The Spring Valley City Council kicked off their Monday, July 13 meeting with an update on the 2026 Downtown Project.
According to Drew Weber, of Bolton and Menk, the second phase of the project, which involves closing the southern section of the downtown, will now begin and the northern section will be reopening.
Residents can find up-to-date information at clients.bolton-menk.com/springvalley2026active/.
Despite the weather, the project is still on time with plans to be done by early August.
The council then approved A-1 Contracting’s second pay application of $339,830, which includes most of phase one, along with some of the road base and curb and sidewalk.
Library Project
In 2024, the Spring Valley Library was awarded a Library Construction Improvement Grant from the Minnesota Department of Education for $146,850 to repair the exterior surface of the building along with other minor repairs. Since then the library staff, board and construction committee have been working on plans for the project. Earlier this year, Weber joined the group to finalize details and help prepare documents.
With the council’s approval, the library will be advertising for bids. The bid opening would be on Wednesday, August 5 with hopes the group can bring those bids to the council at their Monday, August 10 meeting.
Library Director Melissa Vander Plas shared they are hoping for minimal disruption to the library during the construction.
Staff and Council Reports
Councilor John Dols, who spoke on behalf of Parks and Rec Director John Fenske, shared Fenske has been working with Weber on an access plan so all community center events can go on as planned during the construction.
The pool repairs are complete and local artist Andrea Hindt has started one of the two murals that will be displayed at the pool. A third mural will be on the side of the concession building at South Park.
The Parks and Rec Committee was awarded Paint the Town Grant for 90 gallons of paint and the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation awarded the committee $4,200 towards the project.
Dols thanked the Kingsland Booster Club for their $17,000 donation to help pay for additional pool repairs.
Bobby Jones Memorial Sand Volleyball Courts are now open and being enjoyed by the community. Dols thanked the Jones family for their donation.
Vander Plas shared there are 160 kids signed up for their summer reading program, which is the highest number in five years, with 800 hours read so far.
Economic Development Authority (EDA) Director Chris Hahn shared the city has been able to track $2.1 million in property improvements and investments throughout the city, including residential, commercial and industrial. This is according to a report Hahn sends to the state detailing the number of permits issued, amount of fees they charge and the total evaluations of improvements given to the city from a tax base standpoint.
The EDA is continuing their work with Chris Rollie, Public Utilities, and Weber to come up with a more competitive housing incentive.
The ambulance department had an exceptionally busy month with 52 calls in June. The department is planning to host a fall Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) class for those interested.
Fire Chief Dustin Johnson told the council the fire department responded to one vehicle accident, one mutual aid with Wykoff for an LP fire, and helped with traffic control during the recent flooding.
Councilor Brent Kohn reminded residents to keep up with their mowing, while council member Chris Danielson asked residents to not put their lawn clippings in the street. This can clog storm sewers, which can have disastrous consequences during large rain events.
Council member Luan Ruesink asked parents of kids with electric scooters and bicycles to speak with them about road safety as there have been reports of numerous close calls between vehicles and the scooters within the city.
The council recognized Greg Melartin for all of his hard work on another successful Fins and Films event.
Upon hearing he may take some time off of the event, Mayor Justin Mlinar told Melartin, “Please come back for an 11th year. You have a lot of great volunteers I saw helping out, so you have all the people in place to make it happen. It’s tough to see a community event go away.”
Mlinar thanked all the emergency response personnel that helped the city during the recent floods, “Thank you for all your help during the flooding, thankfully it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be.”
Other Business
The council approved the request to replace the ambulance facility’s door. According to City Administrator Deb Zimmer, these costs were already in the budget.
The resolution appointing election judges was approved.
There is a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning board. Those interested are asked to send a letter of interest to city hall.
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