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Street overlays, designs for a new trail and work at the Blazing Star Landing, City Hall and the wastewater treatment plant were all projects included Monday in the city’s five-year capital improvement plan approved 5-2 by the Albert Lea City Council.

The 2025 to 2029 capital improvement plan included a total of almost $189 million in projects. For 2025 alone, projects total more than $28 million.

Finance Director Kristi Brutlag said the plan can change based on need and availability of resources. All projects over $100,000 or that come in 20% more than estimated in the plan also require separate approval by the council.

She focused primarily on projects for 2025 during her presentation in the meeting, with the most talked about part of the plan by the councilors being whether to include improvements to City Hall.

Albert Lea Mayor Rich Murray and 1st Ward Councilor Rachel Christensen voted against the plan, in large part because of the project at City Hall.

Christensen said in the work session that while she was concerned about safety with the building for staff and patrons and would support projects to improve security, she was not comfortable with the cost of the other improvements.

City Center improvements totaled $1.6 million without security upgrades, which were estimated at $300,000.

Murray said while he agreed that any safety issues needed to be addressed immediately, he asked how then the remaining projects could be grouped together over the next three or four years and be paid for without bonding for additional funds.

City Manager Ian Rigg said the council would need to start with a feasibility report or design that would have to come before the council simply because of the dollar amount.

Murray said he did not want to spend a whole lot of money on design of a project that the council had not been through yet extensively and that may or may not come to fruition.

Christensen said she also did not support hiring consultants and investing money into something she wasn’t sure they all supported.

She talked about the need to reimagine how space is used and programs are offered.

Second Ward Councilor Larry Baker talked about the benefits of an open concept workplace but noted they do need to watch out for the cost. He said he did not have a problem with putting the project in phases but noted if they did that, they needed to make sure to commit to it.

Rigg said city staff have been working on ideas for City Hall since 2021 and have done everything they can to find alternative sources of revenue that aren’t just the levy. They have applied for grants to do a large project to both expand the public library and make improvements for the City Hall portion. He said they applied two times and both times the project did not make the cut.

Because of this, he is proposing to break the project up between the library and City Hall — as the library has more funding and grant options. The City Hall portion would be done first.

He said the main part of the City Hall project is to properly secure the building and make it more secure for patrons from threats and to improve monitoring. He referenced certain walls and hallways and emergency exits that would need to be redone to make the property secure and safe for the public and staff.

The project also includes some wellness features for staff, including having a proper break room, which he said is a requirement moving forward if the city plans to hire anyone under age 30. It also includes plans for separate staff bathrooms.

On the bottom level, it would take out what is currently storage space and spread people in the inspections and engineering departments across the hall and open the whole area up. Some of the security measures would also require taking down walls.

Rigg said security has been wearing on staff, and he wants to make sure the property is suitable for employees who spend a lot of time there. He said some of the things that would be added are basic amenities that most employers who wish to keep their employees would provide.

The library would expand over the entire second floor into the space formerly used by the fire department, to expand program space. Rigg said it has been brought up that others could do programming, but he noted how important it was for the library to expand if they’re going to meet the needs in the community. It also might cost the city more to take programming to other locations.

Rigg said the city will be setting up a small committee to go over the layers of the project, such as the basic safety maintenance, then an additional layer for the wellness measures and another layer to make it a more attractive space. Then, if they have to cut back, they will have different options available to review.
City Hall was constructed in 1967.

Third Ward Councilor Jason Howland thanked staff for getting the number down from earlier projections. He noted that the project has been a long time coming and is sorely needed.

Fourth Ward Councilor Reid Olson said he didn’t have a problem with the project staying in the capital improvement plan but said he wanted it to come back to the council for a vote before moving further.

He said he probably received more calls about property taxes this year than he has in his whole previous 16 years on the council.

“That says a lot about what people are thinking,” he said.

Blazing Star Landing

The Blazing Star Landing, also known as the former site of Farmland Foods, includes several projects during 2025, depending on grant money and developers, with a combined estimated cost of $4.68 million, including all funding sources, such as grants, TIF funds, sale of property and bonding dollars.

The first project is already underway for the cleanup of the soils on the northeast part of the property, where a Kwik Trip is slated to be built.

Another cleanup project, Rigg said, would largely depend on whether grant money is awarded through Minnesota Housing for new apartments in the central part of the property. He anticipated the city would find out in the next couple weeks on whether the project receives the funding.

There is also potential for developer Unique Opportunities LLC to do a second phase of apartments along Front Street, but Rigg said this is dependent on the developer.

The city is working through bids for street construction of Eberhart going into the property with approval expected in January. This would be paid for with TIF soil district funds, sewer and water revenue bonds and proceeds from the sale of the property.

A retention pond would be built at the same time as the Eberhart construction.

With almost all of the projects, the city would apply for Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development grants to help pay for part of the cost, particularly with the soil contamination cleanup.

Wastewater treatment plant

The plan calls for $11.95 million in work in 2025 at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, dependent on the receipt of state bonding funds. The project would be split between general obligation sewer revenue bonds, state bonds and tax incentives.

The capital improvement plan also outlines potential work at the plant in the next five years.

Other projects

The plan also includes design for the shared user trail from Albert Lea to Manchester, estimated at $150,000. It currently has an unknown funding source.
It also includes a line item for a new fire engine with extrication equipment for $950,000.