The Albert Lea City Council on Monday unanimously approved the annexation of 25 acres of property from Bancroft Township into the city for a new Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services headquarters.

The vote passed 5-0 with 1st Ward Councilor Rich Murray and 3rd Ward Councilor Jason Howland absent.

Bancroft Township Supervisor Steven Overgaard said during the public forum portion of the meeting that the township was opposed to the city approving the annexation by ordinance or in any form.

“We feel the cooperative would be better served by remaining part of Bancroft Township,” Overgaard said.

Overgaard, who spoke on behalf of the Bancroft Township board, said the township had consulted with legal counsel to figure out its rights. He said if the city opted not to continue with the annexation or if Freeborn-Mower withdrew its annexation request and instead opted to continue with the project in the township, the township board would be willing to work with Freeborn-Mower and the city to meet construction timelines.

The building is expected to be 97,000 square feet and cost an estimated $20 million.

Overgaard had previously called the annexation unfair for the township and questioned the timing of when the township was notified of annexation plans as well as the communication in the weeks since.

Freeborn-Mower purchased the property in March 2018 and in August 2019 submitted a petition for annexation to the city for their property, which is directly north of the Freeborn County highway shop off of Freeborn County Road 22.

Overgaard said the township wasn’t notified of the cooperative’s plans to annex into the city until it started hearing rumors in September 2019.

Second Ward Councilor Larry Baker said though he was in favor of the annexation, he thinks there were some communication problems with all parties involved on the issue and said in the future he hoped this would be better so potential issues could be worked through earlier.

Sixth Ward Councilor Al “Minnow” Brooks made similar comments, stating though he thought the project was a good one, he felt it was unfortunate that the project transpired the way it did and the decision was being made for the annexation by ordinance instead of in an orderly fashion.

Overgaard said after the meeting he was not surprised by the action that was taken, and the township is now considering its next steps.

Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services President and CEO Jim Krueger said at a previous meeting, the cooperative plans to break ground on the new building in May with construction expected to take about 12 months.

In other action, the council:

• Heard a brief update regarding the coronavirus from City Manager David Todd.

Todd said Minnesota remains a relatively low-risk state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health.

He encouraged people to follow standard prevention practices, including washing their hands often; covering coughs; avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth; and staying home from school and work if they are sick.

He said the Freeborn County Public Health Department is the lead entity for response in the area and encouraged people to reach out to the Health Department if showing symptoms or if they have concerns.

“This community is small and it wouldn’t take much to have this virus spread pretty rapidly,” he said.

He said city staff will work on contingency plans in case staff become infected, as well as methodology for providing services if employees are affected.

• Approved plans and ordered advertisement of bids for the Clark Street reconstruction project.

The project includes complete reconstruction of the roadway, utilities and sidewalks from Ermina Avenue to First Avenue.

Todd said the estimated project cost is $1.19 million and will be paid for with assessments, municipal state aid funds, bonding, water funds and sewer funds.

Bids will open April 14.

• Ordered improvement and preparation of plans for the reconstruction of the parking lot at the intersection of Newton Avenue and College Street. The parking lot was last paved in 1961, Todd said.

The project will include the removal of existing bituminous pavement, regrading of the existing aggregate base and paving of the new bituminous surface. It will also include new sign posts, spot aggregate base reconstruction and spot concrete sidewalk replacement as needed.

The project is slated to open for bids April 21 with construction slated to begin June 1.

• Approved a resolution supporting legislation that would authorize cities to collect infrastructure development fees to fund municipal street improvements as a necessary component of growth.

The resolution was approved after the Minnesota Supreme Court found in Harstad v. City of Woodbury that cities do not have the statutory authority necessary to impose a fee for future street improvements when approving new residential development.

• Authorized the city and Albert Lea Township to enter into a contract for fire protection and emergency services to Albert Lea Township in 2020.

The city will receive $15,156 from the township, with that amount coming off their asset amount, for services rendered in 2019.

• Authorized the city and Pickerel Lake Township to enter into a contract for fire protection and emergency services to Pickerel Lake Township in 2020. The city covers two sections of the township.

According to the contract, the city will receive $2,683 from the township for services rendered in 2019.

• Approved a conditional use permit for Stoney Creek Estates, 605 19th St., to remedy legal nonconformities that might prohibit expansion or other improvements.

The Albert Lea Planning Commission held a public hearing on the issue at its Feb. 4 meeting.

• Granted a variance to the manufactured home requirements.

• Postponed the second reading of an amendment to the city’s dock ordinance.