The City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, March 10, 2025. Below are the highlights of the meeting.
To view the agenda, and minutes when available, visit the Agenda Center.
To watch the recorded meeting, stream it online or tune in on cable channel 12 (FiberNet & TDS subscribers) or channel 180 (Charter subscribers). The rebroadcast schedule is available here.
Public Service Announcements
Food Drive
The City of Monticello is collecting non-perishable food items for the Monticello Help Center through March 23. Drop off locations include City Hall, the Monticello Community Center, Hi-Way Liquors, and the DMV.
Spring Egg Dive
Registration for the annual Spring Egg Dive is now open. Join us at the Monticello Community Center on Friday, April 4. The Egg Dive costs $10 for MCC members and $17 for nonmembers. Capacity is limited. To register, visit Spring Egg Dive.
Council Liaison Updates
Industrial and Economic Development Committee
The City’s Engineer/Public Works Director joined the IEDC’s regular meeting on March 4, 2025, to provide the committee with information on the City’s PFAS mitigation Plan.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known commonly as PFAS, are a group of 5,000 man-made chemicals that resist oil, water, grease, and heat. The City of Monticello conducted PFAS testing at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Based on testing results, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) identified Monticello as a “medium” priority facility.
PFAS are commonly used in industrial and commercial applications, including textile manufacturing, paper processing, metal finishing, wire manufacturing, plastic manufacturing, commercial airports, and commercial printing. New state laws now require certain items to be made without PFAS.
To help reduce PFAS in our environment, the City of Monticello will be focusing on a reduction strategy with local industrial and commercial businesses. The City will conduct outreach to local businesses to explain the risks of PFAS, as well as educate residents on common household products that contain PFAS. Following the outreach this year, the City will conduct additional PFAS testing in summer 2026.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission held their latest regular meeting on March 4, 2025. The meeting included four public hearings:
- MasterCraft, Item 2A: A public hearing was held in consideration of a final stage planned unit development and rezoning request for an industrial service and industrial self-storage use (MasterCraft) in the Oakwood Industrial Park. The lot is located on the east side of Fallon Avenue NE, just south of the Fallon Ave NE and Chelsea Road roundabout.
- Active Adventures, Item 2B: A public hearing was held in consideration of a conditional use permit for a proposed entertainment/recreation indoor facility (Active Adventures) at 207 Dundas Road. The project repurposes a portion of an industrial building for this new use. The remainder of the building will continue to be used for building material sales and warehousing.
- Discount Tire, Item 2C: A public hearing was held in consideration of a conditional use permit for a proposed minor auto repair facility (Discount Tire), to be located between E 7th Street and I-94, across from St. Henry’s Catholic Church.
- Nordic Tap House, Item 2D: A public hearing was held in consideration of a conditional use permit for a cross-parking agreement for the restaurant/bar facility, which will be located at 106 Walnut Street in Downtown Monticello.
The Planning Commission recommended City Council approval of all four requests. The final applications will be presented to the City Council at a future meeting for final approvals.
For future public hearings, please visit Public Hearings/Meeting Notices or visit Planning Commission. Current projects can be found on the Projects page.
Department Updates
FiberNet 2024 4th Quarter Update
Arvig presented FiberNet’s 2024 4th Quarter update to City Council. The update included an overview of subscriber numbers, budget, and marketing. Currently, FiberNet will price-match other providers, so that your money stays local. Watch the presentation here.
City Council Decisions
Water Treatment Plant Funding Updates (Item 2G)
A long-term project of the City is to build a centralized water treatment plant to assist with the removal of manganese and iron from our local drinking water.
During routine federal water quality monitoring, the City detected elevated manganese in the water supply. While not currently regulated, the Minnesota Department of Health adopted recommended guidelines in 2018. In response to the elevated levels, the City conducted a feasibility study to determine the best approach for water treatment. The study recommended the construction of the water treatment plant, providing a community-wide option.
The current estimate to construct the Water Treatment Plant is $40-50 million. The City has secured $11 million in funding from the 2023 state bonding bill for this project. Currently, the City is pursuing an additional $10 million in state funding, along with a $10 million federal grant. The federal funding requires a 20% local match, which may be covered by the City through a Public Facilities Authority loan.
At the Monday meeting, Council formally adopted a resolution to support the project, which is expected to assist in future funding requests. Any external funding support will reduce the impact on local rate payers to a more manageable level. This investment will provide a long-term, community-wide solution for safe drinking water.
Cornerstone Chevrolet Donates to Monticello Fire Department
The City Council accepted a donation to the Monticello Fire Department on Monday night. The Monticello Fire Department received a total of $1,325.95 in donated funds from Cornerstone Chevrolet. The donations will be used to purchase equipment and other general items for the Fire Department.
Thank you to Cornerstone Chevrolet for their donation and support for our Monticello Fire Department!