Litchfield Area Recreation Center Open House

The Litchfield City Council received information Tuesday evening from City Engineer Chuck DeWolf regarding a street improvement project scheduled for 2026. Swift Avenue from 6th Street to Ripley Street will be redone – including the utilities below, along with Ripley Street from Swift to Miller Avenues.

Mayor Ron Dingmann says the project will cost nearly $4.4-million but there are both state and federal funds which will help with the cost, making the local cost about $1.8-million. He says the City will advertise for bids in March and the project will take place from June through November next year.

Mayor Dingmann says the Council approved of an $8,000 façade grant request for Kaleb Lehmann at 213 North Sibley Avenue; approved of having Lisa Graphenteen help the City with a Minnesota Historical Society grant for the G.A.R. Hall; set the preliminary levy at $4,088,175 which is an increase of 7.8%; appointed John Mueller to the Planning Commission; and approved of letting the Golden Age Card Club use the community room in the new Litchfield Area Recreation Center on Friday afternoons since the construction of the new facility displaced them from their old meeting area at the Civic Arena.

The City is hosting an open house at the Litchfield Area Recreation Center on Sunday from 1-to-4 p.m. Owen Boerema is the director of the LARC and says the open house will give the public a chance to see what’s available there.

Boerema says the LARC includes a field house with 4 courts for basketball, volleyball and tennis and it can adapt to up to 12 pickle ball courts, and there’s an elevated walking track, a fitness center with all kinds of aerobic and weight equipment, and a meeting room which different groups may rent. He says they have a range of monthly membership options and you may stop in to sign up, or go to litchfieldrecreationcenter.com.

Mayor Dingmann says the idea for the LARC has been in the works for many years and a lot of different people are responsible for making it a reality.

Mayor Dingmann says Sunday’s open house will give the public a chance to “kick the tires” so to speak and check it out for themselves.