Pickleball court improvements approved and funded

By Robert Williams

Editor

Widseth and Vergas City Engineer Blaine Green updated the Vergas City Council on the parking lot and stormwater construction currently underway between Main and Linden Streets at the latest council meeting Tuesday, Sept. 19.  ¶  Much of the stormwater system was installed last week with one inlet structure planned for the hardware store to accommodate drainage and allow for the store to join the system.  ¶  A couple soft spots were found while digging in the former county garage lot on the southeast side of construction. The soft areas were not located where the former building was but just north of the former building location along the fence.  ¶  The spots were unforeseen and additional sand is needed to properly build back the subgrade at an estimate of $6-10,000 depending on how deep crews will need to go to properly address the situation.  ¶  “That’s right around the area that we had for a contingency amount for the project but, at the same time, uses up just about all the contingency,” Green said.

After discussing with Clerk/Treasurer Julie Lammers, it was agreed to add the sand and properly complete the project. 

Green did not have exact cost numbers of the additional sand, but believes it remains in the contingency range of $6,000-8,000 range.

Expected rain late in the week has delayed concrete another week while gravel will be brought in to get to a level grade in preparation for concrete.

“Concrete early next week and paving late next week or the following week is the rough schedule as of now,” said Green.

Citizen concerns

A concern was brought to the city office about the difficulty of shopping downtown without a handicapped parking spot on Main Street. 

Otter Tail County has put restrictions on where a handicapped spot could be located due to the incline of Main Street, according to Lammers, for instance near Vergas State Bank and The Loon’s Nest.

The Streets Committee also suggested near the Vergas Hardware on Main, but the handicapped spot would have taken up 40-feet due, or three parking spots, due to a parking law limiting parking to at least 20-feet from a fire hydrant, according to Council Member Bruce Albright. 

The new parking lot being created behind the Government Services Center may also provide a designated handicapped space.

“We are aware and there are people that have handicapped permits and we want to make our town accessible,” Albright said.

The Streets Committee will research and discuss options with a few business owners that have a potential space for another handicapped spot.

Event Center

Stenger reported the resignation of Deb Jacoby from the Event Center Board and as the board’s representative from the Vergas Lions.

A new projector is being researched for the Event Center. The current projector is 11-years-old and does not work well with the lights on. At a cost of $1,400, a replacement has been found.

“This will hopefully make our current renters happy and maybe get some of the people and meetings back that we’ve lost in the past,” said Stenger.

The purchase was approved.

Liquor

The Liquor Store ended July with a negative balance of approximately $20,000, and the council requested the Liquor Store Committee to investigate the cause. As of Aug. 17, the balance is negative $12,843.61. 

Liquor Store Manager Kyle Theisen stated he has spoken with beer reps and they have said sales are down around six percent everywhere. There have been about 350 fewer customers in 2025 than in 2024, according to reports by Theisen. 

Lammers provided sales/expenses for 2024 and 2025 for comparisons. Committee members will continue to review, and Theisen will continue to investigate profit strategies.

Mayor Julie Bruhn pulled the committee report from the consent agenda for more discussion.

Council Member James Stenger reiterated the committee findings, along with stressing that the recent remodel of the front of the store removed liquor store signage that is necessary to attract customers, especially those from out of town who are not aware of the store’s location.

The remodel has also changed the basic optics of the liquor store exterior that need to be examined to help highlight the storefront.

Stenger, who also works at Billy’s, noted there is a national trend across the country of less alcohol sales. He cited a recent statistic of the use of alcohol versus cannabis in 25-year-olds and the numbers have flipped from 80-20 percent to the opposite.

“I think it’s something that we’re going to have to battle for a long time, but I think there are some quicker opportunities to do that,” Stenger said. 

Pickleball

Pickleball Committee President Shannon Charpentier sought permission to complete improvements. 

The committee has been fundraising for a new concrete pad, a sidewalk, an apron and a sail shade structure to enhance the existing four courts built in 2022. These improvements aim to create a better playing experience by preventing dirt from being tracked onto the courts and providing sun protection for players. The project is a community effort, with funds being raised by local groups and individuals.

The group was halfway to raising the $15,000 to complete the project in early August and has since raised the remaining funds, according to Charpentier.

A walk-through was completed with Utilities Superintendent Mike DuFrane, who asked if concrete would be placed in front of the bathrooms onsite for a cost of an additional $2,310. 

The council unanimously approved the pickleball changes and the bathroom improvements. The bathroom costs will be covered in portion by the park board, community club, and/or the baseball committee.

Sirens

The city polled residents online about the town siren that currently sounds at 7a.m., 12, 1 and 6 p.m. daily. There were 239 responses with 116 answers from people located within the city limits. Nearly three-quarters of respondents thought the daily schedule was appropriate. Only 26 percent of respondents wanted fewer sirens.

Bruhn also discussed the comments that were submitted as part of the survey with the effects on sleeping children garnering the most interest and how “ear piercing loud” the sirens are.

Stenger pointed out there were 18 comments in total, but only single comments about sleeping children, one about startling children at the park and one from someone who was planning to leave Vergas because of the sirens.

“The numbers are extremely skewed,” Stenger said. 

He also noted renters were not included in the survey, as one question asked participants if they “owned property in Vergas.”

He cited 16 rental homes, plus apartments and the assisted living residents as uncounted.

Because the siren is part of emergency notifications, a reduction in the volume of the siren would need to be approved at the county level, according to Lammers. The county has decibel level specifications that typically range from 85 to over 120 decibels.

Utilities

There were 1.125 million gallons of water pumped from city wells. 22.5 gallons of chlorine were used, 71 gallons of polymer were used, 2.5 gallons of fluoride were used and 132 gallons of potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) were used in August, according to DuFrane.

Three curb stop boxes were replaced during the new parking lot construction, one for the liquor store, one for city office and one for Paul Bruhn’s property. The sewer service line for the liquor store is installed on the outside of the building.

Park restrooms will be closing after the Hairyman festival.

Thirty-three percent of the sewer mains have been jetted, camera work has started but not finished as of Sept. 12.

Annual inspection of the lift stations is completed. 

No discharge of treated wastewater in the month of August.

Hydrants will be flushed in the near future with an announcement being made prior to doing so.

YouTube

Future city council meeting recordings from the official Zoom live recordings will be posted on YouTube.