County Seat Coffee House Purchased

On Monday October 7,  I attended an ribbon cutting ceremony for the County Seat's new owners. I was asked to say a few words and I wanted to share my speech with my readers.

One of the things I really enjoy about being Mayor is the opportunity to celebrate with my neighbors. Today is truly a day to celebrate. Up north there is a saying, “you don't buy a cabin, you buy a lake” that is because you can make the cabin into something better but the real value is in the lake.

When Michelle Douk and Wa Phy purchased the County Seat from Adrianne McNiff and Kristin Alexander, they not only bought a successful business but bought into a thriving community as well.

Shortly after the new owners bought the business I had the opportunity to speak with Michelle and I was happy to hear about their plans for the business, their past experience in the restaurant industry and their obvious passion for our community. We spoke about how they plan to expand the offerings, while maintaining those items that had made it such a great success already.

Our new owners have decades of combined experience in the restaurant industry. They have a track record of running a successful Chinese restaurant in Rochester, experience working in the cost conscious corporate environment of Mayo and they understand the importance of great customer service. I know this past experience will serve them well in their new business, and will allow them to grow here in Mantorville.

Today as we cut this ribbon we celebrate both the past and the future. We celebrate the success that the County Seat has already enjoyed and we celebrate the next new chapter for this business. I would like to welcome Michelle and Wa and wish them all the happiness and success that they have hoped for and thank them for their investment into our community.

Welcome and Congratulation!
Now lets cut that ribbon.

Sen. Senjem recognized by LMC

The League of Minnesota Cities has recognized Sen Dave Senjem for his leadership and for his efforts to promote legislation that allows cities to do their job more efficiently. The LMC sent a copy of this letter to all the Mayors in our district and I wanted to share their letter with my readers.

LMC Letter of Recognition for Sen Senjem

54th Marigold Days Schedule

2019 Marigold Days Events

Thursday
1pm-4pm Restoration & Log House Tours Main St North
4:00pm – 7:00pm Quilt Show Registration Opera House
5:30pm  Dedication of Bell Tower Clay St & 8th St
6pm Field of Flags Presentation  8th Street & Highway 57 
          Flags will be displayed all weekend  

Friday
1pm-5pm Restoration & Log House Tours North Main St
4:00pm – 9:00pm Flower Show Registration Greek Revival House
4:30 pm – 7:00 pm Spaghetti Supper Congregational Church
6:30 pm – 12:30 pm Street Dance Mantorville Saloon
​
Saturday
6:00 am – 10:00 am Pancake Breakfast Fire Hall
8:00 am – 5:00pm  Flea Market Riverside Park
8:00 am Co-Ed Softball Tournament Mantor Field
8:00 am Registration Kids’ Fishing Contest Goat Island
8:30 am 5K Stagecoach Run Hwy 57 & Cty 12
8:30 am – 10:30 am Kid’s Fishing Contest Goat Island
9:00 am – 11:00 am Antique Appraisals  Welcome Center
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Quilt Show Opera House
9:30 am – 5:00 pm Flower Show Greek Revival House
10:00am—5:00pm Dessert & Ice Cream Social Senior Center
10am-5pm Restoration & Log House Tours Main St North
10:00 am – 6:00 pm Big Iron Classic Truck Show Fairgrounds
11:00am K-M Lions’ Rubber Duck Regatta Goat Island
12n — 3:00 pm Bingo Old Relay Lot Clay St
12n-3:00pm  Rookie the Clown  Old Relay Lot Clay St 
2:00pm K-M Lions’ Rubber Duck Regatta Goat Island
3:00pm  Bean Bag Tourney  2pm Sign-up.  Saloon
3:30 pm Big Iron Classic Truck Parade Hwy 57
6:00 pm Big Iron Truck Pull Kasson Fairgrounds
7:00 pm  Royalty Crowning & Awards Music Stage
8:30 pm Fireworks Goat Island (Rain Date: Sunday)
8:00 pm – 12:30am Fire & Rescue Dept Dance   Fire Hall

Sunday
9:00am- 4:00pm Flea Market Riverside Park
8:00 am Softball Tournament Mantor Field
8:00 am – 9:30 am Car Show Registration 6th & Clay Street
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Quilt Show Opera House
12:00n – 5:00pm   Dessert & Ice Cream Social Senior Center
10:00 am – 12:30 pm Car Show 5th Street West
10:00 am Congregational Church Service Music Stage
10am-4pm Restoration & Log House Tours Main St North
10:00 am – 4:30 pm Flower Show Greek Revival House
1:30 pm Grande Parade
3:00pm K-M Lions’ Rubber Duck Regatta Goat Island
3:00pm Firefighter Water Fight  5th St West

MARIGOLD DAYS THIS WEEKEND!!!

