City Council Update -- April 21st Meeting

The City Council reviewed and approved the plans and specifications for the reconstruction of the airport runway, seal-coating the 2006 pavement and other miscellaneous improvements. The engineer's estimate is $1,489,843 including professional fees and contingency. Bids on this project are expected on May 20th. Both the Airport Commission and City Council are planning on meeting on May 21st to review the bids and award the project. Construction is expected to start around July 6, 2009.

Membership on the Park & Recreation Commission was discussed and recommended for a reduction from 7 to 5 members. The first reading of an ordinance to make this change was passed. Final passage is scheduled for May 5th.

In July 2009 the MN DOT will be starting a highway project between Butterfield and Windom. This project will require MN DOT to detour traffic for about two months through Windom on 16th Street and Lakeview Avenue. Please take care when driving these streets and watch out for children and other pedestrians.

A discussion on building permit fees was held with Jim Kartes, Building Inspector. An idea had been raised to lower building permit fees as a way to help stimulate building and remodeling. The City currently uses the 1994 State fee schedule and if changes were made to the fee schedule the State would likely require Windom to start charging permit fees for plumbing and HVAC projects and adopt the States 2003 fee schedule, both of these things would increase costs to homeowners, contractors and builders. The City Council voted to keep the current building permit fee schedule.

On April 29th the Utility Commission will host a presentation on wind energy at its upcoming meeting at 10:00 a.m. in the City Hall, Council Chamber. Council members and the public are welcome to attend. A Special City Council meeting will be posted as a majority of City Council members indicated they planned on attending.

Earlier in the year the City Council had discussed holding a public meeting in May 2009 to receive input on the 2010 budget and community priorities. The State legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 18th; however, without a budget bill close to being passed by the House, Senate and signed by the Governor it is likely that the legislative session will last beyond the May 18 adjournment date. Due to this situation the status of Local Government Aid (LGA) payments to the City will be unknown. The Council decided to wait until its May 19th meeting before setting a date for a public input meeting on the 2010 budget. The City's e-mail address (mailto:savewindommoney@windom-mn.com) to solicit comments is still active. Copies of the budget summary and line-by-line 2009 budget is on the web site, so please e-mail us with your comments.

Spring Clean-up will be this weekend (April 25th) for those with regular garbage pick-up on Thursdays and May 2nd for those with a regular garbage pick-up on Fridays. Please take advantage of this opportunity to toss out old, unused and junk items. Outdoor storage of items often leads to complaints by citizens to the Police Department and City Building Department. Following the Spring Clean-up weekends the City will be more actively enforcing the existing nuisance ordinances.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the nice Spring weather.

Happy Easter

April 7th City Council Update
The agenda for the City Council was full of action items for this meeting. The City Council took the following actions:

• Approved Access and Easement Agreement with Consolidated Ready Mix


• Approved a required Workplace Accident & Injury Reduction (AWAIR) Program


• Approved a Dance Permit for the Firefighter's Dance on April 18th at the Community Ctr.


• Approved the City's annual insurance renewal with the League of Minnesota Cities


• Rejected Seal-coat bids -- item referred back to the Street Committee


• Approved a Pre-Sale Bonding Resolution for $1,510,000 for the 2009 Street Project


• Authorized the execution of a grant agreement with the FAA for the runway recon project


• Authorized the application for federal COPS grant funding for the Police Department


• Accepted three donations to the City of Windom


• Approved the Disposition of Surplus Equipment
  

Spring Clean-up

Windom's Spring Clean-up will be held on April 25th and May 2nd. If your normal garbage collection day is Thursday your Spring Clean-up collection will be April 25th. If your normal garbage collection day is Friday your Spring Clean-up collection will be May 2nd. Please note that all items must be curbside by 6:00 a.m. the day of collection. The following link will take you to a page with additional information about Spring Clean-up and recycling options -- http://www.windom-mn.com/community/documents/Windom%20Spring%20Cleaning.pdfThe City Council encourages everyone to take advantage of Spring Clean-up to spruce up our community.

2009 Street Project - Update

The general contractor for the project is anticipating starting the week of April 27th or May 4th depending upon the weather. In the next couple of weeks City crews, engineers and utility providers will be in the project area to stake and mark services.

Congressman Walz Visits Windom

On April 8th Congressman Walz and his staff visited Windom to discuss the potential of federal funding for the development of the North Windom Industrial Park and to help us promote the expansion of broadband in SW Minnesota. The Congressman met with Windom City Council members Jean Fast, Bob Messer and myself, city staff and numerous representatives of surrounding communities that are seeking to access federal stimulus funding to provide for the expansion of ultra-high speed broadband.

St. Patrick's Day

2009 Street Project Action
At the March 3rd meeting the City Council voted unanimously to award the 2009 Street Project bid to Hjerpe Construction for the concrete option in the amount of $1,158,295. This amount was 15% below the engineer's estimate, which will result in lower assessments to property owners and less debt financing. The City also received good news from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN DOT) that funding for the bridge over Perkin's Creek on 4th Avenue will be funded by State bridge monies. Both of these projects will be underway this construction season.

March 17 City Council Meeting
Several maintenance and improvement items are on the agenda (http://www.windom-mn.com/) for discussion. These include the annual street maintenance program for crack-filling and seal-coating, re-construction of a taxiway at the airport and pavement maintenance at the airport.

