Monticello City Council Highlights - July 26, 2021

MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

July 26, 2021

EDA Annual Update

Economic Development Manager Jim Thares presented the annual Economic Development department update."EDA

“The 2020-2021 workplans included six components: downtown redevelopment was the top goal or priority for the EDA. Promoting industrial and commercial development was the second priority, housing development was third. The IEDC’s priorities were labor force development and business retention and expansion. In 2020 the CARES Act came to the city and money was provided to the EDA and that’s where the COVID-19 emergency response efforts were established,” said Thares.

He then elaborated further explaining that Block 52 was the top priority of the Downtown Redevelopment work plan as well as the Façade Improvement Program. One highlight was that the façade improvements to the Agosto building were completed in late 2020, with three new applications submitted this spring/summer, all of which are on Block 35.

According to Thares, there were 38 EDA CARES Act grants approved for $5,000 each. Eight additional City CARES Act grants were also approved for restaurants and microbreweries in the community.

Riverfest Recap

Riverfest 2021 was a huge success according to Riverfest City Liaison Tom Pawelk.

“Overall, it was a good turnout. Second highest gross sales that the Riverfest committee has ever seen, so that’s pretty good. Record beer sales… and duck adoptions were basically sold out, so that’s 5,000 ducks sold,” said Pawelk.

The first night [Thursday] kicked off at Pioneer Park, with a Monticello firefighter showing up strong for a second year in a row and winning the pie eating contest. Mayor Hilgart teased that may only be because he’s “not invited back” to the pie eating contest after winning twice.

“Friday night, the talent show had 22 acts and we followed it up with a wonderful fireworks display, sponsored by the City of Monticello. The Lions Bean Bag tournament on Saturday had 49 entries,” said Pawelk.

Pawelk added that while Sunday’s parade was shorter than past years, with no royalty candidates or visiting royalty; the shorter parade might have been preferable given the heat. He joked that the kids didn’t seem to mind because they still got plenty of candy.

Online Building Permits

City of Monticello is now offering online building permits for permits that do not require a plan review. Visit our website to check it out! 

Council Approval

  • Council approved Special Event Permit
    • City Council approved a Special Event Permit and temporary liquor license for the Rotary’s Taste of the Towns event. The event will be held on Thursday, September 16 in the commuter lot on Deegan Ave. 


  • Council approved new restrooms for Ellison Park
    • City Council approved the purchase of modular restrooms to replace the existing restrooms at Ellison Park. The project will also include ADA improvements in the area around the bathroom.
  • Council approved proceeding with bids for DMV relocation
    • City Council approved notifying the State of Minnesota of intent to move the DMV from its current location to the Prairie Center building at 118 W. 6th Street. Council also approved proceeding with bids for the improvements necessary to remodel the first floor of the building for the DMV. City Council will consider officially ordering the improvements at a future meeting.

WATCH A CITY MEETING

Citizens are welcome to attend City Council, Planning Commission, and Economic Development Authority meetings, but we understand that attending in person is not always an option. As an alternative, we offer the following options to stay engaged with your local government:

  • Meetings are broadcast live on cable channel 12 (FiberNet and TDS subscribers) or channel 180 (Charter subscribers).
  • Meetings are streamed live online. View the live stream on the Monticello Live Stream website.
  • Meetings recordings are available online to watch when it's convenient for you. View the meeting recordings on the Monticello Live Stream website.
  • Meetings are rebroadcast throughout the week on cable channel 12 (FiberNet & TDS subscribers) or channel 180 (Charter subscribers).

 

Oct 13

[ARCHIVED] Data Center Ordinance Update #1 - September 2025

The original item was published from October 13, 2025 3:34 PM to October 13, 2025 3:42 PM

Private developers have expressed interest in building data centers in Monticello. In response, the City is carefully reviewing how these projects align with land use policies, infrastructure capacity, and community impacts.

Earlier in 2025, the City reviewed the 2040 Vision + Plan (Comprehensive Plan), which guides long-term growth. The plan allows data centers only in Light Industrial Park (LIP) areas and requires review of site impacts, utility and electric service demands, fiscal requirements, and assurance that any specific development project will not limit the City’s future growth.

To put these policies into practice, the City is working to develop a data center ordinance amendment to define and regulate data center land uses within the City. Ordinances establish clear requirements and processes for land use applications. They allow the City to set standards, such as requiring impact studies and utility plans, and ensure all proposals that come forward, regardless of size, are reviewed consistently with the 2040 Vision + Plan. Without an ordinance, data center land use applications could be evaluated like other industrial uses, without requirements specific to data centers.

The Planning Commission has held two public hearings on a draft ordinance on August 19 and September 2. The City has collected public feedback from the public hearings and written comments. Given the significance of the topic, the draft ordinance has been tabled at this time for further discussion. The Planning Commission and the City Council will hold a joint work session to continue reviewing the ordinance and consider the public input received so far. The public is welcome to attend the joint work session to observe the proceedings.

Here are additional resources to learn more and to stay up-to-date:

Tag(s): update, planning commission, ordinance, monticelo, data center ordinance, data center, city council