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(ABC 6 News) – Monday night’s city council meeting in Albert Lea is set to take on affordable housing and upgrades to its waste management systems, among other topics.
The big topic the council will vote on is a conditional use permit for a new 60+ unit low-income housing project at the Blazing Star Landing site.
Formerly home to a meatpacking plant that burned down more than 20 years ago, the area has sat unused for years before the city finally began cleaning it up and getting some use out of it.
This latest move is designed to address multiple aspects of Albert Lea’s comprehensive plan, including cleaning vacant and contaminated property to prevent urban sprawl, increase the city’s tax base, and providing much-needed affordable housing.
“Us taking our fate in our own hands and trying to push these things forward, working with developers, finding ways to get the site cleaned up is really a testament to our effort and really a focus of where we want to be as a community,” said city manager Ian Rigg.
Rigg says this particular project will be set for construction some time next year, with another project at the site aimed for 2027.
Another topic of discussion at the city council meeting will be addressing the city’s demolition landfill.
The landfill offers an opportunity for local residents to dispose of things like oil, batteries, and a variety of leftover construction materials at a much lower cost and in a more convenient place than other landfills.
Lately however, the landfill has been running out of space and is in need of some upgrades and an expansion, but new regulations from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency could make the cost of that project unfeasible.
The council will consider bringing in an engineering firm to do a cost-benefit analysis and decide if it’s worth the cost to upgrade or expand, or if the city should shut it down instead.
Rigg says the cost on the city to make the necessary changes could consequently drive up the cost for residents to use it, making it less affordable than it once was compared to other landfills.
“In an ideal world, I would love it if we were doing more,” he said. “But there’s certain price tags so we would want to make sure we are not greatly exceeding that.”
Other topics on the docket include improvements coming to the wastewater treatment plant, and a conversation on the timeline for the city’s arena renovation project.
Albert Lea’s city council meeting beings at 7:00 P.M. at 221 E. Clark Street.
To watch the meeting live, click here.
