Worthington City Council OK's new comprehensive plan

The Worthington City Council on Monday night adopted the "Our Worthington 2045" Comprehensive Plan, which is intended to guide growth, policy and decision making over the next 20 years.

Stephanie Falkers of SRF Consulting Group, which worked with Worthington Director of Community Development Matt Selof and others on the plan for the last 18 months, presented a plan overview to council members Monday. She explained that its formulation was a six-step process that involved the community, a steering committee, city council and committees, city staff, local and agency partners and SRF Consulting Group.

Outcomes detailed in the plan are broken down into vision and goals, element strategies and implementation. Specific elements of the plan include housing, land use, transportation, recreation, public buildings, utilities, economic development and natural resources. Each of those elements then has its own set of objectives that correspond to the plan’s mission statement.

Mike Kuhle, who recently rejoined the council after previous service as a councilman as well as two terms as mayor, said he was “in awe” of the new plan, which was approved unanimously.

In another matter under community development, the council voted unanimously to prohibit parking at the downtown plaza. Incidents of driving through the pavilion have been reported, and Director of Public Works Todd Wietzema added Monday that a pillar has been run into and a table knocked over by vehicles. He also noted that a newly paved parking lot is located a block away.

Also Monday, council members approved the 2025 sewer rates as presented Monday night by Worthington Public Utilities General Manager Scott Hain. The “average” residential user (4,000 gallons per month) will see about a $8.22/month or 16.6% increase.

Hain explained that the monthly sewer charge consists of two components -- a usage charge and a connection charge.

The usage charge is to recover the cost of conveying and treating wastewater. This charge is comprised of debt service and user charges for flow and the pollutant loading parameters. The usage charge is billed to non-industrial customers based on water consumption and assumed pollutant levels.

The "connection charge" or minimum monthly charge is to recover costs such as those for billing, collection system improvements, treating inflow and infiltration, and debt service on reserve capacity.

The total revenue of $3,978,101 to be generated by the 2025 rates is $546,246 – or 15.9% -- more than the $3,431,855 budgeted to be generated from the 2024 rates.

The major drivers for the rate increase are the collection of an additional $177,200 to service debt and a $200,000 increase in the amount collected through rates for sanitary sewer collection system improvements.

Also approved by the council Monday was the third and final required reading of an ordinance that raises the city's storm water utility rate. To fund the Centennial Park Lift Station rehabilitation, a rate hike of $161,365 was recommended by city staff. This results in a proposed 19.25% stormwater utility rate increase for the 2025 budget to meet 2025 revenue needs.

Under engineering items, the city council a revised task order with Bolton and Menk for design services for the East Okabena Lake Trail Project.

Previously, the council in June 2023 passed a task order with Bolton and Menk to provide engineering service for the East Okabena Trail project development including right of way acquisition, project design, permitting and environmental review. The cost was not to exceed $127,500.

This revised task order is not to exceed an  additional amount of $123,000, with Bolton and Menk to provide railroad coordination to establish an acceptable crossing under an existing Union Pacific railroad bridge, design and coordination of a box culvert under Union Pacific railroad, environmental documentation associated with the awarded 2024 Local Trail Connection grant funding through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and technical assistance to apply for additional grant funding through MnDOT’s Active Transportation (AT) Infrastructure program.

A motion to pass the revised tax order passed with councilman Chad Cummings in opposition. Cummings objected to the costs that he believed should be, at minimum, shared by the railroad.

Also Monday, the council voted to order a public hearing on the Service Road and Service Drive improvement project. Proposed improvements involve replacement of the sanitary sewer main and sanitary services, water main, water services, regrading and pavement restoration. The hearing will take place during the Dec. 23 council meeting,