The Blue Earth City Council continued their special city council meeting from October 23rd on Wednesday afternoon in a closed session to certain safety and security measures for city staff and also a possible real estate transaction.
Discussions at these closed sessions was the matter of access by the public to city employees and elsewhere, which lead to the city filing four separate restraining orders against the same Blue Earth resident which were granted to four city employees.
Discussion also led to the possibility to renovate the current city building to address any security concerns and also to keep the building ADA compliant. The estimated cost for the renovations would be $500,000.
Another option was brought forward and that was to bid on the former Wells Fargo building at 201 E. 7th Street, which was up for auction this week. The city made the winning bid of $225,000 to purchase the property. The motion was made and seconded and the council unanimously voted to move forward with finalizing the paperwork for the purchase of the former Wells Fargo Bank building, as this move would be more cost effective than to renovate the current city hall building.
Further discussion on the purchase will be on the agenda at the next city council meeting on Monday, November 6th.