Council opts to not take MnDOT suggestion for turnback project

The Worthington City Council ultimately took no action on an addendum to Monday night's meeting regarding design for the 2027 Trunk Highway 59/60 Turnback Project.

City Engineer Hyunmyeong Goo explained during the meeting that the goal during early design discussions for the project was to maintain as many through lanes as possible. As the result of the inclusion of a dedicated right-turn lane at the intersection of Humiston Avenue and Oxford Street, though, a revised approach was proposed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Goo said this suggestion would involve merging southbound traffic from the westernmost lane into the adjacent lane, allowing the westernmost lane to function exclusively as a right-turn lane for side streets, including Oxford Street.

City Administrator Steve Robinson added that there would be a right-hand turn lane going into and coming out of Ray’s Drive and following south on North Humiston Avenue. The right-hand lane at Oxford Street would be made into a right-turn-only lane, rather than the through lane it currently is.

Robinson noted that the city, when the turnback is complete, will have the power to whatever it wants with the lane structure. With that in mind, council members opted to take no action on the new MnDOT approach.

In another matter, the council approved an agreement with Paycom Payroll LLC for a payroll and human capital management processing system.

Robinson explained that the existing system is fully reliant on manual input of timesheets by employees and biweekly compensation and benefits by the Compensation Specialist.

"Our current method is labor intensive and time consuming," he said. "It takes our payroll and benefits staff a minimum of two and one-half days each pay period. In addition, our current system does not automate a fully integrated human resources and payroll operation."

The proposed agreement is for a three-year term and includes an initial implementation cost of $10,821.87 and annual estimated fees of $51,609.30 based on the number of employees receiving compensation throughout the year. It's anticipated that efficiencies gained will offset administrative costs.

Among multiple other business items Monday night, the Worthington City Council approved a pair of ballfield maintenance agreements.

City public works staff will perform annual ballfield maintenance on the athletic fields located on the Minnesota West Worthington campus. These include the baseball, softball and football practice fields. Public Works staff will be responsible for work that includes mowing, dragging, lining, fertilizing, aerating and general cleanup. Minnesota West will pay the City of Worthington $16,885.92 for these services, a 10% increase over last year’s contract.

Council members also approved a separate agreement with District 518 that will have city Public Works staff perform field maintenance, cleaning and trash removal, and minor maintenance of facilities on district fields. The school district will pay the city $13,468, a 10% increase from 2025.

Additionally, council members on Monday accepted a grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation in an amount not to exceed $6,863.89. This will go toward construction of a new 150’x 50’ three bay hangar at the Worthington Municipal Airport. The total local share of this $1.2-million-dollar hangar project will be $51,025.21.

A pair of two-year leases were also approved. A Glenwood Heights Agricultural Land Lease will allow 4B Acres Inc. to rent 20 acres at a fee of $6,300 per year. An Olson Trust Agricultural Land Lease will allowi Tom Martin to rent 10 acres at a fee of $2,551 per year.