The Albert Lea-Freeborn County governmental relationship has been strained sometimes. Monday night’s city council decision to provide funding for a sewer-line improvement necessitated by the courthouse project may have been a step toward a more symbiotic relationship.

Freeborn County administrator Ron Gabrielsen addressed the council.

&uot;It was implied that the city would do anything to keep the courthouse downtown,&uot; Gabrielsen said. He said that the courthouse complex could have been built in any part of the city or somewhere else in the county, but that the board had made the decision to stay downtown to benefit the community.

The sewer-improvement project will put a plastic &uot;sock,&uot; which would provide structural reinforcement necessary to hold up under the new building, into the existing line under the courthouse on Pearl Street.

The council decided to pay for half of the project. Albert Lea City Manager Paul Sparks said that usually in cases where construction makes utilities improvements necessary, the participating party has to pay for utilities.

The council had, at their last meeting, rejected a request from the county to provide funding. Gabrielsen wrote the council after that decision, asking them to reconsider the issue at Monday night’s meeting.

&uot;It was my request always that it’d be 100 percent paid (by the city),&uot; he said. Citing the courthouse as a major employer in the city, Gabrielsen said, &uot;If Ford or Winnebago had asked to the same there would be some concessions made.&uot;

Gabrielson added that many Albert Lea organizations, such as Greater Jobs Inc., the Chamber of Commerce, the Port Authority and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, had all lobbied the county to keep the courthouse downtown.

The current sewer is 98 years old and would most likely need to be renovated soon, but city engineer Dave Olson said the cost of that project would likely be half of the cost of the proposed project. City Councilor WHO? said, &uot;If it would cost half that, then the city should pay half.&uot;

The city already awarded the construction bid for the project at a prior meeting. But they were ready to asses that price to the county. Now, the estimated $180,000 will be evenly split in assessments to the city and county.

&uot;This is only the beginning,&uot; City Councilman Ron Sorenson said after the meeting, saying that the county would be asking the city for financial help in future segments of the courthouse.

He added that he felt the burdens of the project are falling heavily on those who live in the city. &uot;My constituents do not like to be double taxed,&uot; he said.

The council passed the motion 6-1 to split the cost, with Sorenson giving the &uot;no&uot; vote.

County Commissioner Dan Belshan said he felt the motion was a step forward in establishing a good county-city relationship.

&uot;I’m very pleased because they turned it down earlier and they now have decided to pass it,&uot; he said. &uot;I would have liked them to pay for the whole project, but you need to compromise sometimes. We got cooperation here which was very important.&uot;

In other council action:

– The council passed a variance which will give Northbridge Mall the right to build a sign which is larger than the current city sign ordinance allows.

The current ordinance keeps signs to 250 square feet. The variance will let Northbridge add 135 square feet to that.

The sign will add space for the names of the smaller retailers who are not advertised on the outside of the building.

– The council rejected a no-fault insurance plan to be bought by the city to protect against sewer back-up damage for home and business owners.

The council saw the insurance price of $7,646 per year as being too much for a problem that seldom occurs.

The insurance had many stipulations for claims to be made. City Manager Paul Sparks said he believed that the occurances of back ups in the past would not have fallen under these stipulations.

The council unanimously rejected buying the insurance.

– A city water tower at Blake Avenue and Marshall Street should be built sometime before next fall, according to Sparks.

The council accepted bids for a water main extension and an access road to be built at the site. Sorenson Brothers of Albert Lea was the low bidder at $103,965.05. The bidding for the building of the tower will begin on Dec. 4.

– The city heard a feasibility report for the reconstruction of Virginia Place for curb and gutter paving, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and water lines.

Sparks suggested the council wait until 2004 to address the issue, saying that the state budget &045; to be released sometime in December or January &045; will most likely bring large cuts in Local Government Aid (LGA), which will mean a tight budget for the city.

City Councilman Al &uot;Minnow&uot; Brooks said that he knows the street is in need of reconstruction, but said that the city budget will be too tight in 2003 to fund such a project.