At the November 2 Lanesboro City Council meeting, Lanesboro resident Brian Roelofs spoke about a petition he had submitted to the city after spending the last five months listening to what residents and business owners have to say about the proposed Highway 250 project. The petition requests that the stages of the project be completed in a different order than the current plan, citing benefits to businesses. The city staff, City Engineer Brian Malm, and MnDOT will review the petition for feasibility before making any decisions.
The minutes of the regular October 5 meeting and the special October 19 meeting were reviewed and approved. The consent agenda was approved and included the accounts payable, the October unaudited fund balances and budget, street and parking closure application approvals for Harvey High Court Pub and the Lanesboro Legion Lights, a temporary on-sale liquor license for Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, resolution 2026-52 accepting a number of donations to the Lanesboro Legion Lights Fund in the amount of $1,485, and acceptance of the 2027 Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation Small Town grant award.
Mike Bubany from David Drown Associates gave a presentation to the council on the city’s capital outlay and budget with an emphasis on utility rates and how they may change based on the costs of the Highway 250 project. Historical and potential future rates were reviewed. Bubany showed the council a worst-case scenario for the Highway 250 project in which utility rates would go up about $120 a month per homeowner. Since the project hasn’t been bid out yet, the numbers are not final and are estimates only. City Administrator Mitchell Walbridge also noted that there is a state policy that caps costs for municipalities with MnDOT initiated trunk highway projects based on tax capacity. Walbridge will be attending a meeting to review the policy, which will then give a more accurate picture of what the average utility costs will be in Lanesboro for the project. Additional information will be presented at the December meeting.
Administrator Walbridge gave an update on the city administration. The University of Minnesota is working with Lanesboro on an Empowering Small Minnesota Communities Strategy Project. The 2027 camping calendar will be open soon, and Walbridge hopes that the revenue continues to trend upwards as it did this year. City staff is working through the final draft budget for 2027.
The council reviewed the community center’s HVAC assessment report. The report noted that the hydronic system needs repairs and remediation. Council member Chase Bakke thought that had recently been replaced and asked why it was still having problems. Public Works Director David Haugen said that the boiler had been replaced about 5-6 years ago, but the issues now are related to the 30-year-old chiller part of the system. The report identified a lot of aging infrastructure and moisture issues in the community center, which are difficult to mitigate. A larger dehumidifier was purchased and has been helping, but hasn’t solved the issues. Walbridge will obtain bids from several HVAC companies to present at the December meeting, and the council will decide what to do with the information then.
A nuisance complaint was received about a dumpster and unlawful lodging activity at a property on Parkway. It was noted that prior activity by the owners was not in compliance with the city’s lodging ordinance. A motion was approved to allow City Attorney Joseph O’Koren to draft a 30-day notice letter to send to the property owners.
Currently, Lanesboro has a 3% lodging tax but would like to obtain legislative permission to authorize an additional 2%. Joe Goetzke noted that Lanesboro’s lodging tax is lower than other municipalities in Minnesota. The extra revenue could be used to help Lanesboro in many ways. Resolution 2026-54 allowing the city to ask the state for permission to increase the lodging tax was approved.
A number of changes to the city’s fee schedule were reviewed. A motion to call for a public hearing at the regular December meeting was approved.
A request was received from the Lanesboro ECFE to create an indoor community play space for children ages 0-5 at the community center. The organization asked that the city donate space at the community center for the play space six days a week during the library’s open hours. It would be staffed by the librarians with assistance from ECFE staff. Council member Kathryn Wade said that she thought it sounded like a wonderful idea, but she wasn’t sure how feasible it was to have the city donate the space for so much time or to have the librarians staffing it. The council approved a motion to table the request to gather more information.
The fire department presented a request to refurbish its tanker. The tanker was purchased new in 2005 and was originally slated to be replaced last year, but, as it’s still in good condition, they would like to refurbish it instead. Doing so would be a significant cost savings with a total cost of about $58,000 versus $300,000 to $400,000 to buy a new tanker. The cost would be covered by a donation from the Firemen’s Relief Association. The council approved the request. They also approved a motion to replace or refurbish the truck again in 2039.
Resolution 2026-55 accepting a $65,000 donation for the Lanesboro Fire Department from the Firemen’s Relief Association was approved.
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