City Meetings This Week

The public is invited to attend the following City meetings this week. Agendas, meeting minutes and City Council packets are available in the Agenda Center on the City’s website: https://owatonna.gov/agendacenter.

April 18: Library Board Meeting at 4 p.m. in the Gainey Room at the Owatonna Public Library.
April 22: Housing & Redevelopment Authority Meeting at 4 p.m. in the Meeting Room, Charles S. Crandall Center at City Hall.
April 23: Public Utilities Commission Meeting in the Morehouse Meeting Room at Owatonna Public Utilities, 208 South Walnut Avenue.

Charter Commission

Annual Meeting

The City of Owatonna’s Charter Commission held its annual meeting April 15. The Charter serves as the City’s Constitution and the Charter Commission’s duty is to review and update the Charter when needed. The Charter contains basic rules for operations that are necessary for the health and welfare of the community. Day-to-day City operations are defined by ordinances in the City’s Code. The City Attorney and City Administrator advised the commission that no changes are currently pending. A special meeting would be held to consider a proposed amendment to the Charter if amendments are needed at a later date. For additional information about the Charter Commission or its volunteer members, please visit owatonna.gov.

Owatonna Human Rights Commission

Annual Report

Owatonna Human Rights Commission (HRC) members presented their 2023-2024 Annual Report during the City Council’s April 16 Study Session. The following are highlights from the presentation:

Community Engagement - Commissioners engaged with many community organizations throughout the year including Society for Human Resources Management, the Owatonna Community Leadership Academy, Project Community Connect, Rainbowatonna, Promoting Peace, OPEN Owatonna and Alliance for Greater Equity.
Mediation - The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) contacted the HRC to discuss some concerning events that have happened in Owatonna. The DOJ identified the Commission as a key stakeholder in these matters and worked with the Commission, City staff and community members to reach a peaceful resolution.
Welcome Week - The second annual Welcome Week was held September 2023. Commissioners hosted a soccer game, pickleball games, attended Downtown Thursday and hosted a human library. The highlight of the week was the human library, an event where community members of different backgrounds could be ‘checked out’ as human ‘books’ to share experiences, challenges and successes they’ve experienced in life. These ‘books’ represented disabled, LGBTQ, immigrant, first-generation Americans, senior citizens, students and more.
Martin Luther King Day Celebration - For over a decade, the HRC has hosted a successful breakfast on Martin Luther King Day at Plaza Morena. In 2023, it hosted the first ever lunch celebration. Seema Pothini from Humanize My Hoodie provided an engaging presentation on tools for recognizing and responding to injustices by humanizing each other. The turnout for this lunch was more than double the turnout of previous breakfast events and the response from attendees was overwhelmingly positive.

The full 2023 HRC report is available online at owatonna.gov or by clicking here: 2023-2024 Annual Report - OHRC .

aerial view of vine street parking lot area

New Vine Street Parking Lot

At its April 16 meeting, the City Council approved the necessary agreements with US Bank to facilitate the expansion of an existing City parking lot on Vine Street West. The property is needed to construct a larger public parking lot by combining it with existing City-owned property on that block. The parking lot project can now proceed by seeking bids to construct it this summer. The City is also acquiring the lot that contains the walkway just west of the US Bank building. This lot will provide pedestrian access from the parking lot to Broadway Street. The purchase of both properties will cost $200,000.

The purchase agreement includes a development agreement as well as an easement agreement for US Bank’s existing sign along Vine Street West. The development agreement is for the private parking spaces for US Bank that will be constructed off the alley as part of the project. All the parking spaces in the public parking lot are open to anyone to use. It will provide short-term parking on the east side closest to the businesses and longer-term parking on the west side. The easement agreement allows US Bank to have its free-standing sign remain at its current location so long as US Bank, or a successor bank of which US Bank is a part of, is located in the bank building.

The proposed design for the new lot includes 160 off-street parking stalls and 15 on-street parallel parking stalls. Additional features include updated lighting, a trail facility that will connect to the Muckle Trail, infrastructure to allow for future electric vehicle charging stations and a walkway connection to Broadway Street West. Next steps will include:

Design review by City Staff
Authorization to proceed from City Council
Advertising for bids
City Council consideration of bids received
Construction

The lot will be constructed in phases to minimize disruptions for on- and off-street parking and traffic. The City has $1.2 million in federally awarded American Recovery Plan Act funds that will be used toward the land transaction, construction and maintenance of the new parking facility.

Imagine Owatonna Long Range Asset Plan graphic

City Purchase of Law Enforcement Center Approved

At its April 16 meeting, the City Council approved a $700,000 purchase agreement and interim lease with Steele County for space currently being used by the Sherrif’s Department at the combined Law Enforcement Center at 204 East Pearl Street. The Law Enforcement Center is currently occupied by the City of Owatonna’s Police Department, the Steele County Sheriff’s Department and the Rice Steele Dispatch Center. Sheriff’s Department staff will be relocating later this year or early next year.

