Plan to provide a road map for future projects

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

With rapid growth comes the need to plan for some expansive road and community projects in the near-to-distant future.

During its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday night, the Ottertail City Council heard from Bob Schliemann of Apex Engineering, who compiled a five-year capital improvement plan that highlights several projects that may be on the horizon in the community. Schliemann said the plan provides the city a road map of where it might be going, but having a project on the capital improvement plan doesn’t necessarily mean it will be completed anytime soon. 

“It just puts projects on your radar, and also if someone comes in here and says when are you going to be doing my street, or what are you doing; we can hand them this document to look at,” said Schliemann.

While the total cost of all of the projects is estimated to be $5,964,000, a good portion of the street improvements can be assessed to property owners who benefit from the project. Many of the gravel roads that are included on the list came from concerns raised by residents who live on the roads and have requested more information about making improvements to the road surface. 

Among the projects included in the five-year plan, and a rough estimate of the cost, includes:

• Park Circle- paving the gravel road at a cost of $535,000

• Arvilla Drive- paving the gravel road at a cost of $115,000

• Cozy Oak Drive East- paving the gravel road at a cost of $370,000

• Hilltop Road- paving the gravel road at a cost of $315,000

• Thalmann Road- paving the gravel road at a cost of $145,000

• Deer Run Estates- paving the gravel road at a cost of $337,000

• China Street and Ottertail Avenue- paved roads that may need to be completely reconstructed at a cost of $117,000

• Lueders Road- paving the gravel road at a cost of $580,000

• Fire hall and community center- building improvements to both facilities at a cost of $2.75 million

• Water metering structure- a new structure to bring the facility where water is received from the City of Henning up to modern day standards at a cost of $700,000

“Please keep in mind this is a living document. If something comes up tomorrow that we want to add we can do that,” said Schliemann “A lot of times the projects in this document do not get done but we put them in there to stay on your radar.”

In other news

• Heard a conditional use permit public hearing for K&K Ventures, Inc., regarding a new storage building being constructed 322 Buchanan Rd. To assemble neighborhood electric vehicles in Ottertail. The conditional use permit was approved during the city council meeting.

• Approved a snow removal agreement with Thumper Pond Resort.

• Accepted the following donations: $5,000 from Kenneth Guddal for a pumper truck 2026 payment, $5,000 Ottertail Rod and Gun Club for the demo derby and bleacher repair, quilt blankets from Lutheran Island Camp for the Ottertail Fire Department, $200 from Connie Guddal for the Ottertail EMT and fire department and $2,500 from Roy Nielsen for OtterDazzle Fireworks show for 2025.

• Approved the purchase of a new hire equipment at a cost of $5,547 for a new firefighter from Great Plains Fire. The current equipment that the Ottertail Fire Department has on hand does not fit the new firefighter who joined the department. 

• Heard of potential misuse of the Ottertail Lions Shelter in which chairs and picnic tables were moved to the roof of the shelter. City clerk/treasurer Amanda Thorson said when the picnic tables were moved to the roof of the shelter there was some damage that was visible. The prank was done on two separate occasions and a report was made with law enforcement as damage was found when picnic tables were found on top of the shelter. 

• Heard from Schliemann about the need for water easements for properties in Deer Run Estates. Schliemann said the proper easements were never obtained when the development was created and technically the city does not have the right to go on private property to make repairs to city infrastructure. However, Schliemann put together an easement document that property owners can sign to rectify the lack of easement for each property owner. 

• Approved setting a meeting for November 18 at 6 p.m. at the community center to discuss a potential fire hall expansion in Ottertail. The meeting will allow the group to look into what is needed and how to move forward with an expansion. 

• Approved the purchase of a hydrant buddy for city staff. The hydrant buddy is a tool designed to operate hydrants, gate valves, PIVs, sluice gates and tapping. The tool will allow city staff to more easily flush hydrants and access hydrants if needed. 

• Acknowledged a letter the city received from Robert Ecklund for the website www.ottertailhistory.com seeking a payment of $348 for hosting the website. The council did not approve the bill after informing Ecklund in November 2024 that stated the city would no longer pay for hosting the website, but thanked him for his work to get the website up and running.

• Acknowledged a letter from Premier Pyrotechnics that showed there would be a 10 percent increase in the cost of fireworks next year. The total cost for fireworks for next year would be $11,600. Thorson said the Ottertail Lions Club has stated they would be willing to increase the amount of money they donate to the city for fireworks to help cover the increase in cost for fireworks.