ALEXANDRIA — An airport item that was tabled at the Alexandria City Council’s last meeting has cleared the runway. The council voted to approve a lease with Dennis Conn who plans to purchase a state-of-the-art flight simulator at the old Bellanca building at 2504 Aga Drive at the
Alexandria Airport . It will occupy 4,500 square feet of the former office area. Conn plans to start a business, On His Wings Flight Academy, offering simulated aviation training. Back on May 12, the
council tabled taking action in order to find out more information about the security agreement and whether Conn planned to form a limited liability company or if he would offer his personal guarantee on the lease. Since then, the lessee, Conn, and the lessor, the city, have verified that the lease will be in Conn’s name, which also allows a security agreement to be finalized. At the February
Airport Commission meeting, Conn provided a proposal to rent the 4,500 square foot space for five years at the listed rate of $3 per square foot in return for having several improvements made – a new roof, coated floors, painting of the interior walls, demolition of the concrete partitions, and installation of a roll-up garage door. At the March meeting, Airport Manager Kreg Anderson provided quotes of $72,000 to the Airport Commission. The commission recommended the demolition of the concrete walls, installation of a roll-up garage door, and scrapping/painting of the interior walls for a total of $25,100 per the quotes received. This will be in addition to basic tenant needs such as patching any leaks in the roof, providing running water, and cleaning the currently unused space. Based on the quotes received, $25,100 will go into the negotiated improvements for the leased area. According to the lease agreement, the city will receive $13,698 annually over five years, totaling $68,490. The city will pay for the improvements from the Airport Development Fund and the lease revenue will go into that account.
Timm to retire from building department
After serving 26 years with the city’s
building department , Lynn Timm has decided to retire. Her last day will be July 25, 2024. A retirement open house is tentatively set for July 24. In related action, the council agreed to revise the building official position description and to post the position opening. Candidates will go through a competitive application process coordinated by a committee. The building department is responsible for administrating the
Minnesota State Building Code . The city’s budget includes funding for a full-time building official. The grade 18 position falls within a salary range of $92,795 to $115,994. The chief building official is responsible for the oversight, administration and enforcement of all construction-related codes and ensures compliance with city regulations through a wide range of inspection services. The building official will also enforce limited zoning and related codes, policies and ordinances.
Chief Kent to attend international conference
Alexandria Police Chief Scott Kent requested and received out-of-state travel to attend the
International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Denver, Colorado. It will take place on Oct. 18-21. Kent noted that the conference is attended by more than 15,000 law enforcement executives from all over the world. He added that there are over 250 break-out sessions to choose from. The estimated cost is $2,000. In other police related action, Kent introduced the Community Service Officers who will assist the
Alexandria Police Department , the Alexandria Building Department and the community for 12 weeks.The summer interns are Ryan Heid and Dominic Larson. They are working for the city in between their first and second years of their police training at Alexandria Technical and Community College. Both of them said they were excited to join the Alexandria Police Department this summer. Before joining the department, Heid, who grew up in Crystal, was an infantryman in the Army. He spent four years in Washington state and left the service in 2023 but he said he knew he wanted to pursue a career that would provide the same sense of purpose the military gave him so he enrolled in the police training and education program at ATCC. Outside of work, Heid said he likes to spend time hunting and fishing as well as playing pickup hockey. Larson, who is from Sartell, graduated from high school in 2024. Some of his hobbies are hunting, fishing, playing basketball and going to the gym. He said the reason he chose to pursue law enforcement is because he grew up around it for almost his entire life, from having family members and many close family friends who are in law enforcement. “By being around those people and talking with them about their job I knew that going into law enforcement was what I wanted to do for my career since I am very motivated and passionate about it,” Larson said. One of the CSOs' first duty was to watch over the Alexandria Area High School during the last couple of nights of school to make sure there were no vandalism or damages. One other police department item: The council accepted a $2,000 donation from the
Alexandria Blizzard hockey team’s fundraiser that will be used for the police department’s annual Community Night Out celebration on Aug. 5, 2025.
Closed session for purchase or sale of property
The council went into a close session to discuss the possible purchase or sale of property. State law allows city councils to close a meeting to determine the asking price for real or personal property to be sold by the city or to develop or consider offers or counteroffers. The property is located at 2020 Fillmore –the former Quality Printing/Hegg Law Office, which was later renovated into the ArtisTree Cafe, Inc. The city is involved because it approved a $200,000 Revolving Loan Fund request for the remodeling. The council closed several meetings to discuss its legal options in a lawsuit involving Ferguson Brothers Excavating and other contractors, vs. Jeanne Tanksley, Venia, LLC and the City of Alexandria. In January, the council discussed the options for redeeming the property, which was foreclosed by American National Bank of Minnesota. The project was estimated to cost $685,000. A number of contractors were hired to improve the Fillmore property but the contractors were not paid, according to the city. The contractors filed mechanic's liens on the property and initiated court action to foreclose on the property in 2024. As part of that action, the city was named as a defendant because the foreclosure action affects the city's lien on the property. No city tax dollars are involved in any Revolving Loan Funds. They're funded solely through the interest earnings on repayments from borrowers. The city is listed as a subordinate on the loans.
Beer, wine and baseball
The council issued an on-sale beer license and wine license to Willmar Baseball, LLC, to sell alcohol at the
Willmar Stingers baseball game at Knute Nelson Memorial Park on Thursday, July 31. The application fee was $450. Ryan Voz, owner of the Willmar Stingers applied for the licenses. He is continuing a tradition in Alexandria that’s bringing
Northwoods League baseball back to town, even if it's just for one night. The Alexandria Beetles played in the NWL from 2001 through 2012 before the team was changed to the Blue Anchors in 2013. The Blue Anchors lasted only a couple of seasons before Alexandria lost its NWL team shortly after the 2015 summer season. This will be the 10th annual Beetles "throwback" game.
