Just prior to the Wed., Jan. 8 meeting of the Big Lake City Council, Mayor Paul Knier and Council Members Paul Seefeld and Ken Geroux were sworn in by City Clerk Gina Wolbeck. Knier ran unopposed in this past Nov. election. Seefeld received the most votes in a four-person race for city council to win reelection. Ken Geroux had the second highest vote total.
Annual Report from SCAO
Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney presented her annual update to the council and extended her deep appreciation to Chief Kaczmarek and his staff. Heaney was joined by Dawn Nyhus, currently the lead in the civil division of the County Attorney’s Office. Under the service contract with the city, all petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors are handled by Heaney’s office. The contract is paid for by the fines collected from those offenses. Last year, $13,906.99 in fines was collected. Also of note, there were 910 mandatory and non-mandatory traffic tickets issued in the city of Big Lake in 2024.
In reporting trends, Heaney explained that there were 43 felonies and 41 gross misdemeanors issued in 2024. She explained that those numbers fluctuate from year to year, but remained consistent with past years.
Year in Review
City Administrator Hanna Klimmek reviewed the previous year. In 2024, city administration completed codifying the city code. Public works completed the redevelopment of well #1 after nearly 3 years of work. Parks and Rec. completed improvements to Browns Square Park and constructed Pickleball Courts. $44,812,157 of valuation was created due to improvements and new construction in the city. The city also completed .8 miles of street resurfacing.
The BLPD created a new patch due to changes to the state seal and adopted new mission and values statements. The Big Lake Fire Dept. Fire Board completed a staffing study and Lake Liquors continued to exceed their budget with growing sales.
After recapping 2024, Klimmek looked forward to 2025 listing a number of items. The city hopes to complete the Water Exchange Project, establish good policy for cannabis regulation, move forward on the City Hall relocation as well as continue to redevelop the current City Hall location, and secure funding opportunities for the Wastewater Treatment Facility Expansion project.
Beware of thin ice
Layne Otteson, City Engineer, ended his engineering report to provide a public safety announcement. When ice is 4 inches or less, it is recommended that you stay off the ice. A minimum of 4 inches is required for ice fishing without a shelter. 5-7” are required for a snowmobile or ATV, 8-12” for a small car, and 12-15” for a medium truck. Otteson reminded people to always be checking the thickness of the ice because it can vary from day to day.
Consent Agenda
A number of appointments were made in the consent agenda. Kathy Parsons, Jake Rohrbeck, and Kristopher Knodle were appointed to the Big Lake Economic Development Authority. Scott Creighton and Jeff Webster were named to the Big Lake Parks Advisory Committee. Reserve Officer Benjamin Bauman will join the BLPD.
Lastly, a joint powers agreement with Sherburne County was approved for the enforcement and registration of retail cannabis businesses.
