State appropriates $10 million for water upgrades

At the Waseca city council meeting the evening of May 19, State Representative Tom Sexton shared that during the just-finished state legislative session, the city of Waseca was appropriated nearly $10 million to meet ongoing water concerns: $8.9 million toward the cost of alleviating “inflow and infiltration” problems in the city’s underground water systems, and $1 million toward the cost of a water tower.

 

The larger appropriation would cover much of the cost of planned repairs and upgrades in the city’s underground water systems, as well as replacing road surfaces or sidewalks which are  disturbed. The $1 million allocation is toward predesign, design and property acquisition for a water tower the city plans to construct. Sexton thanked council members and city staff for providing detailed information regarding the projects during the state’s decision-making process. He invited those in attendance to take part in the next session of “Coffee with Tom Sexton,” scheduled at the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce office at noon on Friday, June 19.

 

The lowest responsible bid for replacing the roof of the Public Safety Building at 303 State Street South was $659,000. The winning bid was from Jackson and Associates construction of White Bear Lake. The construction will be completed this fall and should take about ten weeks, but a start date has not been decided.

 

Also during the meeting, Mayor Randy Zimmerman issued a mayoral proclamation to recognize the Waseca Blue Jays Basketball Team for making it to the state tournament the last three years. In 2025, they were runners up, this year they were in fifth place. Said Zimmerman, “Getting [to the state-level tournament] is quite an accomplishment because that doesn’t happen all the time.” A few team representatives were present; Coach Jake Guse gave the council and the mayor thanks, saying Waseca is “a great community to be coaching in.” Zimmerman also touted Deron Russell who has become Waseca’s all-time high scorer by tying his own record in a semi-final.

 

Discover Waseca Tourism’s Brad Milbrath gave a presentation and had requests regarding the fireworks for the Fourth of July celebration. He asked for donations and said the fireworks committee is three quarters of the way toward meeting their funding goal. City Manager Carl Sonnenberg said the council could donate, but that an official decision would have to wait until the group’s next meeting, scheduled for June 2.

 

The consent agenda was approved and included a consulting agreement with RETHOS (a Minnesota non-profit) for Historic Preservation Services for the Heritage Preservation Commission; a temporary liquor license for Sacred Heart Church for their Sept. 18 to 20 Fall Festival; the Waseca County Trail Association’s Box Car Bar gambling permit for June 28; a Waseca Hockey Association gambling permit for Waseca County Fair July 8 to 10; Waseca Hockey Association gambling permit for Waseca County Fair July 11 to 12; Waseca County Trail Association Katie O’Leary’s gambling permit July 16; Waseca County Trail Association Katie O’Leary’s gambling permit August 20; Waseca County Trail Association Box Car Bar gambling permit Sept. 17; temporary liquor license for the Waseca American Legion at the Waseca County Fair July 8 to 12; Waseca County Trail Association gambling permit for the Waseca County Fair July 8 to 12.

 

The consent agenda also included reporting bids and awarding a contract for the 2026 roadway crack seal and seal coat project and accepting the donation of Outlot A in the Fox Meadows’ second addition.                                     

 

The council formally accepted donations to the City of Waseca for calendar year 2025 after a presentation by Alicia Fischer who gave examples of where the money was spent. The downtown flowers, tables at the waterpark, the brick veneer project at Tink Larson, and fire dept equipment to name a few.

 

The skate park in southeast Waseca is going to be resurfaced to encourage safety. The tires in the dog park will be painted this summer. Seasonal staff is hanging plants in all parks, and the waterpark will open on June 6.

 

The council will have a work session at 6 p.m. on June 2.