FAIRMONT – At Monday’s meeting, the Fairmont City Council approved a 2026 road improvement plan that will be funded by grants, special assessments and bonding improvement funds to the tune of $8.12 million.

Per the city’s assessment policy, 70 percent of the costs are paid by the city and 30 percent are paid by abutting property owners. Civil Engineer Tyler Cowing said the average front footage cost for property owners to pay are $112.11 for reconstruction projects and $15.02 for overlay projects.

“The assessments are based on the previous three years,” he said. “Projects of similar type, an average of those three years. It’s based on your front footage, so whatever your lot would be facing the street. Corner lots are different, as well as if you have a pie or diagonal-shaped lot, an irregular lot, there’s some different determinations for those ones.”

Across both categories, two reconstruction projects and 12 overlay projects are on the docket to be done in the summer and fall of 2026. On the reconstruction front, Park Street would be reconstructed from East Blue Earth Avenue to 4th Street, and include a complete reconstruction of water, sewer and storm sewer.

The second reconstruction project would be on Orient Street from East Blue Earth Avenue to 1st Street and from 3rd Street to 4th Street. It would be a 32-foot-wide design with seven tons of asphalt.

One of the projects that will have more extensive changes is an overlay. Blue Earth Avenue from TH 15 to Downtown Plaza would be changed from a four-lane to a three-lane road, a roundabout would be added at Prairie Avenue and a two-way stop would be added at Park Street.

“We’ve gotten some emails asking about how the roundabout came about,” Cowing said. “I guess the signals weren’t warranted by MnDOT. At that point in time, options were discussed at open houses where businesses and residents could come talk to members of the council or the city staff and consultants on what they would like to see on this project. Ultimately, the roundabout was decided upon to be at that intersection.”

Additional pause was expressed by some community members to Cowing regarding long-term maintenance. Cowing said there should not be any additional assessments necessary, and needed maintenance should happen as normal.

The rest of these projects are mill and overlay, which Cowing said are meant to improve road conditions and avoid major overhauls where possible.

“The intention of these mill and overlay projects is these streets are at a state where they are in relatively good condition yet,” he said. “However, the surface of the pavement has seen oxidation and deterioration, weatherization. To preserve these roads in a good state so they don’t get to a status of needing a complete resurface or reconstruction, it’s critical to get those surfaces sealed up and prevent water from infiltrating into the base and deteriorating the road surface.”

These projects will also be on Budd Street from Home Street to Burton Lane, Burton Lane from School Street to Burton Lane, Cedar Creek Court from Amber Lake Drive to Deadend, Delu Street from Albion Avenue to Deadend, Government Street from Albion Avenue to Deadend, Home Street from Adams Street to Budd Street, School Street from Home Street to Burton Lane, TH 15 Service (East) from Adams Avenue to Victoria Street, TH 15 Service (West) from Torgerson Drive to Deadend, 12th Street from Park Street to Prairie Avenue and the Aquatic Park Parking Lot.

After the public hearing closed, Board Member Jay Maynard made the motion to approve the plan, with Board Member Wayne Hasek seconding. All board members voted unanimously in favor of moving forward with this plan.

Complaints or concerns can be directed to the Public Works Director Matthew York at (507) 238-3942 or myork@fairmont.org. If anyone has an objection to an assessment given by the city, a written objection can be submitted prior to the public hearing to certify assessments in the fall of 2026.

In other news:

— Fairmont Water Resources Coordinator Hannah Neusch updated City Council on several issues related to water resources. Neusch said the One Watershed One Plan process for the Blue Earth River Watershed is on schedule and should be approved by mid-2026. If so, funding would be available for the watershed by the summer. On curly leaf pondweed, Mayor Lee Baarts asked about the nanobubbles from Mark Gaalswyk of Easy Environmental Solutions. Neusch said they could not use that for the lake algae currently, as it has not been approved by the DNR for usage due to a lack of environmental studies. Neusch admitted they would not be able to pursue a $7 million grant due to the lack of time and staffing available to dedicate resources to grant writing on this. There is a plan to apply next year, but Neusch indicated they would like the city to hire someone as a grant-writer across the city’s needs. Lubenow said they could also look into a grant-writing firm to help, if it is more cost-effective.