Rate increases for the city pool and city arena, as well as a new membership fee for the senior center, are all effects of Albert Lea’s efforts to settle cuts in local-government aid (LGA) for 2003.

Monday night, the council voted to raise pool rates to $3 for at-door customers and $2.50 for bulk ticket buyers; raise the arena rental and contract rates by 25 percent; and start an annual $25 fee for senior center membership.

The council decided not to make program funding cuts, though a proposal was on the table to do so.

The city must come up with $748,000 in cuts to make up for a cut of the same size from state LGA funding. The city has discussed coming up with some of the savings by cutting or eliminating funding for many areas of the parks and recreation department, as well as funding given to organizations such as the YMCA.

But Dennis Dieser of the YMCA and Art Anderson of the senior center complained that they hadn’t heard about these cuts from the city, but instead from other sources. Both said the city needed to communicate better with those who would be affected.

The city raised the rates to cover some of the costs of the cuts, but the bulk of the cut will be covered by $500,000 in excess police and fire pension funds.

The council will vote on the cuts at their next meeting, April 14.

Other council action:

&045; By a 5-2 vote, the council approved, a bid by Freeborn Construction for improvements to Blake Avenue, the street that will give access to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The bid was for $1,085,382.74.

There was some controversy involved in awarding the bid. One of the stipulations of the contract was that the company had to dispose of the excavated dirt and clay from the project. The city, before bidding, listed two local developers as possible interested parties.

After the bidding closed, the city and Freeborn Construction discussed instead using the excess materials to fill in the basement area of the Farmland site, which would save the city from having to use the class-seven fill it would have used. The fill is more expensive than the dirt.

Tom Leland, one of the developers who was mentioned before the bidding, addressed the council Monday, saying that the city should have laid the option on the table before the bidding began. Other bidders, including the second-lowest, Sorensen Brothers, made the case that their bids might have been different if the fill-soil matter had been presented before the bidding started.

&045; The council approved a contract with Yaggy and Colby Associates for the design phase of Front Street construction. The engineering fee will total $55,800.

&045; Tony Trow, president of Destination: Albert Lea, asked the council to put in enough money to the city-owned Freeborn Bank or &uot;Vault&uot; building, at the corner of Broadway Avenue and William Street, to mothball it to prevent further harm to its structure.

City Manager Paul Sparks replied by saying the city has done work on the parapets and the roof drains, which he said have let some water seepage into the building. Sparks said the city has money in tax-increment financing to do further repairs on the building if necessary.

&045; The council honored 11 members of the Albert Lea Police Department Citizen’s Academy.

&045; The council honored past councilmen Ron Sorenson and Dave McPherson as well as former mayor Bob Haukoos for their service.