BRAINERD — The Brainerd City Council will have a workshop at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, to discuss how to use coronavirus relief funds.
Council members heard during their meeting Monday, Oct. 3, the city received $1,468,097.57 in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, which are part of the American Rescue Plan Act. The funds must be designated for a specific use by the end of 2024 and used by the end of 2026.
City officials elected to use the entire allotment under the revenue loss provision, which allows for the most flexible use of the funds and would streamline the reporting and compliance requirements, allowing funds to be used for general government services or anything else allowed under American Rescue Plan Act provisions.
The workshop will take place in council chambers at City Hall.
In other business Monday, the council:
Ratified the hiring of Tanner Josephson as a water plant relief operator at Brainerd Public Utilities. He will begin Nov. 1 at step 2 of the city’s wage grid, earning $30.60 per hour.
Approved a lawful gambling permit application from the Brainerd Snodeos to allow lawful gambling at Jack’s House.
Approved a change order for the police department’s cold storage building in the amount of $13,846, as the street-facing wall of the building must be sided no more than 50% with steel panels in order to meet the zoning code. The rest must be paneled with Nichiha fiber cement panels. The project still remains under budget.
Authorized staff to post internally for the open job of transit coordinator.
Authorized the police department to execute the 2023 Toward Zero Death grant with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Approved an event application for the annual Shriner’s Turkey Run, set for 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 24, beginning at the fairgrounds and using the surrounding streets.
Approved a cooperative agreement with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to replace the concrete planks at the Lum Park public boat access. The cost to the city is not yet known.
Approved a final settlement and release agreement for the Northern Pacific Center segment of the Cuyuna Lakes State Trail project, and agreed to reimburse property owner Mike Higgins $20,000 for materials used on the project.
Tabled a decision on snow removal bids for the downtown special services district.
Approved a variance request from Brainerd Public Schools for a reduced rear yard setback from 10 feet to zero feet at the Washington Educational Services Building, 804 Oak St., to construct a wheelchair lift compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Approved a variance request from Liberty Group of Brainerd for a boundary line adjustment that would remove the required lot frontage on a public street at 3231 Oak St. The applicant proposed access to the property through a 33-foot-wide easement.
Approved a variance request from Stangler Properties for a reduced side yard setback from 5 feet to 2.5 feet along the north boundary line for the construction of a duplex.
Approved two variance requests from Jeff Howard that would allow a detached garage to be built at 324 Woodland Hills Lane. The variances allow the garage to be built 52 feet from the property line and to exceed the height of the principal structure by about 3 1/2 half feet.