The front of the Three Sisters buildings is shown on the left. Demolition is due to begin soon, with the county covering the costs.

The Faribault County Board of Commissioners has agreed to help the city of Blue Earth finance the demolition of the Three Sisters buildings on Main Street, but not until next year.

Blue Earth Mayor Rick Scholtes and City Manager Mary Kennedy came to the County Board meeting on August 6 and asked the county to consider allocating $64,800 from the Commercial Demolition Fund to demolish three commercial properties on Blue Earth’s Main Street.

“We have a low bid of $164,800 from G&S Drainage and Excavating to demolish the buildings,” said Scholtes. “The city will fund the remaining $100,000 of demolition costs not covered by the county. The demolition is necessary to ensure public safety and to allow for future redevelopment of the site. The city recently purchased the site from Project 3 Sisters and paid the unpaid property taxes.”

The motion to approve the funding was made by Commissioner John Roper and seconded by Commissioner Greg Young, placing the matter under discussion.

“The city has demolished many properties on its own initiative,” explained Scholtes. “We would like to repair and restore these buildings, but they are beyond repair.”

“We are planning to redevelop the site, but we have no plans yet,” added Kennedy. “A community survey has shown that people welcome redevelopment of the site. Given the existing housing shortage, it would be nice if whatever is built on the site could accommodate some second-floor apartments.”

Young pointed out that the city received a very reasonable offer to demolish the buildings, but Commissioner Tom Loveall still had some reservations.

“In my opinion, our policy is to help with demolition work on tax-defaulted properties,” Loveall commented. “My concern is that this does not fit the parameters of our policy.”

Commissioner Bruce Anderson also expressed his thoughts.

“I fear that demolishing the building could cost a lot more if we wait until it becomes a tax-forfeited property,” said Anderson.

Scholtes pointed out that the property technically originally reverted to the city due to taxes when the South Dakota group transferred the property to the city in 2014.

“If the city had not recently purchased the buildings, they would have been returned to the county in another two years,” said Kennedy.

Chairman Bill Gros-Kreutz said the real problem was the availability of funds.

“We do not have enough money in our budget to make this payment this year,” explained Groskreutz. “I would suggest that we pass this for fiscal year 2025 so that we can include it in next year’s budget and revise and clarify our policy. If we do that, the money will not be available until after January 1, 2025.”

After clarifying that the money would indeed be available after New Year’s, Scholtes said the city could manage it.

The board passed an amendment to the motion by a vote of 4 to 1. Then the fully amended motion to make the funds available next year passed by a vote of 4 to 1, with Loveall voting no on both occasions.

County Engineer April Wellman attended the meeting to briefly update the board on road and bridge projects in the county.

“Work on the County Road 2 bridge west of Kiester is progressing,” Wellman said. “The road is open now, but it will not be paved until the County Road 1 bridge is completed and ready for paving. Work on the County Road 1 bridge is scheduled to begin in late August.”

Wellman told commissioners that the Town of Kiester has decided to only do work on town streets this year and postpone work on County Roads 58/64 within the town until next year.

“They were concerned that construction on county roads could affect the harvest, as these roads lead to the granary in the city,” Wellman told the council.

Wellman also reported that the sealing projects will be completed by the end of July and striping will begin in early to mid-August.

“The markings you may have seen on County Road 16 are actually part of the Interstate 90 project, as the county road is part of the detour during road construction,” Wellman commented.

Wellman concluded by informing commissioners that the 2023 annual report was ready and that she intended to discuss the report with the board at the next meeting.

During the board committee’s report, Anderson updated the other commissioners on the county’s two parks.

“Overnight rates at Woods Lake Park will rise from $20 to $25,” said Anderson. “Seasonal rates at Pihls Lake Park will increase from $2,000 per year to $2,250 per year.”

Anderson noted that there was a problem with some people not paying their fees.

“We are updating the payment terms so that seasonal campers have to pay their costs in advance,” Anderson said. “Half of the total fee must be paid by February 1st and the other half by April 1st. If the first deposit is not received by February 1st, the space will be forfeited and released for weekend reservations.”

The seasonal rate for Woods Lake Park is $1,500 and the winter storage rate for both parks is $100.

“The winter camp fee must be paid in full by October 15th,” Anderson commented. “If no payment is received by November 15, the motorhome will be towed.”

Cleanliness requirements were also addressed by the Park Board Committee. Campers must keep their site clean and free of trash. Those who violate the rules will receive two verbal notices and then a written notice, giving campers 30 days to clean their site.

“If the premises are not cleaned to the satisfaction of the Park Manager within 30 days of written request, violators will be asked to leave, their season payment will be forfeited, and they may be barred from future season bookings.”

Pihls Park has 46 locations, including 23 new seasonal locations, while Woods Lake has 29 locations.

In addition, the Board has done the following:

• Reviewed the quarterly report for the Sentence to Serve program.

• Approval for the signing of a contract with Vanguard Appraisals Inc. for software and setup fees that will automate some tasks in the County Assessor’s office. The one-time setup fee is $950 and the annual fee is $250.

• A motion to hire Delaine Netzel-Shaffer as a part-time typist in the Recorder’s office was adopted.

• Approved a motion to appoint Commissioners Young and Loveall to the 2024 Election Canvassing Committee and set 10 a.m. on August 16 in the Courthouse Chambers as the time and place for the August 13 primary election.

• Approved a motion to set 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 12, in the Courthouse Chambers as the time and place for the Board of Elections to meet for the November 5 general election.

• Approved the training requests of Vincent Do of the Sheriff’s Department to attend the Constitutional Policing, Bias Motivated Crimes, and M2M American Change seminars.

• The training request of Todd Hanevik, an employee of the Sheriff’s Department, to attend the Jail Administrators Conference and Jacob Peterson, also of the Sheriff’s Department, to attend the Law Enforcement Labor Services 2024 Annual Training were approved.

• Merissa Lore, Dustin Anderson and Luke Schonborn of the Faribault County Drainage Department were granted requests to attend the Minnesota Association of Drainage Inspectors conference.