BLUE EARTH– Concerns were raised by members of the Blue Earth City Council at a work session on Monday over the proposed timeline presented by South Central Service Cooperative representative Mike Humpal to find and hire a new city administrator.

In the initial timeline, which was presented to the council by Humpal, completion of the hiring process for a new city administrator was set to wrap up by the beginning of August 2025. However, several members of the council expressed concerns over the length of this process, specifically that this delay in hiring would impact their budgeting process, which happens in July.

“Five months from now to get a new administrator on board – that’s too long,” council member John Huisman commented. “We need to start making our budget in July, and if we don’t have a new administrator on board by that time, things could get messy fast.”

Council member Ann Hanna also expressed concerns over the timeline, asking if there was somewhere that time could potentially be cut to get a new administrator hired sooner.

“Is it possible to shorten the advertisement duration from the proposed 30 days down to 15?” Hanna asked. “I don’t see the need to have an ad out that long if people are willing to apply for the job.”

Humpal pushed back on this suggestion, informing the council that 30 days was strongly recommended for an advertising run for this position.

“Many of our candidates only fill out an application during the final week of an ad run,” Humpal explained. “Given that it takes almost a full week to provide all of our advertisers with the job listing, that doesn’t leave very much time for applicants to apply for the position in a 15-day schedule.”

Humpal then proposed an amended schedule which would start circulation of the job listing earlier, meaning that interviews for vetted applicants could begin as early as June 9.

“If we proceed with this new schedule proposal, we could potentially confirm our chosen candidate at the June 16 city council meeting,” mayor Rick Scholtes said. “That would allow them some time to get situated before we start making our budget in July, which would work out nicely for everyone.”

A unanimous consensus was reached by the council for Humpal to write up an amended timeline with the June 16 meeting in mind as a candidate confirmation date, which will be provided to the council for final review.

Other topics of discussion which were presented at the city council meeting following the work session included:

— A preliminary public hearing for the 2026-2030 Blue Earth Capital Improvement Plan was presented by city engineer Ben Rosol, explaining the proposed timeline for upcoming utility and street improvements and how these developments would be funded through the Public Facilities Authority grant funding. Resolution 25-04 accepting the proposed facility plan was passed unanimously.

— A revised purchase agreement for the old city hall building, amended to include the storm water drainage additions, was unanimously approved.

— Language was amended and approved on a $200 “option to purchase” agreement by the Fletcher family for lots 007 and 008, Block 2 (102 and 108 Prairie Rose Drive), allowing the family a period of 18 months to either purchase the reserved properties at the initial price of $10,000 or withdraw.