The Songs of Summer Festival cash raffle drawing was held Friday night in the midst of the Fabulous Armadillos concert in Memorial Park in Litchfield. The winners of $500 each included: Monica Schreiber, Ricky Larios, and Philip Baalson.
Jake & Bella Jones won $200. Rory Paulson won $100. The winners of $50 each included:
David Carlson, Samantha Movall, Mark Kruse and Shelly Fjelstad.
The Litchfield City Council covered several items of business on Monday evening. The meeting began with a Tax Increment Financing public hearing.
Mayor Ron Dingmann says no one from the public spoke during the hearing and the Council approved of the TIF district at 415 South Ramsey Avenue for the 60-unit, $11.9-million Midtown Lofts housing project. He says Hannah Rybek reviewed the 11 conditions for the planned unit development from the Planning Commission and the Council approved the PUD.
Mayor Dingmann says the Council approved of revised by-laws for the Fire Relief Assn. and approved of switching their retirement from the Minnesota State Board of Investment to the Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Dept. He says the Council also approved of the Litchfield Area Recreation Center joint agreement with the Litchfield School District.
Mayor Dingmann says the Council had a lengthy discussion about the levy increase for 2025 which will be discussed further next month as the preliminary levy and budget is presented. He says the amount they choose in September can always be lowered when the final levy is set in December.
The Meeker County Board of Commissioners has approved of a proposal from MEI Total Elevator Solutions for $91,755.68 and Hamlin Construction for $27,785 for an elevator modernization upgrade project at the Court House in Litchfield. The 2024 budget includes $95,000 for this project with the balance to be funded through the capital projects fund.
The Board also approved of a proposal from All City Elevator, Inc. in the amount of $96,907 and Hamlin Construction in the amount of $26,707 for an elevator modernization upgrade project at the Health & Human Services Building. The 2024 budget included $98,000 for this project with the balance to be covered by the Family Services Building Fund.
The Commissioners approved of the Prime Health insurance rates for non-union employees for 2025. The overall average approximate increase across all plans is 3.6%. The Commissioners also approved of the appointment of Michelle Bekkala of Dassel to the Meeker Memorial Hospital Board.
Students in the Litchfield School District will be heading back to classes soon as school resumes right after Labor Day. This is the first year in Litchfield for new Superintendent Susan Burris.
Burris took over as Superintendent on July 1st. She grew up in Paynesville, spent 3 years at Moorhead State, then finished college in San Diego, California and taught first grade and Title-1 for several years. She returned to Minnesota – getting her educational leadership degree at St. Mary’s in St. Paul and her Superintendent degree from St. Cloud State University. She was a principal at Albany Elementary School and an assistant superintendent at Cambridge-Isanti.
Burris says she was most recently employed at the Regional Center of Excellence – a service cooperative in Sartell for 12 years. She says she is looking forward to bringing changes to Litchfield while respecting the past history of the District.
Burris says new staff training is taking place this week, then there will be staff workshops next week, and all of the back-to-school information was mailed to families, but can also be found on the Litchfield School District website. She says the construction of new tennis courts and the parking lot and entrance behind Litchfield High School is nearing completion.