City Council Highlights

Moment of Silence 

Mayor Lloyd Hilgart asked for a moment of silence for three pillars of the Monticello community: Dr. Phil White, Roger Pribyl, and Dan Mielke; all of whom passed away in December.

“[They were] three very significant members of our community, it’s a big loss. They gave [so much] to the community, they’re going to be missed,” said Mayor Hilgart.

Annual update from the City Clerk

The City Clerk manages the City Code, provides City Council support, oversees animal control, permits and licensing, data requests, records retention and maintenance, reception and the front desk, and elections management. Highlights from 2023 include:

• Converted over 1,397,324 pages, 142,280 documents, and 17,410 folders were converted from paper documents into digital format when they were scanned into the City’s digital archiving system, Laserfiche.
• Issued 71 various licenses (for example liquor or massage licenses), compared to 63 in 2022; and 129 permits (such as special event permits, food trucks, or ATVs) versus 127 in 2022.
• Completed 51 data requests compared to 27 in 2022.

2024 Election Administration

As part of her update, the City Clerk noted the 3 upcoming elections in 2024. The first is MN’s Presidential Nomination Primary Election on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

Early voting for the Presidential Nomination Presidential Nomination Primary election begins January 19, 2024.

Only presidential candidates from major parties will be listed and each party will have its own separate ballot. There are three major parties: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Legal Marijuana Now Party, and the Republican Party of Minnesota.

• City of Monticello residents can vote at their polling place on presidential primary day or vote early at City Hall.
• A voter can also request a ballot be mailed to them.
• Voters must request the ballot of the party of their choice.
• If a voter refuses to select a party, they will not be able to vote in the presidential nomination primary.

A voter’s choice of party ballot will be recorded and is private data. The information will not be part of the voter’s registration record but will be part of their voting history and provided to the chair of each major political party. How a voter voted on a ballot is secret.

Precinct caucuses and local and state nominating conventions will still take place to conduct other party business.

Upcoming Election Dates:

• January 19 – Early Voting Begins for the Presidential Nomination Primary Election
• March 5 – Presidential Nomination Primary Election Day
• June 28 - Early Voting Begins for the Primary Election
• July 30-August 13 – Candidate Filing Period for elected officials: City Council (2) & the Mayor.
  1. There are two City Council seats and the Mayor seat on the general election ballot. The term for City Council is four years, the term for Mayor is two years.
• August 13 – Primary Election Day
• September 20 - Early Voting Begins for the General Election
• November 5 – General Election Day

You can view the City Clerk’s full presentation on the City’s website in the Agenda Center or watch the recording online. 

Council accepted a $48,000 grant from Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for the City’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan

In January 2023, we were awarded $200,000 in federal funding to complete a Safe Streets 4 All (SS4A) Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. The grant required a 20% local match, or $50,000.

In October, staff applied for MNDOT’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Match Program which provides matching funds to grant recipients of federal funds for transportation projects. The City of Monticello was awarded a total of $48,000 in IIJA funding to use for the City’s local match requirement for the SS4A Action Plan Grant project. The remaining $2,000 of the required local match will come from the City.

The goal of the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan is to help identify improvements to increase transportation safety, eliminating serious injury, and fatality accidents in Monticello. 

Once complete, the plan will provide a framework of strategies and actions to reduce fatal and serious crashes for all roadway users.

2024 City Council Appointments

Each year, the Mayor assigns council members to represent the Council on various boards and commissions. They act as liaisons to the committees, participate in discussions, and bring information back to share with the rest of the City Council. 

• Mayor Lloyd Hilgart will serve on the Economic Development Authority (EDA), and the Monticello Orderly Annexation Area Board (MOAA). He also sits on several Ad Hoc Committees including Emergency Planning for Xcel Energy and Wright County, and the Fire Relief Board of Trustees.
• Councilmember Charlotte Gabler will serve on the Planning Commission, Interstate 94 (I-94) West Corridor Coalition, and the Parks, Arts, & Recreation Commission (PARC).
• Councilmember Tracy Hinz will serve on the Economic Development Authority (EDA), and the Library Board. She will also serve on the steering committee for the Parks, Arts, and Recreation Master Plan, which will be finalized in 2024.
• Councilmember Lee Martie will serve on the Monticello Orderly Annexation Area Board (MOAA), Central Mississippi River Regional Planning Partnership (CMRP), and the Personnel Committee.
• Councilmember Sam Murdoff will serve on the Bertram Chain of Lakes Advisory Board, and the Industrial & Economic Development Committee (IEDC).

Each committee/commission has one councilmember (two for the EDA and the MOAA) at their board attending meetings.