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Council hears June progress report: slurry-seal rollout, landfill upgrades and downtown fire recovery updates
Summary
City staff reported on service projects completed in June — a citywide slurry-seal program, landfill equipment and storage building upgrades, trail and signal work — and provided a multi-site update on the December downtown fire remediation and rebuilding work.
Assistant to the city manager Samantha Beckman presented the June 2025 progress report, highlighting completed and ongoing projects across departments and an update on remediation work at downtown fire-impacted properties.
Beckman said the library’s summer programs have strong participation, the Dakota Bank Center hosted a May carnival, and the police department is hiring for a deputy chief and a communications operator. A new state law effective July 1 will require drivers to move over or slow for stopped emergency vehicles, she said.
Public works reported completion of a citywide slurry-seal project on streets including downtown, Eighth Street South, Madera Avenue, Twentieth Street South and Main Avenue South. Beckman said the streets division also received a new motor grader and the landfill added a storage equipment building and a dozer; the landfill paving and equipment purchases aim to extend machinery life and improve operations.
Beckman provided a status update on the December 30 downtown fire that damaged buildings at 314–322 Main Avenue. She said work is underway at multiple properties: masonry and interior work at 322 Main Avenue (the Exchange Building) with historic-preservation approval in hand; demolition and debris removal at 320 and 318 Main Avenue (two buildings declared total losses) with temporary fencing and plans for design and rebuild; and ongoing restoration at 314 Main Avenue with some ground-floor stores reopening. The city continues to coordinate with building owners and plans further meetings, she said.
Beckman also listed upcoming capital projects: Twelfth Street South shared-use trail removal and reconstruction (completion expected in August), Main Avenue South traffic-signal and ramp work (wrapping in August), and an asphalt maintenance project scheduled through October.
Ending: Staff will continue to update the council on project milestones and downtown property remediation in future meetings.
