Red Wing City Council briefs

Red Wing City Council

Sand recommendations OK’d

Red Wing City Council unanimously accepted a report Monday from the Planning and Sustainability commissions on silica sand mining. Members also directed staff to move forward in drafting specific zoning ordinance changes to reflect the recommendations.

“We’ll need to be much more specific on what these changes are” in the ordinances, Planning Director Brian Peterson said.

“I think the devil’s in the details right now,” Council member Lisa Bayley said.

The council came to a consensus that it wanted the ordinance to be flexible depending on individual operations, but also stricter than might be needed. It would be easier to loosen restrictions rather than tighten them later on as more information becomes available, they said.

“We’re kind put in the position of better safe than sorry,” Council member Peggy Rehder said.

The schedule laid out has a Planning Commission public hearing Sept. 18, an introduction of the ordinance changes at the Sept. 24 City Council meeting and a special meeting at 8 a.m. Oct. 1 to give the changes final approval.

Dredging will close Levee Road

The City Council voted unanimously Monday to allow for the closure of Levee Road for the U.S. Corps of Engineers to conduct emergency dredging of the Mississippi River.

“The corps needs to remove roughly 20,000 to 40,000 yards of material to keep the river open to barge traffic,” Deputy Public Works Director Lynn Nardinger said.

The portion of Levee Road from the bulkhead to Withers Harbor Drive will be closed Monday through Friday starting Sept. 4. Closure will last between two and four weeks, Nardinger said. A more specific timeline will surface after dredging begins.

Boats can still be hauled from the marina to the boatyard when needed, Nardinger said.

Charter changes OK’d

The City Council unanimously approved three charter changes as part of its consent agenda Monday.

The changes no longer allow an acting mayor to veto resolutions, shift wording to reflect that Red Wing’s primary will always be the same day as the state’s and spell out the fact that the city is not required to hold a primary in a special election.

In other news…

• The City Council unanimously approved a variance request from Riedell Shoes to construct a 10,000-square-foot warehouse addition on Cannon River Avenue.

• The city is moving forward with plans for the Sturgeon Lake Road overpass. City staff is finalizing a draft and will bring it to the Prairie Island Tribal Council soon for discussion.

• Council member Mike Schultz on Monday thanked staff for all the improvements done at A.P. Anderson Park. “We almost need a ribbon cutting,” he said. “It’s like a brand new park.”

• Council members unanimously approved the appointment of Leslie Hakala to the Library Board. She will fulfill Maxine Pruitt’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2013.

Meeting watch

Monday’s City Council meeting lasted about two hours and 15 minutes. Council member Marilyn Meinke was absent.

— Compiled by Danielle Nordine, staff writer

Tags: red wing, city council, government