Vine Street Parking Lot Construction to Begin

Monday September 30

Construction will begin on a new parking lot at the corner of West Vine Street and North Oak Avenue on September 30. The project will be completed in one phase which will not allow for parking at the current lot effective the evening of Sunday, September 29. Vehicles remaining in the lot past this point will be towed. View the Downtown Public Parking Map for alternate parking options. Wencl Construction will begin the project by placing signage and erosion control devices and then will remove trees, concrete and a retaining wall. Depending on the weather, the project is expected to take approximately six weeks to complete.

The reconstruction of the parking lot, at the site of the former Monson Eye Care Clinic and adjacent city-owned parking lots, will provide essential parking spaces for those visiting Owatonna’s downtown and the riverfront area. The new lot design includes short- and long-term parking areas, green spaces, six accessible stalls, a crosswalk across Oak Avenue with a flashing beacon and 15 stalls along Vine Street. Additional features include updated street and parking lot lighting, a connection to the Muckle Trail, infrastructure for future electric vehicle charging stations and a walkway connection to Broadway Street West.

Updates relating to timelines, project progression and potential traffic disruptions will posted on owatonna.gov and the Owatonna Public Works Facebook page.

Community Center Task Force Kicks Off

A new Task Force has begun its work to help guide the City of Owatonna as it explores the feasibility of building a new community center. Eight area residents, three City Council members and representatives from the school district and the Chamber of Commerce serve on the Community Center Task Force.

Task Force members include the following community members:

• Brandon Huxford, Community Member

• Lauren Phan, Community Member

• Sara McKay, Community Member

• Ethan Rindfleisch, Community Member and Steele County Representative

• Cassie Patridge, Community Member

• Thomas Breuer, Community Member

• Tyler Cochran, Community Member

• Annie Grimmius, Community Member

The Task Force includes the following representative for the Owatonna School District, Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and City Parks & Recreation Department: 

• Marc Achterkirch, Activities Director at Owatonna High School

• Eric Anderson, Recreation Manager for the City of Owatonna

• Brad Meier, President and CEO of the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism

Council Members Kevin Raney, Dan Boeke and Brent Svenby also serve on the Task Force.

At its first meeting, the Task Force received an overview of the planning process and reviewed the results of a June community survey that asked residents about the amenities, programs and services they would like to see in a community center. The survey was completed by 740 residents who shared 700 ideas with over 17,000 ratings.

Over the next 12 to 18 months, the Task Force will help develop a plan that reflects the activities, amenities and services that residents of all ages desire in a community center. City staff and external consultants will support the Task Force’s work. There will be opportunities for community engagement and resident input throughout the planning process.  

To learn more about the facilities planning process for a new community center, visit OurCommunityOurCenter.org and subscribe to receive City communications for ongoing updates.

Recent Police Activity

The Owatonna Police Department (OPD) responded to two incidents on September 21 and 22 that led to a heavy police presence in the community.

On September 21 at 8:25 p.m., Owatonna police were called to 1265 Sunnydale Place S.E. in response to a fight and gunfire outside a residence. No injuries or property damage has been reported as a result of the shooting incident. Further investigation into the disturbance led to the arrest of Cassandra Eveillard, 44 of Owatonna, for domestic assault. A second individual on the scene was arrested for an outstanding warrant from Hennepin County. The shooting suspect left the scene before police arrived and remains the subject of an ongoing investigation by the OPD. Owatonna Police Chief Jeff Mundale confirms a shooting occurred outside 1265 Sunnydale Place and police have interviewed witnesses, canvassed the neighborhood and collected spent ammunition casings from the scene. Chief Mundale also confirms that the public and neighbors on Sunnydale Place are not in any immediate danger. The OPD extends appreciation to the following partnering agencies that assisted in responding to and securing the initial scene: Steele County Sheriff’s Office, Rice County Sheriff’s Office, Waseca County Sheriff’s Office, Waseca Police Department, Blooming Prairie Police Department, Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol.

Prior to this incident, a missing person report was received by OPD at 7:39 p.m. The following morning, September 22, at 11:15 a.m. officers were called to Kaplan’s Woods for an apparent suicide. Police confirmed the subject reported missing the night before took his own life. In consideration of the family that lost their loved one, OPD is not releasing any further information at this time.

These two incidents are not related.

To provide information that may help with ongoing investigations, please contact the emergency communications center at 507.451.8232 and ask to speak with an officer. For information about the OPD, follow the City of Owatonna on Facebook or visit Owatonna.gov.

