During their final meetings of 2024 and first meeting of 2025, the Clearwater City Council’s agendas included a funding request from the food shelf, the proposed 2025 budget and levy, and several resolutions.

Food Shelf

The city received a donation request from the Clearwater/Clear Lake Food Shelf; Mayor Andrea Lawrence provided an overview of the donation history and funding request.

Food Shelf President and Clearwater Lions member Mary Abraham explained they were approximately $220,000 short for the new food shelf building project. The amount includes an estimate of $70,000 for the stormwater improvements required by the city and $150,000 for the paving/curb and gutter for the parking lot, as required by City Code. At an earlier meeting, she had informed the council that the city’s original donation had gone toward the required city building permit costs.

Abraham stated the original budget didn’t include those items and that she didn’t understand the need for the stormwater improvements. 

City Engineer Kannas explained stormwater requirements as the property is located within the city’s wellhead protection area, which is considered vulnerable by state standards. The city is requiring new construction to comply with state standards to help protect the water supply; older properties that don’t currently comply with those standards were developed prior to them being put into place.

Kannas explained several options that had been presented to the food shelf, including piping the stormwater to Blaine Brothers, which would likely be around $70,000, and the least expensive, a swale and manhole, which he believed to cost around $20,000.

A motion carried donating $10,000 from the city’s general fund or the EDA if approved by them.

Parks Discussion

Council Member Luhmann provided a copy of the city’s park ordinances, noting that there have been continued issues with vandalism, violations of park hours, and overnight camping. It was noted that there seems to be a lack of patrols near the parks and that the sheriff’s office appeared unwilling to enforce the ordinances, even after multiple violations by the same people.

A motion carried to direct staff to send a letter to Wright Co. Sheriff Deringer requesting his office enforce the city’s park ordinances as written.

Other Business

City Administrator Annita Smythe presented an overview of the city’s proposed budget and levy; it was approved through Resolution 2024-74. The Sewer Authority met previously and approved its 2025 budget with a rate increase of less than 1%.

Numerous resolutions were passed, including approving the option to join the statewide volunteer firefighter plan and a new hire for the fire department, the hire of winter seasonal staff, and donations for both the library and Veteran’s Memorial Park. A dividend from the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) was accepted, the animal control contract was renewed, and the joint powers agreement for the enforcement and regulation of cannabis and the extension of the library lease were approved.

A motion carried approving the easement request to provide access to a strip of land owned by Thomas Houck that is used for billboard purposes. 

For December, the sheriff reported 79 traffic stops, one assault, two criminal damage to property, one structure fire, five motor vehicle accidents, one stolen property, and one vehicle that was stolen from Burger King and later recovered in Iowa. In November there were 126 traffic stops, one assault, two vehicle fires, four motor vehicle accidents with two injuries, four thefts, and one stolen vehicle.

The next Clearwater City Council meeting will be February 10 at 7 p.m.