On Monday evening, the Litchfield City Council approved of the municipal liquor store selling THC products on a 5-to-2 vote. The State of Minnesota will have to approve of the request to sell lower-potency hemp edible products.
Mayor Ron Dingmann says the request from the Liquor Store staff came up a month ago, but the Council tabled action at that time in order for Council members to gather public input on the issue. He says it was democracy at work as each Council member gave their opinions on the matter Monday evening.
Mayor Dingmann says the Council also approved of a contract on Monday evening with Rum River Consultants of St. Francis for building inspection services and approved of a fee schedule. He says a public hearing is needed to update the city’s ordinance in regard to the building inspection fees, so that is scheduled for September 21st.
Mayor Dingmann says the Council had a visit from Greg Langmo regarding the Masons shelter which is to be built at South Park and from Julie Schrum regarding fundraising efforts for pickle ball courts at South Park, and a group of Council members – John Carlson, Darlene Kotelnicki and Eric Mathwig – will be meeting with them to determine the lay-out of facilities in the park. He says the Council also had a report from summer intern Lydia Asmus about the projects she worked on the past 3 months; heard a report from Jesse Turck of 4594 Design regarding the progress of the downtown façade grant program; and approved of a site plan review and variance request for Anderson Chemical regarding an addition of over 27,000 square feet to their campus at 405 South Hubbard Avenue.
The Meeker County Board of Commissioners has moved to approve of a resolution providing for the issuance and sale of gross revenue hospital facilities notes (series A, B, C, and D), and authorizing the execution of related documents. There is no direct financial impact to the County. The proposed debt of about $30,000,000 will be funded through the Hospital’s operating revenues.
Meeker Memorial CEO Mary Ellen Wells says construction on the addition is expected to begin August 24th, with a ground-breaking event in September. She says the total project cost is now estimated at $55-million. Meeker Memorial CFO Tyler Ulseth directed the Commissioners through the various financial agreements with a slide presentation.
The County Board approved of the local bridge replacement program grant agreement with MnDOT related to state funding for the County-State-Aid-Highway 26 Bridge. Meeker County Public Works was successful in acquiring state bridge funds for the replacement of the bridge over the South Fork of the Crow River. The State funds require an agreement between MnDOT and Meeker County. Structural Specialties of Hutchinson was awarded the bid for the project. Public Works has acquired $494,455 in state funds to assist in paying for the $1.21-million project. Remaining funds will be sourced through Meeker County’s County-State-Aid-Highway construction account.
The Commissioners approved of an amendment to a joint powers agreement with the State of Minnesota for work release. The agreement allows the Meeker County Jail to accept boarders from the State of Minnesota Department of Corrections – Work Release Unit. The agreement establishes guidelines for offenders to qualify for boarding, and the reimbursement rate for boarding. This is an amendment to the current contract increasing the amount of the contract from $150,000 to $250,000.
The County Board moved to approve of the purchase of a marked squad vehicle at $50,869.20 from Tenvoorde Ford for the boat and water patrol; approved of a 6-year interim use permit for aggregate mining and processing at a property in Section 27 of Cosmos Township; approved of the solicitation of a new contract for the operation of the demolition landfill and transfer station; and approved of a county administrator position profile as a search firm is assisting the County Board in the process of recruiting a new administrator to replace Andrew Letson as he will be leaving in mid-October to become the Stearns County Administrator. Pat Melvin from DDA Human Resources of Minneapolis spoke to the Board about the recruitment process.
On Sunday afternoon 5:20 P.M., the Cold Spring-Richmond Police Department was called for an overdue motorcyclist. A family member reported that 52-year-old Kelli Jo Gauthier of Avon had been riding her motorcycle with a group of other riders and left the group to go back to her residence north of the city of Avon. After two hours of checking the area, family members called law enforcement. Gauthier was said to be riding her 2008 Harley-Davidson XL1200. At approximately 6 P.M., a Cold Spring-Richmond Officer located Gauthier and the motorcycle crashed in the ditch, off the sweeping left-hand curve in the 25500 block of County Road 9 in Munson Township. This location is about 1-to-2 miles north of Richmond. Lifesaving measures were attempted but Gauthier was ultimately pronounced deceased by paramedics. Alcohol is not suspected to be a factor. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Cold Spring-Richmond Police Department, Paynesville Police Department, Chain of Lakes Fire Department and Mayo Clinic Ambulance.