Come one, come all help celebrate the end of summer. Mantorville will once again hold our annual celebration, Marigold Days, and there will be a parade, firman's dance, quilt and car shows, melodramas and much much more. Don't miss our community celebration this year.

Mantorville First Responders Honored

Sheriff Scott Rose presented the Mantorville First Responders with a certificate and plaque for heroic efforts saving a human life. The honor was presented tonight at the Dodge County Government Center.

Mail Scam Going Around

I received a mail item last week from "The Bergmann Neighborhood" with a website address to go to in order to share information. I just received another call from one of our residents about the "West Street Neighborhood" project. These letters as far as the City knows are a scam, and do not represent legitimate usage. Please disregard these letters and do not go to the website.

Tragic Accident in Mantorville

Yesterday morning a Mantorville resident lost his lift in a tragic work site accident. Mr. Darrel Faulkner passed after an accident involving his bicycle and a construction vehicle. The Dodge County Sheriff's office, Minnesota Highway Patrol and Kasson Police all responded to the incident within five minutes of the call. Care11, Fox47 and the Post Bulletin have more details on the incident. Mr. Faulkner served his community as a K-M Lion member and in other ways. Darrel's effort and support of our community will be greatly missed. Please keep the Faulkner family in your thoughts and prayer during this difficult time for them. 

Another Great NNO Event

This years event was a great success. We had a beautiful park and great weather. Thank You to everyone that helped make this a success and also to everyone that spent the evening with us. Not everyone got to see the cake before it was cut so I wanted to post a picture of it here.

Chestnut and 5th Water Line Break

We do have a waterline break in the City of Mantorville in the area of 5th Street West and Chestnut Street. If you are experiencing no water or low pressure, that is why. Crews are on there way in to fix it. You can expect for the water to be shut off for the next few hours.

Aug 6 National Night Out

Tuesday Aug 6th is our annual National Night Out. We will once again take time at the end of the summer to come together as neighbors. The National Night Out movement started to promote drug and crime awareness, focus on alternatives and bring communities together. This year we will be meeting at Riverside Park from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Come celebrate with us and touch base with your City Council and Staff. I hope to see everyone there.

Third and Fourth Streets Projects moving forward

The last few weeks have seen many setbacks and challenges with our on-going street projects. I wanted to share the latest communication we have had from the crew working on third street.

Subject: Mantorville, MN - 2019 Street & Utility Improvements project - week
of July 29th

Good Evening,

This email will serve as a notification of the work to expect within the
week for the 2019 Street & Utility Improvements project which encompasses
work within Walnut Street, 3rd Street, Clay Street and the intersections of
Clay St & 4th St and Walnut St & 4th St.

Construction items completed last week:

* All the underground utility lines have been constructed and are in
operation.

* The roadways have been constructed to aggregate base.
* Concrete curb & gutter has been constructed within the project and
concrete sidewalk work has begun.

Below are a list of Construction items scheduled to take place this week:

* Driveway and sidewalk construction will be taking place over the next
few days. Please do not drive on newly placed concrete for 7 days.
* Middle of this week, Elcor Construction will begin shaping the gravel
roadway in preparation for paving.

Please park on side roads and within the alleyway over the next week to
allow concrete driveway and roadway construction to take place.

* Paving is scheduled for the first part of next week.
* Ditch grading and restoration work to follow over the next few weeks.

This schedule is weather dependent and is subject to change.

*Reminder: Please mark garbage cans with your address and set them out near
the road the night prior to your scheduled garbage day. Elcor will bring
them to a central location to be collected and bring them back at the end of
the day.

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me at any time.
Thanks,

Gov. Walz to visit area

On June 29th I reached out to the Gov. Walz's office and asked about a State Emergency declaration. Last week a representative from Walz's administration toured the City. Last week Dodge County also submitted an official request for State and Federal consideration. Following up from these request
Governor Tim Walz will be coming to Dodge County to survey the damage to our area. I will be meeting with the Governor along with other Mayors in the area and Dodge County officials. These declaration will allow Mantorville to recover some of our flood related losses.

Volunteers available for cleanup and disposal

Local volunteers will be available the next couple of weeks helping clean up and carry out flood related debris. (mid July to end of July - specific dates and times will be updated at the end of this week). The debris that the volunteers carry out will be picked up by a local refuse hauler and will be covered under City, State and Federal dollars. Only those residents that were served by the volunteer groups will have their debris picked up over the next two weeks. You must be on the list of people that need help in order for the volunteers to assist. To be added to the list, call the Dodge County help line at (507)635-6420 and leave your name, address, best contact number and what damages you sustained as a result of the floods and what you need help with as far as removal. The volunteers will place the debris on the curb and the haulers will pick this up.

