BLUE EARTH– A public hearing for the South Linton Area Street & Utility Improvement project and the Truth in Taxation hearing were both on the agenda at the Blue Earth City Council meeting on Monday.

City engineer Ben Rosol presented the council and the public with the information on the South Linton Area Street & Utility Improvement project including maps of the affected areas and a general timeline for the project.

“Our primary goals with this project are to improve the street surface conditions, replace the asbestos-coated watermain and update the aging storm sewer and sanitary sewer systems,” Rosol shared. “This project will be spread out over the course of two construction seasons, with construction set to begin in May 2026.”

No action was taken to pass Resolution 25-40 to order the preparation of the improvement project plans, and the passing of the resolution was delayed until the council’s Dec. 15 meeting.

Mayor Rick Scholtes opened the Truth in Taxation hearing to the public at 6 p.m. during the meeting. Currently, the preliminary tax levy for the city of Blue Earth is set at $3.5 million, which is an increase of 51.7 percent. However, this number does not represent the final tax levy, which must be determined and approved by the council before the end of December.

“We would like to bring the final tax levy down to around $2.5 million, which would be an increase of around 10 to 11 percent,” Scholtes explained. “However, we have a lot of work to do before we can make it to that point.”

“I would like to note that even the $3.5 million increase that we set in our preliminary tax levy will not cover all of our proposed funding increases for 2026,” city administrator Dawn Collins added. “Our capital improvement projects for 2026 represent approximately $1.6 million of that amount, and even if we were to remove those from the budget, we still would not get the final tax levy down to where we want it to be.”

Other business discussed at the City Council meeting included:

— Travel request forms for Darren Bettin and Jon Auringer to attend DMT training were unanimously approved.

— A language adjustment for the New Chances Humane Society’s kennel contract with the city was approved unanimously. Council member John Huisman abstained from the vote.

— Pay Estimate No. 1 for the construction of the T-Hangar at the Blue Earth Municipal Airport in the amount of $48,699.55 was unanimously approved.

— Resolution 25-41 authorizing the application for Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) funding for the Giant Drive improvement project was passed unanimously.

— Resolution 25-38 adopting the new fee schedule for 2026 was passed unanimously.

— The retirement notice of Kim Meyers from the Blue Earth Fire Department was unanimously accepted. They have served the Fire Department for 35 years, and their last day will be Jan. 7, 2026.

— Resolution 25-39 approving the Joint Powers Agreement for the Blue Earth Police Department was unanimously approved.