Litchfield City Council Meeting

The Litchfield City Council has approved of a contract with Rum River Consultants of St. Francis for building inspection services. The City’s previous inspector abruptly gave notice to the State that he would no longer serve as Litchfield’s building official as of August 3rd, leaving the City of Litchfield in a bit of a quandary.

Besides the contract with Rum River, the Council approved of a fee schedule for inspection services and will hold a public hearing on September 21st for an ordinance review regarding the fee schedule. Officials from Rum River attended last night’s meeting and assured the Council that they would be ready to step in for projects such as the Meeker Memorial expansion project.

The Litchfield City Council has approved of a resolution authorizing the municipal liquor store to sell lower-potency hemp edible products with Malinda Larson and Eric Mathwig opposing it. Store Manager Lori Lehar said she would wait to apply for a license from the state to sell the products until a federal decision is made regarding the legality of such products which is expected to come up within a couple of months.

The Council approved of a site plan and variance request to allow an expansion project to take place at Anderson Chemical at 405 South Hubbard Avenue. Greg Langmo from the Golden Fleece Lodge spoke to the Council about the shelter that his organization is hoping to start building next summer at South Park, and Julie Schrum spoke on behalf of pickle ball enthusiasts who are raising funds to make improvements at the park. A subcommittee of Council members – John Carlson, Darlene Kotelnicki and Eric Mathwig – will work with these two groups to determine placement of facilities within the park.

Also last night, Jesse Turck from 4594 Design spoke to the Litchfield City Council about the progress of the downtown façade grant program. He says 10 projects were approved at the Council’s August 3rd meeting and 7 more are expected to be approved at the next Council meeting. Intern Lydia Asmus also spoke to the Council about the projects she was working on over the summer at the City Office including improvements to communication between the City and residents, cemetery rules and pricing, and simplifying the City’s flowchart. She will be returning to college in Duluth soon for her junior year.