Dodge County is issuing badges that will identify legitimate volunteers so residents know they are working with an approved group. Anyone attempting to sell services or is missing a badge is not authorized and should be reported to local Law Enforcement.

Dodge County Volunteer Assistance available

All Dodge County Residents: Volunteer organizations will be coming to Dodge County during the next few weeks to assist residents and communities in recovering from the flood(s). These teams will be contacting residents to find out what type of assistance they need and trying to arrange times to help out. It is important that you contact the Dodge County Hotline so your name can be put on the list. If you haven't done so already, call (507) 635-6420 and leave your name, address, best contact number and what damages you sustained as a result of the floods and what you need help with. Volunteers can only reach out to those that are on the list.

These volunteer teams will NOT try to sell you anything so if someone contacts you trying to sell you something, they are not legitimate. Report those to Law Enforcement. All volunteer teams will have identification badges indicating they are registered with Dodge County. We will post the list of groups/organizations coming to town as we are made aware.

Even if you don't need help but have sustained damage, it is important for you to contact the hotline number above so we can track all the damage. The Dodge County Assessment Teams will be out this week looking at damaged homes to get a better understanding and try to get more assistance.

Happy Belated 4th of July

With the events of the last few weeks it was easy to forget to take time to celebrate our Nations birthday. I hope everyone took time to reflect of just how lucky we are to live in this nation. I couldn't think of more appropriate words for this holiday than the lyrics of Justin Moore "Ones that didn't make it back home". Thank you to all veterans for your duty and sacrifice.

Park still unsafe

After the flooding that occurred last Friday, Riverside Park remains closed and off-limits due to unsafe and unhealthy conditions at the park. Please do not enter the park until the City is able to clean it up.

Riverside Park Playground After Flood

Park Flooded after June 28 rain

The picture below was taken after the high water mark from the flood that occurred after the rain on June 28.

Riverside Park, June 28, 2019

Emergency Declaration Declared

Yesterday Morning I declared a sate of emergency for the City of Mantorville. This declaration will help us to obtain State and Federal aid to help in our recovery efforts. Below is a copy of my declaration.

PROCLAMATION DECLARING A LOCAL EMERGENCY

PROCLAMATION NO. 2019-01

Whereas, the Mayor of Mantorville finds that the following situation exists:

• Significant City-wide flooding impacting public and private property as a result of flooding event of June 28, 2019.

Whereas, the Mayor finds that the situation is sudden and unforeseen and could not have been anticipated;

Whereas, the Mayor finds that conditions in the city have worsened considerably as a result of the situation;

Whereas, the Mayor finds that this situation threatens the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the community;

Whereas, the Mayor finds that the situation has resulted in catastrophic loss to public and private property or will cause such loss if not immediately addressed; and

Whereas, the Mayor finds that traditional sources of relief are not able to repair or prevent the injury or loss.

Now, therefore, the Mayor declares this situation to be a local emergency effective at 12:01 am on June 28, 2019.

This declaration of a local emergency will invoke the city’s disaster plan. The portions that are necessary for response to and recovery from the emergency must be used.

_______________________________________________

Mayor Chuck Bradford

_________________________________________________

City Clerk Treasurer Camille C. Reber

Red. Cross Buckets

Saturday from 9:00am to noon the Red Cross will.be handing out bailing buckets for bailing out basements. Anyone who would like a tecovery kit can pick one up at the Fire Hall tomarrow.

Main break 9th and Walnut

Tuesday: June 18, 21:43 hrts.
We have a water main break on 9th and Walnut. Our crew is on site and is in the process of conducting repairs. Hopefully only 4 or 5 houses in the area are affected and we anticipate getting this fixed shortly.

Big Storm hits our Region

The night of June 4 a large storm went through our area toppling large trees, damaging vehicles and tearing off shingles. The EDA meeting was still held and during that meeting we were already receiving reports of insurance chasers. Some of the individuals that approach home owners are legitimate and are just looking for work; however, there are those that are also just looking for the "down payment". Any reliable carpenter will provide references and will work with your insurance company. You can check the Better Business Bureau and also ask your neighbors. Beware of the scammers. Red flags include a large up front payment, anyone that only accepts cash payments or "doesn't do" insurance work. Report any losses directly to your insurance company and keep them in the loop on any work that you are planning on making a claim on. The insurance companies also are likely to know some of the more prevalent scams, so make sure to talk with them over any concerns you might have. One simple rule is: "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!"

