First Open House for 18th Street SE Reconstruction Project

The portion of 18th Street SE from Austin Road to just past Cornerstone Lane (near the new round-about on Bixby Road) is slated for reconstruction in 2026 to improve safety and multimodal accessibility and address increased demand from the new high school. The project is in the early stages of design. An open house will be held March 25 from 4:30 until 6 p.m. in the Owatonna High School Foundation Room. Residents are encouraged to stop in anytime during the open house to engage with CIty staff, hear about the upcoming project and offer feedback. There will not be a formal presentation. Please enter through the Activity Doors at the northeast corner near the football fields. If you are not able to attend the open house and would like to provide feedback or ask a question, a form is available at owatonna.gov/18thstreetproject.

The project includes a multi-use trail for pedestrians and bicyclists, upgraded pavement and utilities and stormwater management enhancements. The project will consist of a phased approach to reconstruct the roadway in an efficient manner to minimize construction costs, impacts to local property owners and the traveling public. 

The City is working with SEH on the project’s design and construction administration due to the intricacies involved with a federal and state funded project. For additional information about the Public Works Department or other services provided by the City of Owatonna, please visit owatonna.gov or follow the City of Owatonna on Facebook.

City Considering Municipal Dispensary

Following a presentation by The Red Pine Group, LLC (RPG) at its March 4 Study Session, the City Council directed City staff to submit an application for a municipal cannabis permit to the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Applying for or receiving a permit does not require the City of Owatonna to open or operate a cannabis store; however, it is required for the City to pursue options regarding owning or operating a municipal dispensary. City staff is taking these initial steps to provide the City Council with options that could pave the way to explore a collaboration with RPG.

RPG recently approached the City of Owatonna to discuss the possibility of collaborating on a municipal dispensary. The group is also in varying stages of such agreements with cities across Minnesota including St. Joseph and Osseo. The City Council also approved a Letter of Intent to allow negotiations with RPG regarding entering into a Master Services Agreement to operate a retail cannabis business in Owatonna.

City staff and City Council leadership are considering options, legal implications and the process that would be required to execute a letter of agreement to pursue this opportunity. According to RPG, a municipal dispensary could generate roughly $500,000 annually from distributions of store profits. RPG would cover start-up costs, staffing and operational costs. The benefits include adding up to 30 new jobs in Owatonna that pay above-average retail wages and the revitalization of an existing retail site no longer being used.

City Council adopted a new ordinance in December 2024 regulating cannabis sales and use within city limits. For additional information about City Council actions and meetings, visit owatonna/gov. The municipal cannabis permit process is separate from the system established to issue licenses for private dispensaries. Additional information about statewide cannabis sales is available online at the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management.

Long-term Plans to Clear Floodplain Properties Progressing

In our ongoing flood mitigation efforts, the City Council approved the purchase of 502 Maple Drive at its March 18 meeting. This property has flooded numerous times and is adjacent to the Dartt’s Park entrance on Cherry Street. The plan is to remove the house located there and move it to another location out of the floodplain. The property would then become part of Dartt’s Park.

In January, the City Council also approved the purchase of 315 Lemond Road. The house there is also in the floodplain and has flooded numerous times.

The City has been approved to receive more than $212,000 in grants from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to assist in the costs associated with removing these two homes from the floodplain. Over the last 20 years, the City has removed more than 30 homes from the floodplain utilizing DNR and FEMA grant funds.

Movies of the Decades

Join us in the Gainey Room at 2 p.m. March 27 for the next monthly showing in the year-long Movies of the Decades series. This month celebrates the 1930s with the classic The Wizard of Oz.

Compost Site Opening

A tentative opening date has been set for March 31, pending weather and site conditions. Check out the Compost Information Webpage for the hours of operation and other informational updates.

By the Yard is looking for feedback to ensure the site operations meet the community’s needs. Please complete this short survey Owatonna Compost Site Survey to submit input.

Wastewater Treatment Facility Expansion Update

Completion Date Delayed

(Article by Jennifer Svennes, Nero Engineering)

The focus of the Owatonna Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) project has moved from the liquid processes to the solids processes in recent months.

The solids removed from the liquid get treated by thickening, anaerobic digestion and dewatering. The thickening process removes water, which gets recycled through the liquid treatment and increases the solids concentration before the sludge, is sent to the anaerobic digestion process. Increasing the solids concentration before digestion allows the volume of the digester to be smaller. In Owatonna’s case, it contributes to the existing digester tanks being adequate volume for the next 25 years even though the loading is expected to nearly double in that time. Anaerobic digestion stabilizes the solids so they are safe for land application and also creates biogas. After digestion, more water is removed from the solids through the existing dewatering process and then hauled to storage before land application.

This project to update Owatonna’s WWTF includes a new solids thickening process housed in a new building. Rotary drum thickeners have been installed and recently started up. The startup of this equipment allows the existing dissolved air flotation thickening process to be taken offline so the building modifications for the biogas treatment system and electrical room in the Digester Treatment Complex (DTC) can begin. Once the electrical gear in the DTC is in place, the refurbished anaerobic digesters can be brought online along with other equipment located in the DTC.

Due to electrical equipment delays, the project needs to be extended by about seven months. The new substantial completion date for the project is January 2026. The good news is the last of the equipment that has been delayed is expected to be onsite by the end of this month. The team has done its best to minimize project delays by finding ways to temporarily power the equipment when feasible and by being flexible in the construction sequence.

The Owatonna WWTF staff deserve a huge amount of credit for being flexible and learning how to operate and maintain new processes while maintaining treatment throughout the entirety of construction.

The City Council approved an extension of the agreement with Nero Engineering and two change orders at its March 18 meeting to support the continuation of this project.

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.

March 20: Airport Commission at 8 a.m. in the Meeting Room in the Charles S. Crandall Center, 540 West Hills Circle. Library Board at 4:30 p.m. in the Gainey Room at the Library, 105 North Elm Avenue.

March 24: Housing & Redevelopment Authority at 4 p.m. in the Meeting Room in the Charles S. Crandall Center, 540 West Hills Circle.

March 25: Owatonna Public Utilities Commission at 4 p.m. in the Morehouse Meeting Room at OPU, 208 South Walnut Avenue. 

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