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Mayor Fbender outlines $70.3 million water-plan, $71 million budget and housing pressures in Hastings City
Summary
Mayor Mary Fbender told the State of the Community luncheon that Hastings City is building multiple water-treatment plants to remove PFAS and nitrates, has a $71 million 2026 budget, and cited a Dakota County housing-gap study showing a multi-hundred-unit shortfall.
Mayor Mary Fbender used the State of the Community luncheon to highlight the city’s infrastructure work, budget priorities and growth challenges.
On water quality, Fbender said construction is underway on a central water treatment plant and that the city is advancing planning and funding for two additional treatment facilities (an eastern plant in the industrial park and a western plant planned for 2027). She stated the city has requested approximately $18.4 million and $20.7 million in state funds for the eastern and western plants and estimated the combined cost to construct all three plants at about $70.3 million. "These plants will remove PFAS and nitrates from our water," the mayor said, adding that the city has secured more than $23 million in grants and settlement funding and is pursuing additional resources.
The mayor presented the city’s 2026 budget at roughly $71 million with a tax levy of about $21.6 million. She said 44% of every tax dollar goes to public safety, parks and recreation receives 12%, and public works receives approximately 10%.
Fbender described transportation and facilities investments: coordination with MnDOT on the Highway 61 corridor reconstruction (scheduled for 2028), pedestrian-safety improvements on Highway 55 and 42/County Road 29 designs with Dakota County, Civic Arena upgrades including energy-efficiency and solar panels, and completion of a multi-year City Hall renovation supported by state bonding and grants.
On housing and development, the mayor said the city approved 42 new residential units in the past year valued at $9.7 million, noted multiple ongoing developments (Heritage Ridge, Vermillion Acres senior housing, Villas on Pleasant, South Oaks), and cited a Dakota County study that the transcript reported as a five-year housing gap of 1,483 units — described in the remarks as including "42 rental and 1,081 for-sale homes." (The mayor attributed the study; transcript figures for the component categories do not sum to the stated total and should be verified.) She also said the city approved 55 commercial/industrial permits totaling about $122.9 million.
The mayor gave public-safety statistics for 2025: fire/EMS responded to about 4,000 calls (3,495 medical emergencies and 483 fire calls); police responded to nearly 20,000 calls and handled roughly 2,000 cases. Fbender acknowledged mutual-aid exchanges with neighboring jurisdictions (the city relied on neighbors 28 times and provided aid 64 times) and welcomed Kyle Lynch, sworn in as the new police chief.
Fbender closed by emphasizing the city’s priorities — completing the clean-water infrastructure program, advancing strategic transportation investments, supporting economic vitality and expanding housing — and reiterated that the city does not recruit developers to annex land, noting that private land sales and owner decisions drive annexation possibilities.
