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Lindstrom city council met January 17 for a regular meeting.  Council member Linda Merkel was absent.

In an open forum, Lindstrom resident Bob Cedergren addressed the council about the water tower souvenirs the city had recently purchased.  Cedegren said he was there representing the Historical Society and wondered why the Lindstrom Swedish Gift Shop was the only business selling the water towers.  “We were under the impression we would be selling the towers as well, not just one business” he said.  Cedergren said the society was told they can purchase towers from the gift shop and re-sell them. The towers were donated to the city to fund a “relight the coffee pot” where the goal is to raise enough money to install a steamer on the tower so steam will come out of the spout.

City administrator Dan Undem told Cedergren there were 5,000 replicas produced and the city also owns the casts for future molds to be made.

Undem agreed to discuss more with Cedergren and assist the historical society.

Gary Ledford from Lindstrom then spoke to the council.  He told the council he was not fond of the open forum in the beginning of the meetings. He told the council  sometimes people in the audience have pertinent things to add.  Council member Dave Waldoch told the council he has been part of the council for four decades and in the past residents have been allowed to speak during meetings.  Ledford also said the website only allows five emails to staff at a time.  He noted there are five council members but if he were to include the administrator or clerk, he would not be able to connect with everyone.

The council then moved to organizing business.  They appointed Brian Norelius as acting mayor.  The council then approved 23 election judges for the March 5 election.  Head judge will be Mike Klun and Maria Savaiano.

Council then approved committee assignments as follows:

Cable Commission - Dave Waldoch

Joint Sewer Commission Dave Waldoch and Mayor Judy Chartrand

EDA - Greg Krueger and Mayor Chartrand

Fire Relief - Linda Merkel and Mayor Judy Chartrand

HRA - Mayor Judy Chartrand

Library Commission - Linda Merkel

Parks Commission - Greg Krueger

Planning Commission - Brian Norelius

Police Commission - Brian Norelius and Mayor Judy Chartrand

Beyond the Yellow Ribbon - Dave Waldoch

Highway 8 Commission - Linda Merkel

The Chisago County Press was named official newspaper and First Resource Bank was named official depository. 

 Campbell Knutson will remain the official law firm of Lindstrom and HKG will once again be the city planner.  

The council then made a change in engineering services and elected to go with Bolton and Menk.  The city has used MSA for years.  Council member Brian Norelius publicly thanked MSA, specifically Jon Herdegen for all of their hard work over the years.

The council then was told by Administrator Undem it has received an initial report on the cracked cement at the new firehall.  Undem said the cracks range from 1.5 to 5 inches deep.  A sub contractor did the concrete work and is aware of some issues.  Undem told the council Braun Intertek did an initial site visit and if interested, the council could seek an in depth damage report from Intertek.  Undem told the council there are still monies being held back for the firehall and if a further investigation on the cement finds more damages, the city could use that as leverage. The council agreed for a further investigation on the cement quality before taking action.

The council then officially recognized Undem as a permanent employee after completing his six month probation.  “We have received nothing but glowing reports about Dan” Mayor Chartrand added.

Communications coordinator Miranda Olson presented a communications plan for the city.  Olson said the plan is to reach as many residents as possible.  She noted the acronym COPE which stands for Create Once Publish Everywhere. Olson said there were around 55,000 website visitors in 2023 and the city currently has around 4,600 Facebook followers.  The city has 456 email subscribers and another 414 signed up for urgent emails.  The council thanked Olson for all of her hard work and was impressed with the presentation. 

Undem then told the council the police station project is in need of direction from the city.  One option would be to stick with Kraus Anderson who did the original rough bid. The next step is conceptual design, which requires a RFP to see proposals. maybe a more appealing option.  Council member Norelius said he was comfortable with Kraus Anderson and they are an outstanding company.  Undem pointed out the city could choose to walk away from Kraus Anderson without a large financial burden at any time if it chooses.  Undem pointed out the city will know the state aid amount in June, but the city’s best interest would be to move forward with the conceptual design.  Council decided to discuss more at a potential special meeting prior to the Feb. 7 police commission meeting.

Lastly, the council publicly acknowledged the retirement of police reserve Dan Schmidt. Schmidt served over 750 hours as a LAPD reserve.

Council adjourned at 9:03pm

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