Bellechester City Council/Board of Equalization Meeting Minutes
April 23, 2026 @ 4:00 PM
Call the meeting to order. Meeting is recorded, and the recordings belong to the City of Bellechester.
Open Board of Equalization Meeting – 4:02
The council in attendance: Mayor Jody Gordon, Council Member Mark Gerken, Jake Gilsdorf, Rich Majerus, and Nick Keller, as well as City Clerk Lisa Redepenning. Also present from Goodhue County was Lavon Augustine, Kurt Funk, and Joe Hile. Rich Hepplemann, Bellechester resident, was also present.
The meeting opened and Lavon Augustine addressed questions from Mr. Heppelmann. She then presented information on the one sale that occurred in Bellechester and answered questions from council. There was an average of 6% increase for residential properties across the cities/towns in the county. 12-15% average for commercial properties.
Close Board of Equalization Meeting – 4:41
Open City Council Meeting – 4:41
Amend and/or Approval of Agenda
Roll call was taken: The council in attendance: Mayor, Council member Mark Gerken, Jake Gilsdorf, Rich Majerus, and Nick Keller as well as City Clerk Lisa Redepenning and Treasurer Kyle McKeown. Absent was City Engineer Matt Mohs.
Approve or Amend of Agenda – Motion was made by Mark Gerken with a 2nd by Rich Majerus to approve the agenda with noted changes. Motion carried.
Minutes of the March 18, 2026 meeting were reviewed and motion was made by Nick Keller with a second by Jake Gilsdorf to approve the minutes. Motion carried.
Bills were reviewed with a motion by Mark Gerken with a second by Nick Keller to approve and pay the bills as presented holding back 2 checks until purchased items are received. Motion carried.
Review the Bills & Approve
Old Business:
• Update on Consideration of Requested Use of Remaining Grant Funds – fence request was not accepted as allowable reimbursement. Waiting on invoices for ADA improvements.
• Law Enforcement Contract Expectations – trying to follow up with violation from last year that was dismissed so we know moving forward.
• Extra funds/pay loan or saving accounts
• Tree Trimming – update. Discussion on should we hire this out or do it internally. Council will look at the trees and come up with a plan.
New business:
• Fire Truck Joint Powers Association Agreement – Rich discussed the current status of the agreement. There may be more changes.
• Pond fence concerns – Received a bid for $3500 to replace a section of the fence. Motion was made by Rich Majerus with a 2nd by Nick Keller to approve the bid to fix the fence. Motion carried.
• Community Center Inspection Report – Report was distributed with concerns noted. Some areas noted are the empty lot next to the building slopes toward the building and causing issues with the sill plate. The floor in the small area of the center is rotting. There was discussion on the building’s future.
• 2nd page of Building Permit – Nick has a document that we can add to the building permit if we want to implement.
• Playground Work – Woodchips are needed. Discussion on where the city can get this in bulk.
Engineer Report – still working on lead pipe project.
Clerk Report – quarterly reports have been done and filed.
Treasurer Report – None.
Water/Wastewater/Facility Report – Gravel is needed for several city properties in town. Motion was made by Mark Gerken with a 2nd by Jake Gilsdorf to approve the purchase of needed gravel. Motion carried. Flow were high at the ponds last week. Structure leaks on homeowner, services getting bad or sump pump use may be the causing this. Kyle will discuss with Matt for a smoke test and get a quote to have this done to try to determine what is going on. Discharging of ponds is now occurring.
Mayor Concerns: None
Council Concerns: Council reimbursement for performing work around the city - $25-$30/hour was given as an example that was provided by a township.
Adjourn - Motion was made by Rich Majerus with a 2nd by Jake Gilsdorf to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 5:47.
Closed meeting - Personnel concerns – Motion was made Rich Majerus by with a 2nd Nick Keller by to open closed meeting. Motion carried. At 5:50.
Motion was made by Rich Majerus with a 2nd by Jake Gilsdorf to close the close meeting. Motion carried. At 6:26.
Regular meeting reopened. Motion was made by Nick Keller with a second by Jake Gilsdorf to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. At 6:26.
Submitted by Lisa Redepenning – City Clerk
