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Council OKs parade permit

FAIRMONT — An event permit for the annual Glows parade was approved by the Fairmont City Council on Monday.

The parade, which kicks off the holiday season, is set for 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16.

Parade line-up starts at 5:15 p.m. at Ward Park. The procession will head north through Downtown Plaza and continue on North North Avenue, ending at Lincoln Park.

During this time, Albion Avenue from Webster Street to Woodland Avenue and Tilden Street from Park Street to Albion Avenue will be blocked off due to traffic and safety concerns.

Turning to another matter, the council heard a report on the local child care shortage from Landon McKay, business development specialist with First Children’s Finance, an organization funded by the Department of Human Services that provides loans and business development assistance to build and maintain child care services. First Children’s Finance has been working with Linsey Preuss, city economic development coordinator, and a core group of stakeholders to identify any underlying problems causing the child care shortage and to remedy those problems.

McKay’s analysis of about 300 local survey responses indicated a shortage of 172 child care slots for children under age 5 in Martin County. Fairmont has a deficiency of 81 spots, with the next largest gaps being Sherburn at 26, Ceylon at 25 and Granada at 22. There are no available slots for infants or toddlers.

Martin County is not unique with 26 percent of Minnesota having no access to child care in surrounding cities.

“It’s called a ‘quiet crisis’ because nobody’s talking about it,” McKay said.

A town hall meeting for all interested parties, from child care providers to employers, will be held 6-9 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Fairmont Holiday Inn. Anyone who would like to take part in the discussion may RSVP at fairmonttownhall.eventbrite.com

In other business, the council:

o Approved requesting that properties in the city forfeited for nonpayment of property taxes be sold or conveyed to the city. Each year, Martin County offers such properties to the city first. If the property is blighted or uninhabitable, the city will raze the structure. This year, the city requested seven properties: 512 N. Elm St., 1206 N. Elm St., 110 Webster St., 714 N. North Ave., 406 N. Elm St., 606 N. Prairie and 415 E. Sixth St.

o Approved hiring Bolton & Menk for $110,500 to design the Margaret Street trail extension. The original grant for the project, which will connect Margaret Street with Torgerson Drive, was increased from $408,000 to $430,000 to help compensate for the cost of the pedestrian bridge required to cross Center Creek. Total cost of the project is anticipated to be $950,000, with construction to begin in 2020.

o Reported on the Sept. 24 closed session to evaluate the job performance of Elizabeth Bloomquist, city attorney. Mayor Debbie Foster said the council was very satisfied with Bloomquist’s overall performance, and some concerns were discussed in the review.

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