MN: Council approves sending letter supporting passenger rail

The Albert Lea City Council on Monday voted unanimously to approve sending in a letter of support for passenger rail options throughout southern Minnesota.

Albert Lea is part of a group of several communities in the southern part of the state requesting a renewed effort for passenger rail, which could eventually connect to a system that goes from Minneapolis to Dallas. The state is in the middle of updating its state rail plan for 2025.

The letter states the city supports prioritizing passenger rail between the Twin Cities and Albert Lea and the Twin Cities and Mankato as phase one projects in the state plan.

It also requests the same phase one designation for the existing Canadian Pacific Railroad/former DM&E rail line that connects Mankato and Albert Lea and could expand to additional cities, including Waseca, Rochester and Winona.

In other action, the council:

• Approved a variance to maximum height requirements for Green Acres Milling, which is building a new oat processing facility at 460 14th St.

The new structure, which City Planner Megan Boeck described as being similar to a grain elevator, would be about 1,441.5 feet above sea level, or a 41.5 feet variance from city ordinance. The building height itself is 115 feet with equipment height of 25.5 feet.

• Approved 2024 lead service line replacement project contracts throughout the city.

The Albert Lea Utilities Department is taking part in a federal and state effort to reduce lead in drinking water by replacing remaining water lines made of lead or galvanized material.

Lead was commonly used for water service lines in the early 1900s. The federal government banned the use of lead materials in new plumbing systems in 1986. Property owners and the city of Albert Lea have replaced many of the lines over the past several years. Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring each state to replace all remaining lead water lines. The goal is to eliminate lead water lines by 2033.

City Engineer Steven Jahnke said the city received about $1.6 million in grants for the project, and will apply for additional grants to pay for the rest of the project. The city is only the third in the state with the program.

He said 1,400 letters went out to property owners where the city knew there were lead lines or where it was unknown. From this first round of grant funding, funds will be used to verify unknown lines and replace 170 lead lines at no cost to the property owners.

The council previously passed a resolution awarding bids to two low bidders for the project, Platinum Plumbing Solutions LLC of Albert Lea and BCM Construction Inc. of Faribault.

Mayor Rich Murray abstained from the vote because of a family tie to one of the companies.

• Approved a development agreement with Turning Point Real Estate for 821 Jefferson Ave. The council agreed to sell the property for $30,000, which is about equal to the amount of repairs made, City Manager Ian Rigg said.

Plans by the company call for turning the property into a three-unit apartment building with two one-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom.

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