At the March 2 meeting of the Preston City Council a resolution was adopted to document and confirm a continued sustainable partnership between the city and the Preston Historical Society (PHS).
The confirmation of a sustainable partnership to preserve, maintain and operate the Depot Museum Riverfront Center (DMRC) will strengthen and support the grant application to the Minnesota Historical Society for financial assistance. The grant funding is to be used for landscape consulting and design services for the DMRC.
2025 Tourism Report
Mandy Huston, Preston Chamber and Tourism Director, reviewed tourism activities during 2025. Tourism advertises through its Visitor’s Guide which includes a map of Preston and bike trails. The guide was dropped at 100 locations and was online.
The lodging tax total last year came to nearly $21,000. Huston hit on some of the 2025 highlights including the six-mile garage sale with Root River Trail Towns, the Trout Route to the heart of downtown Preston and Highway 52 businesses, the welcome to Preston sign, and signs for the bike trail.
Tourism worked with Fillmore Central on the creation of a mural which will be at one of the pocket parks. Social media followers and website views are up from 2024.
Other Business in Brief
- A federally funded grant administrated through the Minnesota Department of Commerce in the amount of $20,000 has been applied for by EDA Director Michelle Marotzke. The grant is to be used to retain an engineering firm to conduct a feasibility study for E-bike charging stations in both Preston and Lanesboro. No local match is required. The study will compare the use of solar charging to the use of electric charging. The EDA will cover expenses as they occur and seek reimbursement from the state. Preston will be the fiscal agent. Application for the grant was approved.
- A Capital Asset and Depreciation Policy to provide guidance to staff was approved. The policy is recommended by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Auditors have recommended an increase to minimum thresholds ($1,000 to $5,000) for general equipment and $25,000 for buildings and infrastructure.
- A Security Camera Policy was discussed. City Administrator Ryan Throckmorton explained the policy is to ensure compliance with applicable public data and records retention requirements. The city has cameras at City Hall, the Trailhead, and the power plant. The cameras are mostly for security and insurance purposes. This is a new policy. Throckmorton said the cameras are only at entrances to the building. They are only set for video, no audio. Throckmorton said the camera at the entrance allows staff to see the lobby area. Councilmen Steve Hall and Charles Sparks wanted more time to look through the policy. The three systems are completely separate. No action was taken this day.
- The annual contract between the city and Fillmore County for ambulance service was approved. The county offers a subsidy of $6,000 a station or a total of $12,000 for the Preston/Lanesboro service.
- The April 6 city council meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. The early meeting is due to the Preston Area Community Foundation dinner which will be held during the regularly scheduled meeting time. Financial Advisor Mike Bubany will attend the council meeting to discuss Capital Financing Planning.
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