Mayor Chris Stenzel began the November 12 Peterson City Council meeting by commending the community for once again rising to the occasion when a fire recently took place at a city residence. He thanked the Rushford Fire Department for their quick response and actions to save the structure and nearby homes.
Stenzel also thanked the public works team, Jeff Rein and Chris Grindland, for monitoring water levels, helping with electrical shutdown and traffic rerouting. He pointed out that public works positions are not ordinary 9 to 5 jobs and that the city was lucky to have Grindland and Rein as city employees.
Rural Capacity Program
Gail Boyum introduced CEDA’s (Community and Economic Development Associates) Rural Capacity Program for consideration. Boyum had learned that the grant program was aimed at helping cities with under 3,000 population with growth and development. CEDA, a private 501(c)(3) non-profit association, offers up to 135 hours of technical assistance, fees covered by a special appropriation from the state of Minnesota and up to $13,500 in a grant for successful applicants.
Four possible programs could be chosen from to be developed and implemented with CEDA’s help. They included a revolving loan program for entrepreneurs, commercial exterior improvement grants/loans, childcare incentive programs and a business retention and expansion program. The Rural Capacity Program Round 2 will run from 2025 to 2027.
There would be two in-person visits to Peterson if grant was received, but most of the technical assistance would be done online with a weekly check-in.
After discussion, the council decided to apply for the commercial exterior improvement grants/loan program. This program would help Peterson businesses enhance the exteriors of their business properties.
Gail Boyum, who has experience in grant writing, volunteered to work on the application which has a tight timeline; the applications close December 1, 2025. She felt confident that she could get it done on time, “It’s a fairly simple grant.”
Councilman Justin Simon questioned whether there were any caveats to the program and was concerned that Peterson would need to invest money in the program. Boyum assured the council that “CEDA does a lot for free!” Funding for the grant comes from the state of Minnesota.
In order to apply for the program, it was necessary to create a board. City Clerk Chris Grindland felt he needed to be involved in it; Boyum volunteered to be on it and write the application. Justin Simon agreed to serve on the board as well and wanted to learn more about the program.
The council decided that if they felt this program was not going to work for Peterson, they could drop it later.
City Business
The council approved the purchase of a new zero-turn lawnmower identical to the one currently used by the city as its primary mower. The old mower has 250 hours on it and is getting to the point where it is likely to fail. That mower will be traded in with the city paying an additional $5,000 to purchase the new mower which retails for $15,399.
There will be a new fee for paper statements for utility bills. The council approved a $2.50 fee per statement to cover the expenses of envelopes, handling and mailing.
The liquor license was approved for the American Legion Post 526 with no discussion.
Jeff Rein of Public Works reported that there had been “hiccups” in the lift station. There are plans to “vac out” the grit and sludge build up that have formed over the years; this will allow the lift station to run more efficiently.
Rein shared that they were still waiting on quotes from a second business on paving remaining streets in Peterson. There will not be a lot of milling done; essentially it will be an overlay on the streets. Rein wanted to get the prices locked in soon.
The council consensus was that the city needed to proceed and budget for the work. They acknowledged that it will help with drainage and valuation of properties. They viewed it as a positive move and felt confident that the city could afford it next year. Action will be taken on the item at the next council meeting.
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