Construction Update
Summer is definitely here as the amount of road construction reaches its peak. In Windom the 2009 Street Project is progressing on schedule with work currently being done on the south end of 4th Avenue between the Perkins Creek Bridge and 16th Street. In addition, work is underway on Langley and 3rd Avenue. This week a section of the new 4th Avenue from Tanglewood Apartments to Highway 71 was re-opened for public use.

On July 7 the MN DOT started their project on State Highway 60 between Windom and Butterfield. The Highway 60 detour runs on 16th Street and Lakeview through Windom. This detour goes by the Windom Recreation Area and residential areas so please be aware of the new stop signs and pedestrians.

The $1.5 million runway reconstruction and maintenance project at the Windom Airport will start on July 13. As such, the Windom Airport will be closed from July 13 to approximately September 18.

2010 Budget
On June 17 the Governor announced the State's unallotments of Local Government Aid (LGA) to balance the State's budget and address their $4.6 billion deficit. For Windom this means a loss of about $94,000 in 2009 LGA and about $219,000 in 2010 LGA. The City's administrative staff and Department Heads have just started to draft the 2010 budgets. The City Council will likely begin our discussions in mid-late August. Due to the cuts in State aid and the need to keep local tax rates within the levy limits there will be difficult decisions regarding the provision of municipal services. The City Council appreciates public input and encourages your attendance at the upcoming budget meetings.

Federal Grants Update
The City of Windom has submitted competitive grant applications for four public safety projects. These include COPS funding to help support the Police Department, Assistance to Firefighter's funding for a county-wide communications system, Assistance to Firefighter's funding for a new rescue truck (to replace the existing 20-year old unit) and Assistance to Firefighter's funding to help construct an expanded Fire Hall. All of these federal grant opportunities are through the 2009 Federal Stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed by the President in February 2009. Should the City of Windom receive monies for any of these projects it will help strengthen the emergency services within the community and benefit the local taxpayers by minimizing the amount of local dollars needed to accomplish these important projects.