Last month when Pelican River Watershed District Administrator Tera Guetter asked the Detroit Lakes City Council to approve $90,000 to research flowering rush, the council deferred the request for one month.
Now that the food and beverage sales tax has passed, the council approved moving forward and supporting the district.
Tuesday evening the council voted unanimously to pay $25,000 for the first year either from the food and beverage tax monies or the Liquor Fund, depending on timing. The $90,000 is a request for a three-year period.
Although voters narrowly approved the 1 percent tax earlier this month, it won't go into effect for about four months. Depending on when the research funds need to be paid, the money for the first year may come from the Liquor Fund.
When the tax was passed, the city outlined four things the tax would be used for, one of them being the control of flowering rush.
ADVERTISEMENT
Although a date has yet to be set, Mayor Matt Brenk said he will set a special session of the council in January to discuss how the proceeds from the food and beverage tax should be divided between the four allowable items.
Also at the Tuesday meeting,:
The alley behind the Stop-N-Go building was vacated due to the CVS Pharmacy project that will be going into that building. The city will still hold a utility easement in the alley, and the plan will include a trail easement for the future bike trail system through town.
Along those same lines, the city agreed to set aside $47,500 from the Liquor Fund to help pay the Department of Natural Resources to design the Heartland Trail extension from Detroit Lakes to Frazee.
The mayor swore in alderman Dan Wenner, who will serve the remaining term of Walt Tollefson, who passed away a few months ago. Wenner was also elected to the seat Alderman Leonard Heltemes will be leaving at the end of the year.
Electric rates have increased about 5 percent. Utilities Superintendent Curt Punt said the increase will hold over for a couple years without another increase.
