The Hutchinson City council took the following actions unanimously at its Oct. 10 meeting:
INTEREST: Approved the interest rate for the 2023 adopted assessment rolls. Each year the city bonds for roadway and infrastructure improvements, the City Council must set the interest rate for the special assessments to be certified to the county. The interest on the assessments is at the “true interest rate” on the 2023 improvement bonds, plus 1%, which comes out to 4.58%.
ASPHALT CRUSHING: Approved a quote from Intex Corporation to crush asphalt for $4.25 per ton, up to 20,000 tons, and up to 25 hours of breaking at $215 per hour along with a flat mobilization cost of $6,500 totaling $96,875. The last crushing event was in 2021 in which 20,000 tons were crushed. The inventory produced was sold out in fall of 2022. Creekside accepts blacktop and concrete rubble removed from city and private projects in the area. Inventory produced from crushing is available for purchase to contractors and the general public.
STORM: Approved a grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development of $53,821 from the state's Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Program. The grant will assist the city with construction of a storm-water retention pond and related infrastructure on a city-owned lot at 11450 Fifth Ave. SE. The city must provide a 50% match, which will come from the Economic Development loan fund and will be repaid over time by tax increment dollars generated by current projects in the industrial park.
AIRPORT: Approved an agreement with Federal Aviation Administration to inspect the 2023 airport lighting project. The inspection must be completed before opening the airport. The cost of providing commissioning and inspection flight is $15,343 and is funded through an FAA grant and airport construction funds.
EASEMENTS: Approved the second reading and approval of an ordinance for vacation of drainage and utility easements at 125 Michigan St. NE, 505 Hilltop Drive NE and 515 Hilltop Drive NE. Property owner Gary Forcier requested to vacate the easements that were in place prior to the replat of his property, which was approved last month. The Planning Commission unanimously approved this request. Forcier abstained from voting.
WEED ORDINANCE: Approved amendments to Chapter 92, commonly referred to as the “weed ordinance” to allow natural landscaping concepts due to state legislation passed during the 2023 session. Historically, the city's regulations have imposed an 8-inch maximum height requirement for vegetation, but natural landscaping typically exceeds these limits. In response, the city has devised a procedure to facilitate property owners in adopting natural landscaping in lieu of conventional turf grass. Property owners aiming to embrace this new approach must obtain a "Natural Landscape Plan" authorization.
BENEFITS: Approved a city employee benefit package for 2024 at a cost of $2.03 million. This is a 25% increase ($349,676) from the current year. Due to IRS requirements, the embedded deductible has increased $200 for employees.
WORKSHOP: Approved a council workshop for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, to review community survey results.
