Eden Valley hears from Stearns Co. Attorney

At its March 5 regular meeting, the Eden Valley city council approved the city’s prosecution contract with Stearns County Attorney’s Office. Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall attended the meeting and explained that diversions are way down, and there are fewer first-time offenders but most are now “frequent fliers.” Felonies are down, but they tend to be bigger cases. More sexual assault cases are going to trial, although the number of cases has not increased. The quality of investigation by law enforcement is better, allowing more cases to go to trial. 

Grant application

City engineer Kent Louwagie presented information on a $600,000 Small Cities Development Program grant; the city’s application has cleared the first hurdle, and is at the next level of consideration for the grant. Possible conflicts of interest among council members were discussed; Troy Huschle, working for a contractor although not the owner, may have a conflict of interest with this project (and thus will abstain from decisions on the matter if an actual conflict of interest exists). A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, (following the 6 p.m. Board of Appeals) to identify community development and housing needs. The council resolved to adopt the Citizen Participation Plan, holding that hearing, and submitting the final application to MN DEED. The grant can be applied to the water system (in the neighborhood south of the railroad tracks and west of State Street/MN Hwy 22) for optimum benefit, applying the maximum possible $600,000 toward that $4.46 million project. This grant process will take a long time, Louwagie said.

Public Woks

The council approved replacement of LED lights in all city buildings and property as needed, both indoors and outdoors. The quote from Kramer Electric is $21,831.81 after considerable rebates are applied. The council can consider the plan building by building. 

The irrigator needs six tires replaced, at $3,140.80 (all-inclusive). The middle well (#4) is overdue for its 10-year maintenance, at a cost of $3,500 plus parts. Next year’s well will cost about $10,000 more. These were both unanimously approved by the council.

Police

The police policy for body-worn cameras has been updated and approved. The change added categories, and how long to retain video in each category. There was discussion about the Tahoe squad, and whether to lease a replacement or to purchase this one at the end of its lease. And there was discussion about Chase the police dog and his expected longevity.

Next meeting

The next regular meeting of the Eden Valley city council will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2. The Board of appeal will be at 6 p.m. that evening, and the public hearing on the SCDP will be at 6:30 p.m. that evening. Meetings are live-streamed on the city’s website, and are available there later for viewing as well.