Goodhue City Council Work Meeting Minutes
City Hall ~ July 8, 2026 ~ 6:00 p.m.
Members Present: Acting Mayor Eric Brandt, Council Members Michael Brunkhorst and Katie Kurtti
Members Absent: Mayor Chris Schmidt, Council member Jeannine Nagel
Others Present: Lisa Redepenning, City Administrator, Lori Luhman, Administrative Assistant/City Clerk,
Roger Ballstadt
Remote: None
Call to Order
Acting Mayor Brandt called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Approve or amend Agenda
A motion to approve agenda made by Brunkhorst, seconded by Kurtti, motion carried 3-0-0.
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the June 24, 2026, city council meeting minutes was made by Kurtti, seconded by
Brunkhorst, motion carried 3-0-0.
Approval of Bills
A motion was made to approve the bills by Kurtti, seconded by Brunkhorst, motion carried 3-0-0.
New Business
JPA AGREEMENT
On behalf of the Goodhue Community Fire Truck Association - Joint Powers, Roger Ballstadt was present. The
Joint Powers is requesting the city to consider support for training and documentation for the Joint Powers on
the workers’ compensation and training reimbursement process during the transition and clarifying which fire
department administrative tasks the city will retain and for how long. These duties include providing fire fighter
applications, forwarding correspondence, and supporting training reimbursement submissions, due to city
having full-time staff vs. fire department volunteer structure. May explore possibility of Joint Powers
reimbursing the city for administrative work or transitioning the tasks over time. Suggestions were to offer
support in the first year with a gradual handoff with the expectation that responsibility will eventually move to
Joint Powers. City also noted that there is existing support with maintaining the generator for the fire
department building. Council and staff agreed to continue working with Joint Powers on administrative
transition, support and possible reimbursement models.
CIP IDEAS
Council members submitted their CIP ideas, reviewed debt repayment options, requested past financial data and
clarified some budget allocations.
Council members CIP wish list ideas consisted of:
Expanding city trails to encircle the city and improve connection to new future housing development.
Adding sidewalks and addressing safe routes to school
Renovating Cranson Heights with native wildflower walk path (low maintenance/DNR grant potential)
Adding permanent grills to parks
Maintenance for existing playgrounds and park equipment
Emphasized the priority for water and sewer before wish list items, and to track and plan for city building
maintenance and equipment replacement. Staff will submit the CIP ideas and priorities to city engineer/planner.
2027 PRELIMINARY BUDGET
Council addressed and discussed revenue projections, expense increases, accounting clarifications on how staff
salaries are allocated among funds, debt obligations and high interest payments on consolidated bonds. The
consensus was to consider aggressive debt repayment strategies to save future interest. Council discussed TIF
and Abatement and their impact on city finances. Discussed policy for maintaining a financial cushion and
savings and transfer policies to maximize interest earnings on reserves. Council requested a copy of last year’s
budget to compare it to this year to get a clearer year-end balance for better planning. Council also discussed
staff compensation increases, overtime, and benefits budgeting. Council noted the need to do ongoing self
audits to ensure all expenses are properly budgeted.
Committee Updates
Joint Powers Agreement: Duties done by City staff will be coordinated for transition/agreement.
Public Works Report
None
Administrator Comments
Administrator Redepenning noted that the swimming pool has a significant increase in income and reduction in
expenses compared to the previous year, which may be attributed to better weather and improved concessions
management.
Council Comments
None
Mayor Comments
None
Adjournment
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made at 8:37 p.m. by Council Member Brunkhorst, seconded by Kurtti,
motion carried 3-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Lori Luhman, Administrative Assistant/City Clerk