Plans are underway to repurpose the space that will no longer be needed by the Sherrif’s Department following their move to accommodate the expansion needs of the Police Department staff. This includes assessing whether the space could become a Public Safety Center for police and fire operations to help meet the expansion needs of the Fire Department as well.

The reconfiguration of the Law Enforcement Center aligns with Owatonna’s Long Range Asset Plan being developed to guide decisions on how to address improvements on current facilities as well as how to plan, grow and invest in Owatonna’s future facilities. Through the development of this plan, the City Council and staff will address near- and long-term infrastructure needs in a way that delivers the highest value for taxpayers. Please visit Owatonna.gov/imagineowatonna for ongoing updates about the Long Range Asset Plan.

Motorist Awareness & Construction Workers

Spring has arrived and there are many crews working on or near the roadway. Please SLOW DOWN, exercise caution and pay close attention when approaching any work crews, cones, barricades, etc. Thank you for your patience as the construction season gets underway. Motorist diligence is key in ensuring worker safety.

2024 Construction Projects

Spring is here and 2024 promises to be another busy year of road construction and street maintenance in Owatonna. Visit owatonna.gov/currentprojects for project maps, information and to sign up to be notified with updates!

During the April 2 City Council meeting, the following projects were approved for bids to be advertised:

CIPPS (Cured in Place Pipe Lining) The City of Owatonna lines clay sanitary sewer lines to improve the carrying capacity and reduce inflow and infiltration. Approximately 6,549 linear feet are planned for lining in 2024.
Street Maintenance (Crack Sealing & Seal Coating) The City of Owatonna annually crack-seals roadways in advance of seal coating. Approximately 4.99 miles are planned for crack sealing and seal coating in 2024.
North Cedar Avenue Mill & Overlay A section of North Cedar Avenue requires repairs beyond crack sealing and routine pothole filling. Due to the deteriorating condition, .9 miles of North Cedar Avenue from the bridge south of 11th Avenue to the 26th Street Roundabout are planned to be overlaid.

Bid information for these projects is available on Quest CDN https://www.questcdn.com/. Bids will be opened May 1 at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

Help Keep Owatonna Beautiful

Melting snow reveals junk ordinance violations

As the weather gets warmer and everyone spends more time outdoors, remember there are ordinances related to exterior property maintenance that need to be followed. Here are a few items to keep in mind:

Mow the lawn regularly – try to keep it under the eight-inch height restriction for lots that have been built upon. Undeveloped lots need to be kept below 18 inches.
Weed and spray regularly to control weeds and keep them from spreading to other properties. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture maintains a list of noxious weeds that are prohibited. More information is available on their website: mda.state.mn.us.
Keep household trash in a container designed for such use, ensuring that it doesn’t leak and that it is always covered. Have regular pickup service scheduled and only put containers by the street on designated pickup days. Containers should be stored in the side or rear yard or in the garage.
Personal property should be stored within a building not visible from adjoining properties and streets. Wood for a wood-burning stove or recreational fires needs to be stacked neatly.
Don’t place unwanted items, such as furniture or appliances, on the right-of-way or in the yard. Disused or discarded items stored outside are considered refuse or junk. Garbage haulers need to be contacted to pick up these items and properly dispose of them.

To report a violation of nuisance ordinances, visit owatonna.gov and submit a nuisance or weed/grass complaint form. Make sure the full address is included. It’s up to everyone to keep Owatonna beautiful. Additional information about ordinances and codes is available at owatonna.gov.

Free Movies at OPL

April 25 at 2 p.m.

Movies at the Owatonna Public Library are shown at 2 p.m. in the third-floor Gainey Room on the fourth Tuesday of every month at no cost. Check the Library News section at owatonna.gov/library for the next title being shown as well as its rating and run time.

Storytime through April

Preschool Storytime will continue at 9:30 & 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays through the end of April at the Owatonna Public Library. Stay tuned for the summer start date after the Summer Reading Kickoff in June.

Helpful Links

Stay Connected: City of Owatonna Social Media

Follow the City of Owatonna on Facebook

Visit the Stay Informed Page for more information

Speech bubble with words "Like this email?"

Don't keep it to yourself...spread the news!

Help us keep Owatonna informed by forwarding this email to your friends, neighbors, and colleagues, & encourage them to subscribe for helpful updates!

They'll just need to enter their email address, and click the mail or phone icon next to the Notify Me® Owatonna Update. Don’t forget to confirm your email address!

Be sure to add listserv@civicplus.com to your safe sender/address book to ensure your weekly edition is delivered. Visit our Notify Me Sign-up page to update your email address, unsubscribe, or sign up for additional City alerts.

Sign Up to Receive this Email