Brainerd council approves grants, street projects, hires and land‑use permits; orders resurfacing work

The Brainerd City Council on April 21 approved a series of resolutions, contracts and personnel actions covering street work, public‑safety cooperation, parks and planning matters.

Major awards and grants: The council approved a grant agreement and awarded the Safe Routes to School improvement contract (Project 2407) to DeChantel Excavating for $432,624.79; the council also adopted the associated grant resolution. The council awarded the 2025 chip seal improvement (Improvement 2501) to Asphalt Surface Technologies Corporation for $162,337.90. In both cases staff reported the bids came in below available grant or budgeted amounts. "We are taking the low bid," Safety and Public Works chair Ted Erickson said during the discussion about Safe Routes to School.

Public works and planning actions: The council adopted a cooperative construction agreement with MnDOT for the Trunk Highway 371B (Willow Street) roundabout, approved ordering plans and assessments for Improvement 2314 (Hawkins, Ronald, Joseph resurfacing and alley work), and approved a farmers market parking‑lot closure permit for Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 16 through Oct. 10, 2025. During the Hawkins/Ronald/Joseph public hearing several residents raised questions about assessment amounts, alley sewer lining and driveway/access during construction; staff and the city engineer said detailed cost figures will follow and that the alley sewer would be addressed in coordination with the sanitary‑sewer fund.

Public safety and intergovernmental actions: The council adopted a resolution approving the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division (LADED) joint powers agreement adding Mille Lacs tribal police to the task force. The council also moved to seek a MnDOT‑provided consultant to review transit operations and asked staff to return with options in June.

Library, parks and traffic measures: The council approved moving forward on library repairs and accepted a bid to complete the library project (including a $6,735 optional air‑system balance), totaling an estimated $344,940.24, and approved placement of an aesthetic planter near Holiday Station to prevent sidewalk parking near Norwood Street. The council instructed staff to refine a draft street‑performer ordinance (staff will return a revised draft at a future meeting).

Land use, permits and personnel: The council adopted a resolution denying a conditional use permit that had been the subject of an April 7 decision; it also approved conditional use permits for a church at the Northern Pacific Center and for an expansion of adult day care services at 1919 South Sixth Street. The council renewed a short‑term rental interim use permit at 714 Seventh Street South with conditions (monthly lodging tax reporting; permit to expire 04/21/2027; staff recommended an additional condition that the permit terminate on sale or transfer of the property). Personnel actions approved included: authorization to post and fill a meter service worker position, acceptance of a police resignation (department down one officer temporarily), ratification of hiring Jackson Flett as a community service officer at $21.31 per hour effective 04/22/2025, and reclassification of an intern to community service officer effective 04/23/2025.

Administrative and ordinance work: Council conducted first readings on a proposed data‑center ordinance and on a cannabis retail registration ordinance (proposed Ordinance 15‑82). For the cannabis registration the council adopted staff’s recommendation to use a first‑come, first‑served registration with fees set at the state‑maximum allowance; the council dispensed with the reading and set the second reading/adoption for the May 5 meeting (council voted 6–1 to forego a public hearing). Staff said the Office of Cannabis Management had recently issued rules that required municipalities to act quickly to codify a registration process.

Votes at a glance: see the list below for motions, movers, outcomes and key details.

Ending: Council members scheduled follow‑up work on sewer and resurfacing priorities and set a council workshop to review staff priorities; several items will return for final adoption at upcoming meetings.