Going into the December 8th council meeting, City Staff was recommending the Common Council to accept public improvements recently made by a developer to the Sterling Ponds 2nd Addition. The improvements, which include the construction of Kingston Street along with electric, water, sewer, and sidewalks, will have a 14month warranty upon City acceptance of ownership for said public improvements via official resolution adopted by the Council. Assuming the Council approves as recommended, the newly incorporated improvements would start their warranty period as of December 9, 2020.

Moving from development to a farmland lease, the City was set to renew a three-year lease with Roger and Beverly Peterson of a 40acre parcel that it purchased on County FF in 2005 for a future park. The Peterson’s have leased the land since 2009, and the lease may be terminated at the end of each year if need be, given that proper notice be provided to the tenant by November 1. Included in the contract is a $2,200 payment per year for two years (up to December 2022), with financial terms to be revisited in year three of the lease. City Staff recommended the Council approve lease renewal with the Petersons.

Also included in the Council deliberations was a lease agreement with Dan and Annette Johnson for 31.5 acres of farmland located in the Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park, which farmland the City acquired in the early 1990s when it was known as the Paulson Farm. Among the dividends to the City is time saved on maintenance and vegetation that could otherwise grow up if the land were not tilled, and no adverse impact would come to the bike trails nearby. The Lease agreement is restricted to the growing of agricultural crops, at the price of $1.00 per year to the City from the Johnsons for use of the land, with the City and the Johnsons both able to terminate the lease should it prove to be in their interest.

Finally, the City was set to renew a lease with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for agricultural use of 85 acres known as the Mann Valley Farm that the City acquired in 2011, and which the University has leased since 2012. The lease agreement which must be renewed yearly due to the limits of state regulations, with the intent on the City’s part to renew the lease yearly at current market rates unless the property is deemed to be needed for development. The revenues to the City of River Falls from the lease agreement with UW-River Falls are estimated to total $20,080 in 2021 and will go for debt service to offset Mann Valley property purchases by the City.