At the October 5 Lanesboro City Council meeting, residents Sarah Pieper and John Lavelle spoke about the issue of feral cats. Pieper estimated that there could be as many as 40 roaming in Lanesboro with more litters of kittens being born. Lavelle said that he had personally paid for nine to be fixed and found homes for another nine of the cats, but the problem continues to grow. So many have been showing up that he is going through multiple bags of dry cat food each week, which is getting expensive. Pieper has been accepting donations at the Lanesboro Market to go towards fixing the stray cats and so far has raised $340. “I’m hoping that the city will assist with working on this problem,” she said.
The consent agenda was approved and included the accounts payable, Resolution 2026-48 accepting a number of donations for the Legion Lights Fund, Resolution 2026-50 accepting a donation to the Lanesboro Fire Department, Resolution 2026-49 approving the City of Lanesboro’s enrollment in the PERA statewide volunteer firefighter pension plan, acceptance of two AEDS from Fillmore County, approval of the 2027 liquor licenses as well as a lawful gambling permit for the Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, and a temporary on-sale liquor license for the Lanesboro American Legion. The September unaudited fund balances and 2026 budget year-to-date were also approved.
The council was updated on the upcoming Hwy. 250 road and utility project. As of now, the project plans are 95% complete, and the state is currently reviewing them. The city commitment of $4.3 million is still tracking and is not expected to change. An email blast was sent out to residents earlier that day with information about a presentation and open house on October 19. The goals of the open house will be to talk about the staging and anticipated project levels. The two-year plan includes strategies to get in and out as fast as possible to minimize how much the project affects local businesses.
The meeting was closed to the public for closed sessions to discuss litigation strategies regarding a contract dispute with Sparrow Valley Properties and also for City Administrator Mitchell Walbridge’s annual performance evaluation. The meeting was then reopened, and an amendment to the city’s compensation schedule was discussed. After comparing city administrator pay rates among nearby and similarly sized Minnesota cities, the council approved a motion to move Walbridge up a pay level.
A coordinator for the Southeast Service Cooperative recently visited Lanesboro and shared a city support guide to show what the Cooperative has to offer. The annual membership fee would be waived for the first year and then would be $335 a year if the city decides to continue with the membership. The council approved Resolution 2026-51 agreeing to move forward with membership.
The council discussed the concerns about feral and stray cats in Lanesboro. A sample contract was submitted by Camp Companion for services to catch, spay or neuter, and release or adopt out cats at a cost of $88 per spay and $68 per neuter. Camp Companion would split the costs with the city. It was noted that the city does have an ordinance against feeding stray animals in town. Mayor Alicia Pearson asked if the city should be involved in the problem or if it would be best to address it with a grassroots effort. Several of the council members didn’t feel comfortable using taxpayer money to fund a project like that. The matter was tabled indefinitely.
Mayor Pearson recommended that the Lanesboro Fire Department review their policies and procedures as that hasn’t been done in some time. Fire Chief Rob Wagner agreed that that would be beneficial. He will put together a committee from the fire crew to work on the review. Mayor Pearson and Council member Kathryn Wade were appointed to meet with the committee as council representatives. City Administrator Walbridge will be available to assist as needed. The review process will begin in January.
Several bids were received for a public facility energy audit. The low bid from Earthside LLC was approved by the council at around $19,000. A grant has been awarded to the city for the project, which will cover the costs.
Fire Chief Wagner presented a quote for 16 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses, or SCBAs, which would give the crew more time to work in structure fires before having to leave the building to switch out with another crew member. He noted that he has looked into grants, but hasn’t been successful in obtaining one. However, the department’s equipment fund has sufficient money available for the purchase. Council member Mindy Albrecht-Benson noted that she wasn’t sure it was a responsible use of taxpayer money as the return on investment seemed questionable since the department doesn’t fight many structure fires. Chief Wagner pointed out that the funds to be used have been raised by the fire department and are not taxpayer based. He also noted that at a structure fire, they can quickly go through 12 SCBAs, so 16 would not be an unreasonable number to have on hand. “We don’t have a ton of structure fires, but if we have one, we need them,” he said. The council approved the purchase up to the quoted amount.
The city had previously approved an interim use permit for Sparrow Valley Properties to allow them to have up to three short-term lodging units at their property on 505 Parkway Avenue South. The council approved a motion to rescind the permit, citing a number of violations and conditions that were not met.
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