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Red Lake Falls council hears $10.43 million street and utility plan; city estimates 79% of cost
Summary
At a March 2 public hearing, Red Lake Falls officials outlined a proposed $10.43 million 2026 Street & Utility Improvement project covering multiple blocks; the city estimates it will pay 79% of costs and assess the remaining 21% to property owners under Minnesota Statutes Section 429.
Red Lake Falls — The City Council of the City of Red Lake Falls held a public hearing on March 2, 2026, on a proposed 2026 Street & Utility Improvement project that the city estimates will cost $10,430,000. Mayor Allen Bertilrud opened the hearing and city staff described the streets and utility segments included in the plan.
City staff cited a preliminary engineering report completed in 2022 and provided a line-item estimate of the project: $2.7 million for water work, $2.2 million for sanitary sewer, $4.8 million for streets and $0.7 million for storm sewer work. The proposed scope covers segments including State Ave SW (5th St SW–6th St SW), Champagne Ave SW (3rd St SW–9th St SW), 6th St SW (Main Ave S–Chicago Ave SW) and several other blocks across town.
Under the city's assessment policy and Minnesota Statutes Section 429, city staff said the municipal share would be about 79% of the total cost and roughly 21% would be assessed to property owners. Staff said assessments would be calculated as a cost per assessable footage for street, sewer and water; actual assessment amounts will be determined after construction and will be the subject of a future assessment hearing following project completion.
The tentative project schedule presented to the council calls for advertising and opening bids in April 2026, starting construction in May 2026 and a projected completion in July 2027. The minutes note an assessment hearing is expected after construction is finished.
There were no written comments submitted to the city for this hearing, and the council provided an opportunity for anyone present to speak. Mayor Allen Bertilrud thanked attendees and invited constituents to remain after the meeting to review projected assessment estimates with Engineer Zach Thoma.
Next steps: the city expects to publish bid documents in April 2026 and proceed to solicit construction bids; the council will publish finalized assessment details and hold the statutorily required assessment hearing after the work is complete.
