At their December 5 meeting, Julie Kiehne updated the Lanesboro City Council on the progress that the Concept Plan Task Force has been making. The Task Force was put together in August with the goal of taking the concept plan created for Lanesboro by Randall Arendt to the next phase. The group consists of Julie Kiehne, Walter Bradley, Mark Gorman, Ken Graner, Bethany Krom, Tom Smith, and Steve Snyder. The group would like to increase community engagement and to that end, had sent out a survey to those who attended the public forums. Fifty-eight responses were recorded, and 17 priorities were identified for projects that would benefit Lanesboro.
The survey responses and identified priorities will be helpful to the task force as they put together tools to help streamline and bring the process and ideas to the community. The River Corridor Cleanup that was held on November 12 was a pilot run for the task force as they work to continue the process of implementing the concept plan.
“The comprehensive plan is a positive step for Lanesboro,” Kiehne remarked.
Mayor Robin Krom thanked Kiehne and the rest of the task force for their hard work and dedication. “A number of people around town have asked about moving forward (with the plan),” he noted. “I hope that those who signed up to help would be able to continue to work with the various committees. I would like to see that the momentum does not end because we spent a lot of time and effort in the process.”
The council held their annual Truth in Taxation hearing. A number of residents attended the hearing with their property tax mailings in hand, concerned about the proposed 11% levy increase. The council assured them that since that number had been submitted to the county, it had been whittled down to a more manageable 2.9% increase.
A public hearing was held for Rick and Cheryl Lamon’s request to put up a storage unit on their property at 100 Beacon Street East.
“Stumpy’s is the only one it would affect,” Rick Lamon pointed out, adding that he had spoken with him and he had no issue with it as long as the Lamons verified the lot line first.
The council approved the Lamons’ request.
Jerod Wagner from the Lanesboro Fire Department asked the council to approve Cody Hungerholt and Colin Bakke as the two new candidates for the fire department.
Wagner informed the council that the year-to-date calls for the department are trending higher than average, with a total of 24 calls this years so far.
Sandy Webb thanked the city for supporting the tuck pointing project at the Lanesboro Historical Museum, which will help keep all of the treasures within the museum protected from the elements.
The Chamber of Commerce had a very good turnout for the Christmas Inn Tour on December 4 with over 300 tickets sold.
Director of Tourism Cheryl Krage asked the council to approve the $400 invoice from the city to the Chamber of Commerce as they have done in prior years. The money goes to help print and distribute the Lanesboro Visitor’s Guide. The council approved the invoice.
It was decided to remove the u-turn sign on Parkway at the base of the golf course.
The council reviewed the proposals received from Nethercut Schieber Law and Manion Law Firm for the city’s attorney services and accepted the one from Manion Law Firm.
Councilmember Autumn Johnson proposed that the council remove the $7,500 City Economic Development Authority budget from the city’s 2017 budget.
“I oppose that because we have a strong EDA, and we’re just not giving them teeth to work with,” Mayor Krom stated. “They do a lot of good things for Lanesboro.”
The motion to remove CEDA from the budget failed.
A motion was passed terminating the city’s contract with Davy Engineering providing City Attorney Manion’s clarification on potential fees for termination.
City Administrator Michele Peterson thanked the council for all of their hard work and efforts, with special recognition to Mayor Krom, as that evening was his last meeting serving as Mayor of Lanesboro. She also recognized councilmember Tom Dybing for his 12 years of service to the council.
“It’s been an honor for me to work with the council over the last two years,” said Mayor Krom. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and wish the new council the best.”
“We will still be helping out the city of Lanesboro wherever we can even though we’re no longer on the city council,” Dybing said.
The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held on January 2, 2017 at 5:30 p.m.