Bridging the community, businesses and citizens of Wabasha, MN

**City Parks Notice Effective Immediately**

This is a friendly reminder that ALL of our City Parks are closed until further notice due to COVID-19 Virus.  The equipment is not sanitized, and will not be sanitized.  Allowing your kids to play on this equipment increases the chances of spreading the virus.  Please talk to your children and make sure they know that the parks are closed to EVERYONE!  Thank you for your cooperation,  Public Works Department

Small Business Guide

The MN Department of Employment an Economic Development (DEED) has a new guide for MN small businesses who need assistance, visit the following link to see how this guide can help walk small businesses through the different programs currently available at the federal and state level: https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/press-releases/?id=425890

City of Wabasha Port Authority Emergency Loan Program in Response to COVID-19

At a special meeting of the Wabasha Port Authority on Monday, March 23^rd, the Port Authority approved an emergency loan program for Wabasha-Kellogg area businesses affected by COVID-19.  The loan program was passed unanimously by all members.  Effective today March 24, 2020, Wabasha Port Authority is announcing its Emergency Loan Program as a response to the economic impact to the Wabasha/Kellogg businesses surrounding COVID-19.  Businesses in the Wabasha-Kellogg area are eligible for this loan program.  The completed application, personal financial statement and supporting documents will be accepted through 4pm on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.  They can be sent via mail (must be postmarked by Monday, March 30^th) and sent to:  City Hall, 900 Hiawatha Drive E, PO Box 268, Wabasha, MN 55981.  Documents can also be emailed to [email protected] or dropped in one of our two drop box locations (corner of the post office or at city hall).  These loans are subject to rules and regulations included on the application.  The first round of applications will be reviewed starting Wednesday, April 1^st.

Although funding is limited, the goal of this program is to provide financial relief to as many businesses in the Wabasha/Kellogg area as possible.

Please contact Chad Springer at 651-565-4568 with any questions.

Wabasha Port Authority Emergency Loan Application

Personal Financial Statement

Update 2:30PM 3-24-2020:

Based on the Declaration of a State of Emergency by the Wabasha City Council the following actions are being taken by City Staff Officials:

1. Effective for the March utility billing (received in April) and April utility billing (received in May) the City of Wabasha will not be charging late fees for late payment.  The City will review this after the April billing to possibly extend this period.  For those utility bills that were due on March 15 the late fees are still owed.  If you have been assessed late fees for the March 15^th due date and would like to request a waiver please contact City Hall.  We will review your payment history and use this in our decision to reduce the late fees.
2. Effective immediately we have suspended any solicitor (peddler) permits that have been issued and will deny any further permits until the State of Emergency has lapsed.  If you encounter any door to door salesmen or otherwise please contact the non-emergency police number at 651-565-3361.
3. All buildings in public parks will remain locked and winterized until the State of Emergency is over.
4. City Hall will remain open at this time with hours to the public between 9AM – 4PM however we do ask that you limit your interaction where you can.  There is a drop box for payments located in City Hall parking lot and one on the corner by the US Post Office.  If you have any other questions or issues that you would like to discuss we ask that you please call City Hall first 651-565-4568 and if possible the business will be transacted over the phone.  Any face to face interaction will be used as a last resort.

The city will continue to communicate any information once it is available.  We are planning to continue the daily updates in the short term unless we feel there is no new information to share.  Please stay tuned to the CDC website, the Minnesota Department of Health and daily updates from Federal and State Officials.  Again, watch over your neighbors and families during these times.

Regards,

Chad Springer, City Administrator

Wendy Busch, City Clerk

Updated 4:00PM 3-23-2020:

10 – 2020 Public Health Emergency

Please review the newly adopted Resolution 2020-10 for a Public Health Emergency

Notice of Emergency Meeting of Wabasha City Council by Electronic Means

*Notice*

The City of Wabasha is calling an Emergency Meeting of the City Council for 8AM Monday March 23 with a single agenda topic:
“To consider a Local Public Health Emergency Declaration by the City of Wabasha.”

Per the City of Wabasha Charter the power for such a declaration is vested with the City Council and is adopted with 5 votes. This declaration simply gives additional powers to City Officials and staff to deal with the imminent situation and threat. This declaration also gives consent to hold regular meetings via telephone. This meeting will be chaired at City Hall by Mayor Durand however council members will be engaged via telephone.

