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The search for a new city administrator for Lindstrom is entering its final stages.  The city council heard there have been 15 candidates identified by the recruiter/consultant and the next step is to narrow the field down to a handful of “finalists,” whose names  then become public information.

May 9 there will be a council work session to focus on interviews,  and Mayor Judy Chartrand also requested each council member nominate a citizen to sit in with council and some city staff, for the interviews.

Interim City Administrator Melissa Glenna informed council last week that she has withdrawn from the applicants’ list and can help facilitate the hiring process now that she is not seeking the administrator’s job.  She will organize any staff members with interest in being involved in evaluating candidates. There should be a panel ready to participate May 9, starting at 4 p.m. 

Another vacancy, this one on the city Economic Development Authority, won’t be filled now.  Council supported tabling the appointment until a new administrator is hired.

Council was split in its opinion how to do the appointment, if it should be new applicants or names remaining from the last EDA vacancy.

The formation of a task force for evaluating the city’s industrial commercial lots is moving forward.  Council will be reviewing what’s available and already zoned for commercial/industrial and what is potential expansion space.

The city has had contact from interested businesses and at this time has few options for presenting developers with locations.

In action on an ordinance revision, council supports a maximum height of three stories in the downtown central business district.  The three stories are defined by actual feet and inches, and vary starting with the ground level, which,  if it is above grade by six feet or more, and constitutes 50 percent of the perimeter of the structure or more — it counts as a ‘story.”

• The plat for developing vacant land on the north end of North Lindstrom Lake has expired.  The “Albrecht” site off 316th,  had a preliminary plat approved for housing,  but the city was notified the final plat is not forthcoming and owners/developers  are looking at options.

• Council voted 5-0 to accept a proposal from Abdo financial consultants for a management plan which will help project budget needs and revenues for the next several years.  Cost is $15,000 and council directed staff to inquire about costs for Abdo to do a plan that goes forward 10 years.

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