CEYLON — On Tuesday the Ceylon City Council heard from The Helping Hands of Ceylon group, which reported on the progress and remodeling of the bathrooms in the shelter house at the park and showed council members pictures of the bathrooms before and after the work was done. The group has applied for grants for four doors, two steel doors, lighting in the bathrooms and a larger cabinet to store supplies which could be $10,000. They must have matching funds and have planned for fundraisers. There was a list of supplies and equipment requested from the City’s park budget by the group and the Council approved using some of the park budgeted money for that list of things needed at the shelter house. The list included some brooms and dust pans, buckets, paint, mops, trash cans, door knobs and cabinets. The group asked to use the shelter house at the park for a Halloween and Trunk & Treat event on Oct. 28. The council approved their use of the shelter house but not the bathrooms since the water is shut off by that time of year

to prevent freezing pipes. The group stated that they could rent a port-o-potty.

The council also discussed the action that should be taken about ordinance violations of properties in Ceylon. Councilor Perkins volunteered to contact the Sheriff’s office again. Perkins also reported on the progress about the Main Street buildings that need to be demolished. She has not been able to contact the owner of one of the buildings and the county recorder provided some information that the council may use to demolish that building since the owner cannot be contacted. There is a plan for a meeting next week with the owners of the three buildings, Ceylon City Council, MnDOT, the County and Engineers. The City attorney will be contacted since no taxes have been paid for over four years on one building.

In further business:

— Tthe council approved the preliminary 2024 budget plans with a 7.75 levy and a 5.45 percent for budget.

— The tree removal bid of $3050 was approved.

— The council approved starting the paperwork to demolish the Lubben house, which is not inhabitable and hazardous, which would be first to transfer ownership to the City.

The City employee reported that the Sentence to Serve group would be cleaning up the brush, weeds and small trees around the approximately eight abandoned houses in Ceylon as much as they could do.

— The Lake Belt Cemetery issue was discussed and the MN Cities under a certain population has a limit of $10,000 that can be used at a cemetery. The City spends $5,000 for mowing now. The council discussed using some of the invested money to help the cemetery this year. This will be discussed at the next meeting since the cemetery committee was not at the meeting that night.

— The maintenance schedule for City equipment was brought up and that will have to be discussed at a later meeting.

The next meeting of the Ceylon City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 at Ceylon City Hall.