Ada City Council News & Notes from February 8th Meeting
Ada, MN — The Ada City Council spent a great deal of time on Tuesday night debating how to proceed with a pair of hot ticket items in need of repair at the city owned Dekko Community Center. The sauna has been down for the last couple months and while the hot tub is working, it’s expected to need a complete replace sometime in the not too distant future. Because the hot tub is working, the council focused their debate on how to proceed with the sauna, which could cost up to $15,000 to repair. Ultimately, Ada City Administrator Ashley Larson says the council voted 4-3 to approve moving forward with replacing the sauna and covering the costs with American Rescue Plan funds.
Councilmembers Casey Krieger, Shawn Roux, and Scott Erickson voted against the measure with Krieger voicing support for replacing the current Sauna with an infrared unit instead. Administrator Larson says they had discussed that option at recent meetings, but it would have been difficult to find the space for the unit.
Also at Tuesday night’s meeting, the council moved forward with advertising for a Part-time police officer at a rate of $25 per hour, which is an increase from the previous pay of $19 per hour. Larson says with their Police Chief still sidelined for at least another month for health reasons and their other officers racking up overtime, they hope to get a part time officer hired as soon as possible.
And the council held a public hearing at the beginning of their meeting to discuss their Small Cities Grant Application for the proposed Home Rehabilitation Project. Larson notes they garnered lots of interest from homeowners in recent weeks who hope to take advantage of the funding if the city were to be approved for the grant.
The Ada City Council also approved new committee member appointments, approved a $50 a month phone reimbursement for department heads, and approved a $300 donation to the “Ada, Catch the Spirit” event in March.
Councilmembers Casey Krieger and Crystal Stene will join the KRJB Kaleidoscope Program this Thursday at 9am to further recap this week’s meeting.