Federal Economic Stimulus - Potential Windom Projects
The City Council will also be discussing two possible federal stimulus projects. One of the projects would provide for the total reconstruction of Windom's Municipal Airport runway. The runway has been classified by the MN DOT and FAA officials as in poor\fair condition so Windom would rank highly in competition for federal stimulus funds. If these funds are awarded approximately $1,275,000 in federal funds cover 100% of the runway reconstruction project costs. The second federal economic stimulus project involves the expansion of broadband\telecommunications service for rural communities in SW Minnesota. While these two projects are moving along we are still working with our federal and state legislators to determine if other programs or funding are available for large capital projects like a new fire hall or development of the North Windom Industrial Park.

Upcoming City Council Meeting Schedule
Regular Meetings on April 7th & 21st and May 5th at 7:30 p.m.
Special Meeting on May 11, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. --- Board of Review

March 3, 2009 General Update

2009 Street Project
Tonight the City Council will be considering whether or not to proceed with the 2009 Street Improvement Project. The bidding environment for this project was good. Windom recieved six bids for this project and all of them were under the engineer's estimates. The apparent low bidder was Hjerpe Construction with a bid of $1,144,320 for the bituminous option and $1,158,295 for the concrete option.

Spring Clean-up Fee
On the City utility bills that we all recieved in the mail this week included a new $1.00 month fee for residential properties. The money collected through this fee will be utilized to pay for the annual Spring Clean-up. This year the Spring Clean-up will be held on April 25th and May 2nd (depending on your garbage pick up day). More information will be available in late-March or early-April.

2008 Annual Report
The City Council will be recieving the 2008 Annual Report on March 3rd. This report contains a wealth of information and statistics regarding City services and utilities. After the report is accepted by the City Council it will be posted on the City's web site (http://www.windom-mn.com/).

SaveWindomMoney@windom-mn.com
You may have read or heard about the City Council's efforts to gather public input regarding the City's budget. If you have ideas on how to reduce the budget, prioritize services or generate additional revenue please send us an e-mail. The City Council is planning a special public meeting to further discuss the City's 2009 budget and outlook for 2010 at a meeting in May 2009.

City Budget Update - February 18, 2009

The City Council continues to work on revisions to the 2009 City budget due to reductions in Local Government Aid (LGA) from the State of Minnesota. LGA makes up about 50% of the revenue for the General Fund and the balance of the revenue is from property taxes and fees\charges.

The General Fund is responsible for Public Safety (Police, Fire, Animal Control and Emergency Management), Streets, City Office & City Hall, Recreation & Parks and Building\Zoning. Of these accounts Public Safety comprises about 42% of the General Fund budget, Streets comprises 24% and Parks & Recreation comprises 12%.

In December 2008 the State of Minnesota cut $110,120 from the 2008 LGA payment to the City of Windom. In 2009 the Governor has proposed cuts to LGA that would reduce the LGA payment to Windom by $144,462. Unfortunately, the proposed cut to 2010 LGA is even deeper with a $301,663 reduction in Windom's share of LGA. In March 2009 the State of Minnesota will get an updated financial condition report from the Department of Revenue. It is largely anticipated that this March forecast will show a weaker State economy and larger State budget deficit approaching $7 Billion. If this information is correct the cuts to LGA may well be deeper than the Governor's proposal.

The City Council will continue to look for savings; however, to plan for the large LGA cuts significant changes to the City budget and operations will be necessary. At the February 17th City Council meeting the Council approved the reduction of all part-time help at the Parks Department. This action will impact the ability to maintain our parks to the high standards we have enjoyed in the past. All efforts will be made to minimize these impacts.

To assist the City Council with discussions on City revenues and expenses there will be additional opportunities for public input and comment. In the upcoming week or two the City will launch an on-line tool where the public can submit their ideas related to changes in the City's budget and\or operations. We will work with the local media to get this information out to you. Additionally, the Council is planning for a public meeting in May 2009. Hopefully, by May we will know more about the LGA revenues from the State and have a clearer target for the 2010 budgeting process.

Welcome to the Mayor's Blog

On behalf of the citizens of Windom, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our community.

Windom is a progressive community that delivers big city services with a small town feel. Businesses such as agriculture, manufacturing, financial institutions and elder care facilities are our main employers. WindomNet, our “fiber to the home” city owned telecommunications system, has been in operation for nearly two years now and continues to show solid growth. Telecommunications infrastructure is the future – We are able to deliver the future right now!

Our website has been completely rebuilt. We have put considerable thought into how this website can best serve our citizens, visitors, businesses and potential new businesses. We have placed an emphasis on making as much of our city services available online as possible. You will be able to get information and forms concerning youth activities, signing up for city services, including WindomNet, as well as job postings and city ordinances. You can even nominate a citizen for the Mayor’s Medal of Honor, online. City Council agendas and meeting minutes will all be available, allowing citizens to become more involved in the management of our city. I will be making use of my Mayor’s BLOG to try to keep our citizens up-to-date on city business.

While you are in Windom take advantage of our outstanding park system, swimming pool, community center and school activities. Our local Chamber of Commerce hosts several events throughout the year, including RiverFest. These are just a few of Windom’s attractions. We hope you will take a little time to explore all aspects of our community.

I want to thank you for your interest in the City of Windom, if you have any comments or concerns feel free to contact me at WindomMayor@windomnet.com.
Once again, Welcome to Windom!

Mayor Tom Riordan