Update on third street for May 28

The following is a letter we got from our construction crew working on the third street loop project. I wanted to share the current plans with everyone so that they knew as much as we do as far as the project status.

 

Good Evening,

This email will serve as a notification of the work to expect within the week for the 2019 Street & Utility Improvements project which encompasses work within Walnut Street, 3^rd Street, Clay Street and the intersections of Clay St & 4^th St and Walnut St & 4^th St.

Construction items completed last week:

• Elcor Construction has in place the temporary water throughout the project.

Please avoid handling temporary water lines. 

• Elcor has done the connection tie-in on West Street & 3^rd Street, Clay Street & 4^th Street and Walnut Street & 4^th Street.

Traffic control signage is up and will remain in place for the remainder of the project. 

• Sanitary Manhole and it’s connections were completed on 4^th Street & Walnut Street intersection.
• Silt Fence to protect any project runoff has been placed through the park and on the backside.

Please avoid tampering with the silt fence as this protects any runoff into the bodies of water along the park.

• Elcor provided a temporary rock entrance on West Street & 3^rd Street to ease in/out vehicular traffic.

Below are a list of Construction items scheduled to take place this week:

• Elcor Construction (Contractor), now utilizing two crews, will perform watermain mainline work within the intersection of 4^th St & Walnut Street and continue the mainline heading south from both intersections on 4^th Street (Clay St & Walnut St).
• Watermain shutdown to make connections to existing main– Impacted residents will be notified prior to shut down.
• Storm Sewer along the way on the south side of the project is also projected to be done (scheduling tentative).

This schedule is weather dependent and is subject to change.

*Reminder: Please mark garbage cans with your address and set them out near the road the night prior to your scheduled garbage day.  Elcor will bring them to a central location to be collected and bring them back at the end of the day.

Mantorville Morns the loss of Chris Bruns

The City received some bad news this week. The City lost one of our newer Firefighters, Chris Bruns, this past weekend. Mr Bruns apparently suffered a heart attack while off-duty. Mr. Bruns was added to our FD team in January of 2018. He was just 28 years old. Funeral arrangements are pending. Please keep the Bruns family in your thoughts and prayers this week.

City votes to save covered bridge

On a 4 to 1 vote the Mantorville City Council voted to invest in the repair of our covered bridge to safe guard this historic asset. The foundation of the bridge had been under-cut and needed to be shored up.  After a meaningful discussion, the council voted for the bridge.

River Ice Formation

This past winter, when temps drooped down to negative 30, the river had some amazing ice formations. When the temps came up from -30 to around -19 and small holes in the ice appeared in front of the dam, ice formations developed from the water shooting up out of the holes to build spires of ice. These formations were not around long and many people have told me they were not able to see them before they fell. I wanted to get this picture up so everyone could get to see these unique formations.

Zumbro River Ice Formation

Grinder Pumps on-site

The Grinder Pumps that are to be installed as part of the Cemetery Road waste water project are on-site but have not been installed yet. I took a picture of these pumps to illustrate just how much storage capacity these pumps have. The entire pump is installed below ground with an "access" to the top for any needed maintenance. The mechanical parts of the pump once installed are designed to be able to be replaced within an hour to get the system back up and running.

Ten Grinder Pumps waiting to be installed

Thank You Ryan

Ryan Christensen had to resign his position on the Council because he is moving to Kasson. There were two strong candidates that came forward to fill Ryan's vacancy. Ms Fernandez and Mr Nash. Luke Nash was appointed last night to fill Ryan's seat, but we are working with Ms Fernandez to utilize her talents to help our community. In recognition for his service and dedication to the City of Mantorville, I presented Ryan Christensen, with a certificate of appreciation. I have included that certificate below. Thank you again Ryan and good luck on your next adventure.

Former Mayor rejoins Mantorville City Council

Luke Nash, a former Mayor of the City of Mantorville has been appointed to fill a seat vacated by Ryan Christensen. Council member Christensen is moving to Kasson and had to resign his position on the City Council. I presented Mr. Christensen with a certificate of appreciation last night prior to Mr. Nash's appointment. Luke has a a large breadth of experience with how the City of Mantorville runs and I know he will be a great addition to our council.

Arbor Day Celebration

The City of Mantorville, received it's official "Tree City" plaque last week. City staff is looking at sign locations to announce that our City has this designation. The program asks that those cities with this designation, plant 2 trees a year and the City of Mantorville will be doing a planting in recognition of Arbor day in Dennison field at 2:00 pm this Friday.

