Voters in Alexandria's Ward 4 will have a new polling place for a special election to fill a vacant Alexandria School Board seat.

The vacancy was created when member Bob Cunniff stepped down from the board to move closer to family. The board has since appointed Jeff Patience to fill the position until a special election can be held. Two other candidates, Maureen Eigen and Jeremy D. Smith, have also filed for the spot, which triggers a primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

The board was recently informed by Cornerstone Church, 202 7th Ave. W, that the church wouldn’t be available for a primary election on Aug. 10 or for the special election on Nov. 2.

The council voted to designate St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 420 Irving Street, as the new polling place for the ward for this year.

Walk to raise awareness of heart disease

The council issued a special event permit to Lasting Imprint for its 11th annual Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Walk to be held Saturday, September 11 from 6 a.m. to noon.

The event will start and end at City Park using the trail to Big Ole Central Park and back.

The event was approved with the condition that it meet any public health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control regarding COVID-19.

Airport lease with Life Link clarified

At the May 24 meeting, the council authorized an extension of the lease agreement with LifeLink III for the H-1 hangar.

After reviewing it, however, the city and Life Link agreed that they needed to clarify how the rates are tied to the Consumer Price Index.

Under the new agreement, Life Link agreed to pay a base rent of $42,459 a year, or $3,538 a month, which represents an increase of the previous base rent based on the percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index through April 2021.

The clarified agreement states that the base rent will be based on the increase of the Consumer Price Index for “all urban consumers,” published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for U.S. city averages.

In another airport related action, the council approved a resolution to amend its agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation that provides state funds for maintenance and operations at the airport.

The current agreement provides $73,020. The 2020 CARES Act allocated additional money to eligible airports in the state and Alexandria’s share was $30,000.

The amendment extends the agreement for the $30,000 in annual maintenance funds to May 6, 2024 instead of June 30, 2021. It also allows the city to use the $73,020 in annual state funds for any expenses incurred through December 31, 2021.

The only reason a resolution was requested is because former Alexandria Mayor Sara Carlson signed the original agreement and it now must be signed by new mayor Bobbie Osterberg.

Annexation petition accepted

The council gave preliminary approval to a request from two landowners to annex their 0.55-acre property in LaGrand Township.

The property is a developed residential lot on County Road 22. The landowners want to be annexed so they can receive city water.

The council accepted the annexation petition, submitted by Justin and Amanda Brower, and directed staff to notify LaGrand Township, the county and the state. Once the state completes a review, the request will go before the council for final action.