of the City of Lanesboro’s brand guidelines, and the hiring of Erika Newton as a library sub.
Mike Bubany from David Drown Associates reviewed several options for temporary financing for the upcoming Highway 250 project with the council. He recommended three years of temporary financing with a public sale for the bonds. The council approved a motion to table the matter until the November council meeting.
Council member Mindy Albrecht-Benson read a statement regarding the proposed ordinances for the library board. She has served as library board liaison for several years and was appointed as a voting member by the council earlier this year. She stated that the ordinance would address several long-term concerns, and that recent actions and decisions by the board have called its governance into question. Albrecht-Benson read a list of her concerns regarding the library board that included subs working at the library without a background check or being officially hired by the city, the board voting to remove an employee evaluation, violation of public data laws regarding board minutes, the director working from home without the approval of the city, the board not applying the city’s established employee grievance process, and more. “I fully support the Lanesboro library and its mission,” she said, adding that none of the claims about the city taking over the library and banning books or controlling library functions were true. A motion to table the proposed ordinances was approved as well as a motion for City Administrator Walbridge to set up a meeting in a public setting between the library board and city council to further discuss the matter.
The council approved the adoption of amendments to ordinance chapter 151 regarding land use as well as a motion to publish a summary of the amendments in the newspaper.
Walbridge asked how the council would like to move forward with preparing the city’s comprehensive plan. He suggested creating two to three objectives and then obtaining support from the city engineer. Mayor Resseman said that he thought it would be worth the effort to get bids for the service. The council approved a motion requesting that Walbridge draft an RFP (Request for Proposal) for the council to review at the November council meeting.
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