BLUE EARTH– Blue Earth City Hall will now be closing at 3 p.m. on Fridays, thanks to a decision made at the Blue Earth City Council meeting on Monday.

City administrator Dawn Collins presented the council with a request to update the current office hours of City Hall.

“Currently, City Hall is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,” Collins explained. “I would like the council to consider closing the office to the public early on Friday afternoons, as it would allow greater flexibility for both me and the staff, and allow us to schedule more meetings without interruptions.”

Collins clarified that members of the public who needed assistance on Friday afternoons could still be accommodated via a scheduled appointment, or by working staff at the drive through, which would remain open until 5 p.m.

“When we decided to close the old City Hall building at noon on Fridays in the past, we did it for security reasons,” council member Ann Hanna remarked. “The public deserves to have access to City Hall all week long during normal work hours, as security is no longer an issue in our current building.”

Following some further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to change City Hall’s office hours to only be open until 3 p.m. on Fridays. The motion was passed 6-1, with Hanna in dissent.

Other business discussed at the City Council meeting included:

— At the work session held prior to the City Council meeting, city administrator Dawn Collins led a discussion about the General Fund portion of the 2026 budget. The Truth in Taxation Hearing, which will go further into detail about the 2026 budget and tax levy, will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1.

— City engineer Ben Rosol presented the council with an update on Blue Earth Light & Water’s (BELW) West Industrial Park Expansion project and their application for the Innovative Business Development Public Infrastructure (BDPI) grant. No formal action was taken at the meeting, as the resolution to approve applying for the BDPI grant was not yet ready to present for approval, but survey work will be commencing on the West Industrial Park Expansion project.

— A kennel contract with New Chances Humane Society was approved 6-0, with council member John Huisman abstaining from the vote.

— Resolution 25-34 ratifying the sale of Electric Revenue Bonds Series 2025A in the amount of $9,500,000 to BELW was unanimously approved.

— Resolution 25-36 selling residential parcel 21.577.0670 (926 Galbraith Street South) to Jason and Stephanie Stine at a price of $100 was approved unanimously.

— Resolution 25-37 selling commercial parcel 21.200.7471 (116 Sixth Street West) to Paul More at a price of $7,100 was approved unanimously.

— Resolution 25-35 designating City Hall as the new polling place location for the city of Blue Earth was unanimously approved.

— A motion to accept the resignation letter of Public Works maintenance worker Jake Berndt was unanimously approved. Berndt’s resignation is effective starting Dec. 1, 2025.

— City attorney David Frundt provided updates on the properties located at 716 Third Street East and 1006 Fifth Street East. Following discussion, a motion was made and seconded to set a public hearing date on Monday, Dec. 15 for the Third Street property, and to move ahead with an abatement to acquire the property. The motion was passed unanimously. No action was taken on the Fifth Street property.