BLUE EARTH– A reversal on the council’s previous decision regarding police presence at City Council meetings was top of the agenda at the Blue Earth City Council meeting on Monday.

Council Member John Huisman presented the council with his argument for having an officer present at City Council meetings.

“We’ve talked about it a lot tonight, but our role as city officials is to keep our community safe,” Huisman remarked. “Having a police officer present at these meetings provides a sense of comfort and safety for everyone in attendance.”

Mayor Rick Scholtes offered some pushback on the issue, questioning the security of other city meetings and whether this policy should apply to all of them, rather than just City Council meetings.

“My question is, where do we draw the line in having officers at city meetings?” Scholtes asked. “None of the other boards and committees in town have a police officer present at their meetings, and not all of them meet in City Hall like we do, so their meetings are at more risk than ours.”

“You make a good point, and I think those boards and committees should have the chance to benefit from increased security as well,” Huisman responded. “If they don’t feel safe in their current meeting spaces, we could allow them to host meetings here instead.”

Following some further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to reinstate having a police officer present at all future City Council meetings, as well as extending the question to all of the other boards and commissions in the city as to whether they would like an officer present at their own meetings, and if so, they could choose to move their meeting location to City Hall.

The motion was passed unanimously by the council.

Other business discussed at the City Council meeting included:

— Public Works director and interim city administrator Jamie Holland presented the council with the bids from the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the construction of a new cold storage unit for joint use by the Blue Earth Police Department and the Public Works Department. Following discussion, a motion was made and seconded to accept the bid from Bruellman Construction in the amount of $75,027.86. The motion was passed unanimously.

— Library director Heidi Schutt presented the council with the results of their RFP for Design Services for the revamp of the interior design and layout of the Blue Earth Community Library, which is scheduled to begin in 2026. Following discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve awarding the project to Bolton & Menk to provide design services for a lump sum of $19,000. The motion was passed unanimously.

— Resignation letters from Andrew Thorson of the Blue Earth Police Department and Marcus Mittelstadt of the Blue Earth Fire Department were both unanimously approved. Mittelstadt’s last day was on April 30, and Thorson’s final day will be July 14.

— A solicitor permit for The Sweet Fix was unanimously approved.

— The hirings of Kendrick Bates, Jeramy Truax, Cole Beyer, Gavin Hledik, and Blake Redepenning to the Blue Earth Fire Department were all unanimously approved.