Online Citizen Reporting

The Rice & Steele 911 Center (the Emergency Communications Center serving Rice and Steele Counties) has recently implemented Spark, a cutting-edge online reporting tool designed to streamline the process of reporting non-emergency incidents. This tool allows citizens to easily and securely report issues such as thefts, vandalism, parking complaints and other non-urgent matters directly through the website, thereby enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in addressing community concerns and creating a better experience for citizen reporting an incident and the public safety telecommunicator. This process ensures immediate action by dispatch, enabling timely provision of information and deployment of first responders as necessary. 

Spark leverages the user’s settings to dynamically translate and render in their native language. Submissions are then translated to the Emergency Communication Center’s primary language prior to entry. Spark is built completely in the cloud and is available from any device: desktop, tablet or smartphone. This service is intended solely for non-emergency incidents. To explore the new platform, visit https://spark.backingfire.com/ricesteele. For more information on Spark or the Rice & Steele 911 Center, please visit ricesteele911center.org.

Think Outside the Lawn

A green lawn doesn’t have to mean green lakes and rivers 

Everyone wants green lawns and doing it the right way ensures great water, too. Excess nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, pollute stormwater runoff from urban areas. This pollution contributes to the third greatest cause of lake and river deterioration in the U.S. where more than 100,000 miles of rivers are impaired for nutrients.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and phosphorus reduction

The City of Owatonna is required to make progress towards TMDL requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency including reducing phosphorus to the Straight River. Implementing this plan is VERY costly to the community and ratepayers. More information can be found here: Owatonna Pollutant Reduction Strategy (arcgis.com).

Did you know?

• The average cost of removing one pound of phosphorus is roughly $10,000.
• Phosphorus in grass clippings from one lawn mowing can produce up to 100 pounds of unwanted algae.
• Leaf litter and yard waste account for 56 percent of the phosphorus in urban stormwater.
• One pound of fertilizer over-application of an average lawn can equate to 34 pounds of excess algae growth in streams and lakes, that’s one ton per every 60 homes.
• Poor management of stormwater pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus directly impacts property owners’ monthly stormwater rates.

Help minimize costs

• Property owners are encouraged to explore the feasibility of installing permanent stormwater treatment systems such as filtration basins, stormwater ponds and rain gardens.
• Developers are encouraged to go above and beyond the minimum post-construction management of stormwater quality and quantity requirements. 
• Have a storm drain near your home? Volunteer to adopt it through the City’s Adopt a Catch Basin Program and receive a complimentary rake to keep it free of leaves and debris. 
• Adjust your sprinkler system based on weather, repair any leaks, and reduce runoff. 
• Sweep up grass clippings, leaves and other debris from driveways, sidewalks and the street.
• Keep gutters cleared.
• Clean up any excess fertilizer that has spread onto hard surfaces during application.
• Even as the weather turns cold, continue scooping your pet’s waste.
• Join the Adopt-A-Catch Basin Program, explore the rain garden cost share program or check out a Storm Drain Marking Kit by contacting stormwater@owatonna.gov.

Be A Good Neighbor – Put Stormwater In Its Place!

Many properties have improper hookups that send stormwater to the sanitary sewer, creating the potential for basement flooding and drainage problems for you and your neighbors. Your problem becomes their problem, and vice versa, and it’s a costly one. Most groundwater collected by sumps and footing drains does not typically contain high levels of pollutants that require treatment. Proper discharge locations will drain water away from your home to the stormwater system where it is safely diverted to a stormwater treatment system and to the Straight River.

Unnecessary sump pump connections to sanitary systems increase the volume of water that Owatonna’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) must handle and significantly increases the costs to our community. This burden on the WWTF also causes maintenance issues and overloads the system. The City has recently made investments in facility upgrades to meet increasing demand. The City allocates resources annually to address infiltration and inflow sources (i.e. connected sumps/ foundation drains, faulty connections and structures, leaks/intrusions, and storm sewer cross connections, etc.) to the WWTF.

Many properties have a sump main and lateral stubbed out to the property for the sump pump service line for the primary sump pump. Contact a plumber to have the connection established. The next best practice is to direct it away from homes at least eight feet. Although not all places are acceptable points of discharge, many first-time homeowners aren’t aware of local codes that strictly prohibit discharging on neighboring property, into the sanitary system or directly onto the street or sidewalk. Please do your part and help lessen this burden by ensuring your sump pump is connected to the right location.

Helpful Links

Stay Informed

• Events: Access calendars to view upcoming events.

• City News Releases: View news releases published by the City of Owatonna.

• Newsletters: The City of Owatonna publishes a weekly newsletter called Owatonna Update. Current and past newsletters are available here.

• Social Media: Stay connected with the City of Owatonna by following these social media sites.

• Spotlight Videos: Videos produced by the City of Owatonna.

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