Unbeknown to anyone, last Wednesday would be the final Big Lake City Council meeting for beloved councilmember Rose Johnson. Prior to the close of the meeting, Rose issued a plea to council and city staffers to concentrate their efforts on securing channel property being released for public sale by the county.

Rose was killed the following morning by her son, ending her life and her fruitful tenure on council.

She was 62. (See story on the homicide elsewhere in the Patriot).

Employee Recognitions

With fine fettle and some comical play,  Mayor Mike Wallen stood front and center to issue heartfelt thank yous to six city employees who earned service commemorations at Wednesday’s meeting.

Joe Brenteson of the public works department was honored for his five years with the city as well as Nic Prigge (BLPD) and City Administrator Clay Wilfahrt. Wallen praised the employees and handed them certificates of commendation.

Wallen then paid tribute to Stacey Fox from the finance department who was celebrating her 20th year with the city. He also exalted Clerk Gina Wolbeck for her 20 year anniversary and then turned over the microphone to Police Chief Joel Scharf, who emotionally thanked Laurie Morris of the BLPD for serving her 20 years and announcing her retirement.

Nystrom Treatment Facility

Kevin Green with Wilkus Architects (Applicant) submitted a zoning & land use application on behalf of Nystrom & Associates LTD, requesting city approval of a preliminary plat, conditional use permit and site plan for the development of a vacant parcel of land in Big Lake. The site is located south of Forest Road and east of Co. Rd. 43.

Nystrom is requesting to construct a three-story, in-patient treatment facility on the 3.33-acre site for those with substance dependency to have access to around the clock certified care.

At maximum capacity, 10 to 15 employees will be on a shift servicing  62 beds in 34 rooms. Patients will be dropped off at the facility and stay for an average duration of 30-days. The facility will have nursing quarters, cafeteria, meeting rooms and other essential facilities for typical residential uses. The use is a ‘dry’ facility that caters to those seeking mental health, psychiatric and chemical dependency help.

Nystrom & Associates is a licensed operation through all applicable governmental agencies and will provide the city with all licenses before receiving the certificate of occupancy.

The planning commission held a public hearing and reviewed the development application at their regularly scheduled meeting July 1. One person besides the applicant spoke at the public hearing with concerns regarding security.

The planning commission discussed the proposal and passed a motion recommending approval with minor changes with a 5-0 vote.

Framework 2030

For the past seven or so years, the City of Big Lake has been part of a partnership to plan for the growth of the region. It began as a group attempting to build another bridge crossing between Big Lake and Monticello. Through that initial process, the parties involved learned that a broader scope was necessary.

City Administrator Clay Wilfahrt outlined the planning process and goals of the partners and asked city council to approve a resolution of understanding for the framework 2030 regional planning process coordinated through the central Mississippi river regional planning partnership.

Council approved.

CARES Act Funding

Community Development Director Hanna Klimmek asked council to approve the COVID-19 emergency grant program and for it to be administered by the Big Lake EDA to provide funding to cover expenses of business interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The State recently approved a bill to distribute funding from the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The bill distributes money to local governments to assist with the financial strain caused by plummeting tax revenues. The City of Big Lake is expected to receive $863,098 in funds by the end of July 2020.

Federal guidance indicates that a City can have discretion to determine what payments are necessary. A program that is aimed at assisting small businesses with the costs of business interruption caused by required closure should be tailored to assist those businesses in need of such assistance. Also, guidance indicates that fund payments may be used for economic support in the absence of the stay-at-home order if such expenditures are determined by the City to be necessary. This may include, for example, a grant program to benefit small businesses that closed voluntarily to promote social distancing measures or that are affected by decreased customer demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With that being said, the City of Big Lake can provide the funding to businesses to cover business interruption.

Klimmek says the City of Big Lake has until November 15, 2020 to spend down the funds. If unable to meet the November 15 deadline, the funding will go to Sherburne County. Sherburne County has until December 1, 2020 to spend down the funds. If unable to meet the December 1 deadline, Sherburne County will have to provide their balance of funds to the State of Minnesota.

Klimmek says in an effort to meet the deadlines as before mentioned, staff recommended an application deadline of 4 p.m. Wed., August 5, 2020. As soon as possible after the deadline, staff will meet with Sherburne County (or their third party administrator) to align efforts and discuss applications within the City of Big Lake.

Klimmek says staff will then meet with the BLEDA finance committee to generate a recommendation for approval during a special BLEDA meeting Aug,17. This timeline will allow the City of Big Lake to enter into a “round two” of accepting applications and awarding grants in the event the funding isn’t spend down in round one.

The small business emergency grant application can be picked up at city hall.

Final Act

In one of Rose Johnson’s final addresses at council July 22, she noted the county was selling off the land that makes up the channel between Big Lake and Lake Mitchell. She told council she thought it was very important for the city to bid to purchase that land before it goes to public auction.

In this reporter’s mind, the city should do as she requested and simultaneously name the channel in memory of the woman who lived a mere 1/2 mile away.

Up Next

The next Big Lake City Council is Wed., Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.