BLUE EARTH– Two construction bids and the first draft of an updated Business Subsidy Policy were all on the agenda at the Blue Earth City Council meeting on Monday.

City engineer Ben Rosol presented the council with the bids for the 2025 Bituminous Seal Coat project.

“We received two bids for this project, one from Asphalt Service Technologies Corporation (ASTECH Corp.), and the other from Pearson Bros.,” Rosol shared. “ASTECH Corp. was the low bid at $95,558.70, while Pearson Bros. were the high bid at $106,760.20. We have worked with ASTECH Corp. in the past, and we recommend awarding them the bid.”

Following some discussion, a motion was made and seconded to accept the low bid from ASTECH Corp. in the amount of $95,558.70. The motion was passed unanimously.

Rosol also presented the council with the bids for the 2025 Lead Service Line Replacement project.

“We received four bids for this project, with the low bid coming from Northern Pipeline Construction at the total amount of $1,656,738,” Rosol explained. “This project will be removing and replacing lead water services in over 140 locations around Blue Earth, and the estimated starting date is in fall 2025.”

Hearing no further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to accept the low bid from Northern Pipeline Construction in the amount of $1,656,738. The motion was passed unanimously.

EDA specialist Amy Schaefer presented the council with a draft for an updated Business Subsidy Policy.

“The last update that the city made to our Business Subsidy Policy was back in 1999, so we’re due for an update,” Schaefer commented. “I’ve created this updated draft with some assistance from Baker Tilly, and I’m open to suggestions from the council for additions and changes.”

Mayor Rick Scholtes raised a question about how to proceed with approving the updated policy once it was finalized.

“Will we need to hold a public meeting in order to approve this policy once the draft is finalized?” Scholtes asked. “I don’t think we do, but I’m just asking to make sure.”

“We probably don’t, but I don’t think it would be a bad idea to hold one anyway,” city attorney David Frundt responded. “That way, our bases would be covered in the event that we did need to hold one.”

No action was taken on the policy draft at the meeting, but an agreement was reached to add the finalized draft to the agenda at the next City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 4.

Other business discussed at the City Council meting included:

— The hiring of Jonathan Auringer as a full-time police officer for the Blue Earth Police Department was unanimously approved. His starting date will be Aug. 17.

— Ordinance 25-01 to amend City Code Section 1030.03 was unanimously approved.

— The first reading of Ordinance 25-02 to authorize charges for Emergency Services was held. The second reading will take place at the next City Council meeting on Aug. 4, where the ordinance will be up for approval.

— A travel request from the Blue Earth Fire Department for four of their firefighters to attend the Minnesota State Fire Department Association’s Annual Conference & Fire School was unanimously approved.

— Second quarter 2025 donations to the General Fund in the total amount of $13,259.86 were unanimously approved.