Update 12:45PM 3-20-20:

Good Afternoon,

We have shared many updates over the past week and reminders that are very important.  We ask that if you have not seen them all, to take the time to scroll through this announcement section of our website as well as the  City of Wabasha Facebook page City of Wabasha, MN

This may sound like a broken record but we are continuing to practice the guidelines sent by the CDC as well as the State and Local health officials.  There is not any new significant information to share on this front.  However, I wanted to share a few operational updates for today:

Liquor License –paperwork and state information will be going out from the city shortly. Businesses are still required to complete them in a timely manner to keep them current as in past practices. We will be deferring the actual fee related to these licenses until October 1, 2020.  Letters will be mailed out to all applicable businesses regarding this.

The city is continuing to look at ways to assist people and businesses through this unprecedented time and hopefully we will have some information to share early next week on some programs we are working on.

No Utility Disruption – as stated before we have suspended all utility shutoffs (sewer and water) for users within the City of Wabasha.  This does not mean you do not have to pay your bill.  Bills will continue to go out and collection letters will continue to be sent and we expect timely payment. However, if you are unable to make a payment or the payment is late, normal late fees will accrue.  If you know this will be an issue, please be proactive and reach out to the city to make us aware.  As mentioned earlier please utilize the city drop boxes by the Post Office and City Hall when making payments or better yet utilize the on-line bill pay on our website.  Direct payment plans are another option to consider and can be set up too, please contact City Hall for enrollment.

Code Red – If you have not signed up for Code Red here is a link to sign up https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/C40C26DFBD62 while we have not used this for the COVID-19 outbreak yet there may come a time that we do.

City Council has been very active along with Mayor Durand to be proactive in our responses as quickly as we can be, and for that we would like to thank all of them.  In addition to dealing with changes in their homes and lives they have routinely checked in on staff and citizens throughout the city.  Please watch over your neighbors and friends during this time and do what you can to help, this too shall pass and hopefully sooner rather than later!  Stay healthy and enjoy the weekend, thanks.

Chad Springer, City Administrator

Wendy Busch, City Clerk

Flushing Reminder-COVID 19 preparedness extends to sewer pipes

Due to the increase usage, please take a moment to review the non-flushable materials to ensure your sewer pipes operate safely.

https://greatermncities.org/blog/flushing-reminder-covid-19-preparedness-extends-to-sewer-pipes/

Update 10:00AM 3-18-20:

Wabasha Community,

Today is Wednesday March 18^th, 2020 and while it seems we have been dealing with this pandemic for weeks already, we are unfortunately still in the early stages of this fight!  From the City of Wabasha’s perspective we do not have any new information to share on our preparedness other then we will continue to monitor on an hour to hour basis as new information becomes available.  The city is fortunate to have different avenues for information and one very important avenue is the League of Minnesota Cities and the information sharing portals they provide.  We receive information and updates on practices and procedures other cities and counties are doing and then relate them back to our current state.  In addition we continue to monitor the state health websites, the CDC, and Wabasha County Public Health.  By way of update today we wanted to share some information on service providers within our community that have reached out to us in the last few days:

Message from Xcel Energy:

• We are in constant communication with local, state and federal agencies and health organizations to coordinate responses.
• We will not disconnect service to any residential customer until further notice. If customers are having difficulty paying their bills, they can contact us, and we will arrange a payment plan.
• We have staffing plans in place to ensure power plant operators, line workers, gas technicians, customer care representatives and others continue delivering the reliable service you expect.
• To reduce the potential spread of illness, we have travel restrictions in place for all employees and are asking many employees to work from home.
• We also remain committed to our non-profit partners and business organizations across our service area. As such, we will continue our long-standing support of these organizations, regardless of whether a particular event takes place in the weeks and months ahead. We are also evaluating and monitoring additional opportunities of support during these unprecedented times.

Message from Hiawathaland Transit:

• As your city’s public transit provider, we wanted to reach out and let you know that our Hiawathaland Transit bus services are currently operating on normal schedules in Red Wing, Faribault, Northfield and all of our dial-a-ride communities. Call 1-866-623-7505 to schedule a ride.

