Esplan presides over final BP Council meeting

It was a fairly typical end-of-year meeting for the Blooming Prairie City Council, but it was the final gavel for Mayor Curt Esplan.

“I’ve enjoyed being mayor of Blooming Prairie,” he said. “I’m proud of this town, and everybody up here … I think we have a great city and work well together, so keep on doing what you’re doing.”

He served six years, after defeating longtime mayor H. Peterson in 2018; Mike Ressler will be sworn in in January.

Esplan’s remarks came after the Dec. 9 meeting, when council members approved the 2025 tax levy at 7.4%, down from the preliminary figure of 7.77%.

A work session was held to weigh out several projects in the city, which City Administrator Melanie Aeschliman called “hard work.”

In the end, the levy amount sat at $1.05 million, with increases to the general operation levy and capital equipment fund levy.

The storm sewer enterprise fund will be self-sustaining in 2025, likely covering its own operating costs without relying on external funding.

In other matters, the city’s cannabis ordinance should be ready for approval at the January meeting.

Like Owatonna and Medford, it will delegate authority over to Steele County, “and I think that’s a good idea for us, as well,” said Jason Iacovino, city attorney. “I don’t think we want to be involved with this as a city.”

By state statute, local governments can limit the number of cannabis retailers to one for every 12,500 residents. Steele County’s population in 2023 was 37,421 – or just shy of the 37,500 needed to allow three dispensaries in the county.

Use is prohibited in specific areas, including public schools, places where minors may inhale cannabis vapor, federal properties, federally subsidized housing and multifamily housing buildings.