City of Karlstad City Council
Regular Meeting Minutes – Monday, May 4, 2026
City Office Conference Room: 104 S. 1st Street
Meeting called to order by: Mayor Nelson at 5:30pm.
Present: Dale Nelson, Jenny Olson, Rob Mickelson, Ryan Anderson, Shelby Fossell, Markelle Kuznia
Absent: N/A
Guests: Dustin Fanfulik, Jeremy Folland, Krista Pietruszewski (NSN)
PDF Download: May Council Minutes
1. Minutes – Motion by Jenny Olson, second by Rob Mickelson, to approve the April 6, 2026 special minutes as presented. Ayes carried.
2. Claims – Motion by Rob Mickelson, second by Ryan Anderson, to approve the audit of and authorize payment of the claims for April 7, 2026 and April 27, 2026 as presented. Ayes carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
3. Street Improvements: Dustin Fanfulik explained the results of the bid opening that took placeat 3pm today at City Hall. Agassiz Asphalt came in as the lowest bidder with a total project cost of $469,995 at roughly 8.6% below the engineer’s estimate. Widseth estimates the total project cost to be around $578,000. Bids are good for 60 days and the final assessment hearing can either take place before or after project award. Public hearing will be set for June 1st at 5:30pm at the community center.
Cemetery: Dustin also brought the cemetery mapping options to the Council. The City needs to plot out farther to the South to expand the cemetery. Dustin estimates around $4,000-$5,000 for this to be done. He will present a formal estimate at the June meeting.
4. Fire Department: Jeremy Folland presented a Fire Department update with 14 runs to date, mostly being medical assists and no fires. He explained that the truck purchased last year is working out great. He mentioned the possibility of allowing the garden club to use it for watering city flowers if the Council deems appropriate. Jeremy also presented a water tender truck they would like to purchase for $7,000. It is a 2012 with 80k miles on it and it would potentially replace the 82 tanker as it is burning oil. He updated the Council on the current fleet and concerns about needing to purchase a “new” used pumper within the next couple of years max estimating roughly $300,000-$400,000. Motion to approve the purchase now for the $7,000 water tender truck from the DNR was offered by Rob Mickelson, second by Jenny Olson. Ayes carried.
5. Water meter software/equipment: Clerk informed the Council that the Command Link for meter reading needed to be replaced last month costing $1,187.33. The Sensus AutoRead is no longer compatible with current software and a tablet was needed to read meters in the future. In order to get our software up to date, which hasn’t been done since 2018, it will cost $4,512 and Core & Main will come and set everything up. The other option would be to switch to the newest version of Flex Read which is GPS based and costs $4,000 per year to maintain updates and support. Motion to elect the one-time charge of $4,512 to get everything current and operating properly was made by Rob Mickelson, second by Jenny Olson. Ayes carried.
6. New Airport: Project Pulse flyer reviewed. Resolution # 05-621-2026 for 2027 state bonding if needed. Motion to accept and approve Resolution #05-621-2026 as presented was made by Rob Mickelson, second by Ryan Anderson. Ayes carried. Mayor Nelson explained that he spoke with Rep. Burkel recently and he is optimistic on funding for this year.
7. Cemetery: Mowing estimates for 2026 were reviewed. Motion to accept and approve bid submitted by Bristlin Lawn Care in the amount of $3,800 for the 2026 mowing season May-October was made by Jenny Olson, second by Markelle Kuznia. Ayes carried.
8. Clinic Roof: Northwest Roofing quote was reviewed again. They’ve offered a $6,000 deduction on cost if all 3 sections are done at one time. Prices on materials will be increasing in June from the supplier. Motion to elect to fix section #3 with an estimate of $67,310.81 was made by Jenny Olson, second by Markelle Kuznia. Ayes carried.
9. Street Light: Resident has requested a street light be added to the pole on the 800 block of Main St. S. A lot of kids use the paved section to ride bike/scooter without having to be on Hwy 59 and it is fairly dark at night. The closest lights now are by Krantz’s house and on the 700 block of Main St. N by Berglund’s house. Motion to add street light to existing pole on the 800 block of Main St. S was made by Ryan Anderson, second by Jenny Olson. Ayes carried. Clerk will contact Otter Tail Power to get this installed.
10. Sewer Jetting Service: Lakes Area Jetting bid not received yet.
OTHER BUSINESS:
11. City Website: Keegan Krantz has submitted a resignation letter effective June 1st to maintain the City website. Proposal was reviewed from Empress (Ashlee Anderson) with 3 different price options for website maintenance. Motion to accept and approve offer of $50/month from Empress was made by Rob Mickelson, second by Jenny Olson. Ayes carried, Ryan Anderson abstained from the vote.
12. Peterson Lot Matter: No updates on offer proposal.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:52pm.
The next council meeting will be Monday, June 1, 2026- Public Hearing for Street Improvements at the Community Center at 5:30pm. Regular Council meeting will follow at 6pm at City Hall.