Message from MN Dept. of Human Services (Childcare):

• The MN Department of Human Services is looking for rural childcare providers who are willing to do a temporary number expansion to accommodate children.  Here is the hotline number and online form that they made available to call in and answer the brief survey.
  • DHS Hotline number: 1-888-234-1268
  • Local Contact: Kayla Hall, Wabasha County Social Services, 1-651-565-3024

Message from the Wabasha Police Department, Chief Joe Stark:

• Beware of SCAMMERS – If somebody comes to your door uninvited and calls with any information regarding COVID-19 or offer free testing, it is likely a scam. Be aware and please contact the non-emergency Police number 1-651-565-3361 to report it.
• Our Police department will continue to be out in full-force. Unfortunately during these times, that is when crime increases as people try to take advantage of those less fortunate.

Thanks to all that are going above and beyond during this time.  A sample of normal citizens stepping up is evident in a recently created Facebook group titled “Wabasha helping Wabasha”.  If you are not a member feel free to join and see what you can to do help.  Special thanks to Russ Morgan and Councilperson Dean Meurer for spearheading this idea.

I would like to take this moment to thank all of our EMS staff, they have been working around the clock since this last Saturday to ensure all precautionary and safety measures are in place.  Specifically our Ambulance Director Ed Graner, Police Chief Joe Stark, and Emergency Management Director/Fire Chief Darren Sheeley.

The City of Wabasha will continue to update our community as information becomes available.

Chad Springer, City Administrator

Wendy Busch, City Clerk

Update 10:40 am 3/17/2020:

Good Morning,
Today, March 17, 2020, City staff met to discuss the continued efforts of the fight against COVID-19 and is notifying the public of the following updates:

All Public City Board Meetings are canceled with the exception of City Council, which may use alternative means of communication to meet. We do not have a definite timeline for these changes yet, but will continue to stay in contact with the public once we can resume normal function. The City is holding steady with “Less than 10” recommended group gatherings and encourages the public to do the same.

Update 5:50 pm 3/16/2020:

The Wabasha Public Library will be closed starting Tuesday March 17th through March 30th, the status will be revisited by the Library Board at that time.

Expect another update from the City of Wabasha at 9AM Tuesday March 17th.

We are facing a great unknown in the up coming weeks with the fight against COVID-19. While we are not panicking, we are remaining vigilant about the current situation facing the world.  The city will continue to consult with local public health officials and the CDC in our response to the virus.  The City of Wabasha has implemented many procedural changes to ensure the safety of all of our staff in the workplace and is taking the advice of local public health officials as well as information from the Center for Disease Control.  While these steps are in place to help protect our employees and their families we have also implemented practices to protect and ensure our staff and emergency personnel are there for the public.  These steps are:

1. As of this weekend ambulance staff will wear protective equipment when answering any calls that show the slightest symptoms of the COVID -19 virus.  Procedures are in place for the correct handling of this equipment and decontamination after the call.
2. Our police staff will not be responding to non-emergent medical calls to ensure less contact with possible cases.
3. In cases were assistance is needed for our ambulance service the Wabasha Fire Department will assist and has the same protective gear to help protect them against the transfer of germs.
4. Our Emergency Services Staff continues to prepare contingency plans for the future and this will be an on-going process as this situation evolves.
5. Effective immediately any water service that has been shut off will be turned back on and the city will discontinue shutting off water service due to delinquent bills until a time to be determined.

City Staff and Elected Officials will continue to monitor the information that is available to us and will make decisions and share information as it is available.  Thanks in advance for your understanding during these unprecedented times.  Please stay aware of your surroundings and do what you can to check up on others and follow the guidance that is being shared from the CDC and Public Health Officials.

Chad Springer, City Administrator

FLOOD INSURANCE 

With Spring right around the corner, the risk of flooding is lurking too.  It’s a good time to look at the facts and be prepared!

Click here to visit MN Department of  Commerce Winter Fact Sheet for more details

OVERSIZE/OVERWEIGHT PERMITS UPDATES

Spring load restrictions begin March 6 for South, Southeast and Metro frost zones

Click here to visit MN Department of Transportation website for more details