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• The council set a public hearing for Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. on a variance request by Bruce and Elaine Bork. The Borks own two lots on Mill Street that were joined into one parcel, but they now want to sell one of the lots.

The council granted conditional approval of the split, but the separated lots do not meet the side setback requirement along the centerline between them. The city ordinance requires a side setback of five feet, and the separation will create structures two feet from the new border. A variance is needed before the split can be completed.

• The council declared a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria as surplus property. The new squad car has arrived, and all equipment has been removed from the old car, Paynesville Police Chief Tony Schmitt told the council. Bids for the old squad car will be advertised and opened on Monday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m.

• The council approved making the intersection of Maple and Minnesota streets a four-way stop. Residents attended a recent Public Works Committee meeting and submitted a 26-signature petition requesting the change.

Safety and speed were cited as reasons for the change. Plus the intersection has limited visibility coming from the north due to an apartment building on the corner.

The intersection used to have stop signs on Maple Street, but the stop signs were moved to Minnesota Street in 1996. This change was made to slow traffic on Minnesota, according to Schmitt. "Now traffic is going too fast on Maple Street," he said.

• The council approved removing the raft from the beach at Veteran's Memorial Park.

Without lifeguards, the raft was a site for roughhousing, said Ron Mergen, co-interim city administrator, citing comments from the general public and park committee members. "It's to the point that it's definitely dangerous," said Mergen. See separate story

• The council set a public hearing for proposed assessments for the WilGlo Acres Development on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. The total cost of the project is $723,000, of which the city will cover $47,000. The city's share includes a lift station big enough to accommodate not only this addition but others on the west end of town.

This leaves $676,000 to be assessed against property owners. These assessments are over a 10-year period at seven percent interest per year.

• The board approved a payment to Paynesville Escavating for $1,950 for work in WilGlo Acres.

• The council approved $2,000 in changes to the new well on the south side of Paynesville.

• The council also approved a payment of $19,151 to Landwehr Construction for last year's water main project (which brings water from the new well to the city's treatment plant on the east end of town).