CEYLON — The Ceylon City Council met on Tuesday evening and discussed issues at the Ceylon Post Office. The access to mail is very unfair to the citizens and against their rights. The City is being blamed when it is not their fault. Nothing is done to fix things that are broken and it has been closed due to vandalism which leaves the residents without time to get their mail. The residents who work cannot get to the post office to get their mail since it is open only from 8 a.m. to noon weekdays and 8-9 a.m. on Saturdays and the door is locked after those hours with no access to the lobby and mail boxes. The council will suggest residents write to the St. Paul Post Office and their congressmen to alleviate the problem with more hours available. A suggestion that some residents may be in charge of locking the post office lobby and door was made. The council has heard many complaints concerning this problem and has not seen any cooperation about the mail delivery in the town.

The discussion about the forfeited properties to be on the sale of properties that have no taxes paid will be continued at the next meeting. There is a 60 day time limit and some properties may be added. The seal coat bids will also be discussed at the next meeting since not all the information was available.

The council addressed the use of water by farmers from the City water supply. Some farmers are very good about writing down the gallons and some are not. The discussion of a meter costing $1,500, locking the pipes with a combination to open the lock and installing a camera were all mentioned. The council also decided to write a letter denying the farmer access to the water that has been warned before about stealing water by not writing the correct amount of gallons down that has been taken by him.

Councilor Oelke reported the fire association had a meeting. The Association reported a $1,000+ from the Ceylon sale this spring. They fixed the one wall and plan to fix the north wall. They need to buy batteries for some equipment and are looking into an enclosed trailer for Jaws of Life and other uses.

In other action:

— The council approved issuing a liquor license for the Lake Belt Bar and Grill for 2024-2025.

— The council approved the Rural Service District list of farms that do not have utilities but are in Ceylon city boundaries for less taxes. The hearing is scheduled for the next meeting of the council.

— The council approved the ordinance for mobile homes and recreational vehicles in the city to be 12 feet from the street, to be operable, to be parked on concrete or asphalt and that they are not used as a residence and/or have permanent utility hook ups.

— The council discussed the $60,000 offered by MnDOT to demolish the three buildings downtown that may be hazardous and fix the sidewalk by them.

— The council reported several (30) ordinance violations that must have a citation presented by the Sheriff’s Department and hope they will be served soon. The City Attorney has not accounted for any progress in those violations either. A council member will contact him.

— The council was reminded that budget concerns will be discussed in the coming months and any comments should be reported early to help get the budget made well.

— The City employee reported that two 10 inch tiles were connected to the sewer from the storm sewer years ago. This is posing a problem in the sewer system and the intake for those tiles must be found and cut off if possible.

The council went into closed session to discuss employee evaluations.

The next meeting of the Ceylon City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 9 at at Ceylon City Hall.