The Albert Lea City Council voiced its unanimous support Monday to have a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic come to the city.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it plans to open two new community-based outpatient clinics in Minnesota, one of which is planned for the south central portion of the state. Albert Lea is one of the locations in the running.

Albert Lea City Manager Victoria Simonsen said because of the city’s location along Interstate 35 and Interstate 90 — in that it would provide easy access for people in both southern Minnesota and northern Iowa — city staff are supportive of the outpatient clinic coming to Freeborn County.

The city support comes after Freeborn County commissioners voiced their support for the outpatient clinic at their most recent board meeting.

A location for the clinic has not yet been discussed.

Councilor Larry Baker said he would like to get some of the veterans in the community to write letters of support to send to our state and national leaders.

“I’ve talked to several veterans in our area, and they’re very excited about this,” Councilor Larry Anderson added.

The resolution will be sent to the U.S. Senate and Congressional delegations of Minnesota, state Sen. Dan Sparks and District 27A Rep. Robin Brown, along with the state Veterans Affairs medical center director, network director and medical center spokesperson.

Baker said he ran into Brown over the weekend, and she indicated her excitement for the potential project.

The resolution passed Monday discusses the need to work with Freeborn County, the local medical community, local and state veterans affairs officials.

Councilor Vern Rasmussen encouraged people to contact their state and national legislators for this and other issues.

“It would be a very big asset to our community,” he said.

In other action Monday, the City Council:

Authorized a joint powers agreement with the Shell Rock River Watershed District for the South Industrial Park Flood Mitigation Project.

The agreement is specifically for the design, construction and maintenance of a storm water pond, between South Shore Drive and Highway 65, designed for a 100-year flood event. The pond would allow the industrial park to drain into that area before discharging into Albert Lea Lake.

The project also includes a new culvert under Highway 65 to eliminate water flowing over the roadway.

Under the agreement, the watershed district will purchase the real estate and construct the project. Within three months of the certified date of completion, the district will transfer the property to the city. City staff will then be in charge of operating, maintaining and repairing the project.

The watershed district will retain the wetland credits.

“I believe our district is excited about this project,” said Andy Henschel with the watershed district.

He said he thinks it will help them achieve their goals about water retention and water quality. It will be a showcase project not only for the watershed district but also for the city.

Witnessed discussion about the role of the Albert Lea Port Authority and the city’s control over it.

The discussion was initiated by former Albert Lea City Councilor John Severtson.

Severtson said the Port Authority is one component within the city that people don’t talk about often.

“It was built by the city, but there’s not a lot of control over it,” he said.

He handed out literature from the city’s 1987 Comprehensive Plan and from the city manager’s budget for 2007.

In 1987, the city created the Albert Lea Port Authority, in what he said was intended to be a benefit to the city. At that time the governing commission consisted of the mayor and six members of the council and was staffed by the city manager as the executive director.

The majority of the city’s economic development assets were aggregated under the umbrella of the Port Authority and that authority began acting as the economic development arm of the city government, he said.

He talked about money that got transferred from the city to the Port Authority, and Severtson said in his opinion it looks like the council gave away the control of the city’s money.

He said he thinks the entire council should still be on the Port Authority board, instead of just having two councilors do so. He asked the council to consider looking into the situation and seeing if there’d be a better way to conduct the Port Authority for the people of Albert Lea.

Albert Lea Economic Development Agency Executive Director Dan Dorman responded to Severtson’s comments at the end of the meeting.

Dorman said he thought it was good that Severtson brought the issue forward because he hears some rumblings about it in the community from time to time.

He said he wanted to point out that the majority of the port authorities in the state are run the same way Albert Lea’s is run.

A number of people think the Albert Lea Port Authority was created in 2003, but it was in fact created in 1987, he said.

In the way that the Port Authority is set up, it is able to think a little bit more independently from the day-to-day operations of the city, he said. The city is subject to more immediate pressure while the Port Authority is able to think a little more long-term about things.

Dorman said he still thinks the council plays a big role in the authority, as it appoints the commissioners to the Port Authority board, with commissioners being there for six years and councilors there being in there for four years.

It is similar to the Albert Lea Housing and Redevelopment Authority in that it used to be an actual part of city government and now operates separately, he added.

He pointed out several of the successes of the Port Authority and the assets it has accrued.

Authorized several budget appropriations and transfers needed to balance the city’s 2008 budget.

Appropriations included $270,000 to the police department budget and $60,000 to the fire department to account for expenditures of police and fire interest earnings.

Transfers included $24,000 from the pool budget to the parks department budget to allow for the purchase of playground equipment and $50,000 from the street maintenance budget to the City Arena budget to allow for arena locker renovations for the Albert Lea Thunder.

Voted to hire TKDA consulting group out of St. Paul to conduct a sewer rate analysis for the community.

Councilors said the analysis would be a good tool for the city to make sure its rate structure is sustainable and is on the same level playing field as other neighboring communities.

The decision came after recent controversy about the city’s sewer rates.

The cost for the analysis will be $15,500. The money comes out of the city’s sewer fund.

Approved a conditional use permit for the Kwik Trip at 906 W. Front St., which would allow for an expansion of storage and interior retail services.

The conditional use permit was recommended by the Albert Lea Planning Commission on Jan. 20.

 Voted to increase the fees for several licenses. These licenses were inadvertently left off of a resolution voted on in December regarding licenses and fees.

Passed increases include changing a cigarette license from $100 to $150, an amusement device license from $45 to $50, an arcade license for more than seven machines from $90 to $100, a distributor license from $130 to $200, and a temporary off premises on-sale liquor license from $15 to $50.

Legends Bar owner Dave Reisewitz questioned the license increase for amusement devices. He said he rents his game machines, and he doesn’t think he should have to pay for a license fee.

City Clerk Shirley Slater-Schulte said she would look into whether the distributor, and not Reisewitz, would pay the license fee in his case.

Voted to give Steven and Jolene Svendsen of Southview Lane two weeks to come up with a plan to save the house at 316 Railroad Ave.

The property was up before the council for an order for removal; however, the couple indicated earlier in the afternoon that they wanted to try to keep the house and tear down the garage.

“At this point, I don’t know that he has a plan,” Fire Chief and Building Inspector Paul Stieler said. “He needs to develop a plan and a timetable, something along this line, if he intends to repair the house.”

Baker initially motioned to allow the Svendsens an indefinite time to come up with a plan, but he changed it to be two weeks.

The property at 316 Railroad Ave. was deemed unfit for human occupancy on April, 9, 2007, and during a follow-up inspection made on Sept. 9, 2008, the inspection department identified it to be “dilapidated, unsanitary and inadequate in maintenance creating a fire hazard,” according to city documents.

Documents state the property owners, Steven and Jolene Svendsen of Southview Lane, were sent a notice by regular and certified mail on Dec. 10 that the situation would be up before the council. Staff received no response until the day of the meeting.

Approved a request from Alliant Energy to replace the street fixtures on Blake Avenue between Southeast Marshall Street and Hendrickson Road with 40 induction street lighting fixtures.

The replacement would be part of a pilot project to determine the functionality of an energy efficient fixture under extreme Minnesota winters. The city bears no cost for the project.

The light fixtures would be installed the first week of February.

If at any time the city deems the performance or appearance of the lights unsatisfactory, Alliant will remove the lights and replace them with the original fixtures.

Approved a request from the Fountain Lake Sportsman’s Club to use the North Broadway parking lot and the gazebo at Fountain Lake Park on Sunday for the group’s ice fishing contest. The request also included access to the ice for cars to drive out on.