Emerald Ash Bore - Treatment

The City of Mantorville is treating some of our Ash Trees to prevent infestation by the Emerald Ash Bore that has been affecting our State in recent years. The company that is treating up to 17 of our trees said that any private property owner that would like to treat their trees at the same time, would be eligible for a discount for this service. Anyone that would like additional information about this discount should contact City Hall.

Possibly another 36 hours w/o power

Possibly another 36 to 48 hours with out power

City Hall Closed

Due to the City wide power outage, City Hall is closed today.

State of the City

March 21, 2019

Friends and neighbors, we have two new developments underway in town, we are improving our infrastructure, we have secured grant funding for our Waste Water Treatment plant and we have keep downward pressure on our tax rate. The State of the City is healthy and strong!

Quick Review
The City of Mantorville has prevailed in a law suit brought by a citizen and the City will continue to protect our Tax Dollars by aggressively defending our City. The City was able to work with AT&T and extend cell service to the residents of Mantorville while adding a new non-tax based revenue stream to the City's bottom line. The City was able to complete the Waste Water pipeline project and secure $1.8 Million in grand funding. The Annual custom of decorating our town with harvest celebrations returned to Mantorville last year. New water stewardship Kiosks have been installed in Riverside Park. The City of Mantorville now is offering lifetime pet licenses which are also branded with the new City logo.

Communication
The City, EDA and our staff have worked diligently on our communication efforts. The Mayors blog had 78 entries last year, we published our notices in the paper as well as copied them onto the public access cable channel and placed updates on our web site. The City and the EDA have been actively working on branding efforts to achieve a consistent community image and identity. We are looking at even more communication vehicles this year including expanding on our social media presence.

Oversight and leadership
I had the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Mayor annual conference this past year. This year we meet in Perham Minnesota up by Ottertail. This years conference was well attended and I had the opportunity to speak with some Mayors from across Minnesota from large metro cities to some small communities.

I have worked aggressively with presenting to the State Legislature our proposal for collaboration on Waste Water Treatment and exploring grant and other funding opportunities for our community. These efforts paid off with the City being awarded low interest loans as well as a grant of $1.8 Million.

AT&T Update
It was a cold snowy Wednesday in the middle of April but that did not delay the start of the AT&T equipment installation. After several years of discussions and planning Mantorville was one of the first sights to receive the new smaller foot print equipment shed. The new shed is about 6 foot square and is a much welcomed upgrade compared to the old style shed which would have been several times larger. In exchange for providing a home for AT&T's antennas the City will receive about $12,000/year. The project will help AT&T, add an additional revenue stream for the City and increasing the competitive options for cell coverage in Mantorville.

Fifth Street
The City was able to get the roadbed of Fifth street rebuilt and the first layer of pavement installed before winter. This spring we will finish the surface of fifth street as well as finish the trail along side of fifth street, fix some discovered drainage issues and complete the landscape restoration of the project. This leaves the final stage of Fifth Street to be completed in conjunction with the Highway 57 rebuild that will take place in 2022 for the Mantorville section of the highway.

Street Surveys
The City Engineer worked with the City Streets department a few years back to develop a comprehensive Street Condition survey. Each year the City revisits the survey and updates the conditions as things change. I have had several questions regarding streets and I wanted to share the Survey Image so that everyone can determine where in the priority list their street fits and also to help communicate the big picture for the town in general. Below is a link to the survey the City is currently working against located on my blog entry for August 28, 2018 here

Mantorville Theater Celebrates a Century of Show
The Mantorville Opera House which is maintained by the Mantorville Restoration Association turned 100 years old this year. The Opera House is home to the Mantorville Theater Company. The Mantorville Theater Company has been holding plays and melodramas in this historic building for over forty four years. Happy Birthday Opera House, and here is to another century.

Last year was a productive year for the City of Mantorville we are seeing our efforts to push for lower taxes payoff in terms of new developments. The City was rewarded for our collaboration with Kasson through grants and reduced interest rates. The City and the EDA will continue to push out our new brand image. The City leadership will continue to seek new grants, funding options and new non-tax based revenues for the City. The State of the City is Strong and Healthy, and we are looking forward to another great year.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Feb 25th meeting cancelled

Due the cold, snow and a limited agenda for tonight, our City Council meeting is cancelled

Travel Emergency

Dodge Co. has pulled the plows off until Monday morning.
Emergency travel only, many area roads remain non-passable

Please stay home and be safe.

New Council is sworn in

The City Administrator administer the "Oath of Office" during our First meeting in January. The new council now has two meetings under it's belt and everybody is getting used to how the City runs.