The city will submit its list of requests to the company calling itself Premium Pork, LLC to start the process of negotiating a preliminary agreement, the city council decided Monday night.

The council gave Mayor Jean Eaton and City Manager Paul Sparks permission to handle the preliminary negotiations Monday night.

Sparks said he expects that the city and company will be able to work out an agreement within the next three to four weeks.

Premium Pork is considering Albert Lea for a packinghouse and corporate headquarters that, the company has said, could eventually employ 2,000.

The city’s first proposal requires the company to provide financial guarantees and stipulates that the headquarters must be located in Albert Lea and that certain job-creation and wage levels be met in exchange for city assistance, in the form of tax-increment financing and land acquisition.

The plant was met with some opposition Monday, as three residents spoke against the idea, saying the costs for the city in the long term would be too much.

Dick Rierson of Albert Lea, who has actively spoken out against the plant, said he had found information on the impact of pork plants and said that many cities across the country had turned down a very similar proposal that Seaboard Farms Co. had made in 2000.

&uot;The pork industry is a lot different then how we remember it,&uot; he said. Rierson asked for more public meetings on the issue and said the city should be entitled to more information about the company. The identity of the investors and executives has not been revealed, but a representative has said they are American, they are starting a new company and it is not Seaboard.

Other council notes:

&045; &uot;We have now fixed the budget for 2003,&uot; Eaton announced Monday after the council passed budget adjustments for the 2003 city budget, which will make up for money lost from state local government aid (LGA) cuts.

The city cut $70,000 from the budget with a reduced play park program, warming house reductions, a cut in YMCA funding, fewer special-course instructors, fewer play park workers, an elimination of Arc funding, the elimination of the Halloween carnival and the elimination of the stay-fit program.

These reductions, paired with raises in fees for city functions like the senior center and city pool, and the use of interest accrued from the city fire and police pension fund, will make up for an anticipated $748,000 cut in LGA. The legislature has not yet passed a bill specifying the size of LGA cuts, but the city based its cuts on Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s budget proposal.

&045; The city’s water plants and lift stations will become harder for terrorists to infiltrate with the addition of $220,500 in electronic intrusion alarms, tapering alarms and instant notification alarms. The cost for the project will be divided between the police and fire pension funds and the water and sewer utility funds.

&045; Pool concession stands will not be open this summer. Instead, they will be replaced with vending machines. The reason for the change, according to City Manager Paul Sparks, is that the concession stands were highly dependent on weather for making money, and with the money paid to workers, the city only broke even each year on the concessions. The vending machines are estimated to generate $4,000 to $6,000 per year in income.

&045; The city and county, with help from state municipal-aid funds, will be reconstructing Margaretha Avenue. The cost of the project will be $1,100,000, most of which will be paid for by the state.

&045; The council tabled a motion for two weeks that would grant an Austin man a license to have a taxi service in Albert Lea.

Joe T. Anderson, owner of Joe T. Taxi, asked that the city not grant the license because two taxi companies already exist in the city. The council asked for legal advice from city attorney Steve Schwab, who said he’d need some time to research the issue.

&045; A formal ordinance prohibiting leaf burning was introduced. It is expected to be made law at the next council meeting. The council agreed to pass the ban last fall.