TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Redwood Falls City Council was called to order in the Municipal Chambers on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
Roll call indicated Mayor Tom Quackenbush and Council Members Matt Smith, Denise Kerkhoff, Jim Sandgren, Larry Arentson, and Shannon Guetter were present, constituting a quorum.
Also present were City Administrator Keith Muetzel, Finance Director Kari Klages, City Attorney Trenton Dammann, Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering, and Deputy City Clerk Caitlin Kodet.
A motion was made by Council Member Kerkhoff and seconded by Council Member Sandgren to approve the agenda. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve the April 7, 2026, minutes as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Guetter and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve the following item on the Consent Agenda:
1. Parade Permit for Dakota Wicohan MMIR Awareness Walk
Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Police Chief Jason Cotner was present to introduce the Police Officer Recruit Agreement.
Chief Cotner stated in March of 2026, City Administrator Keith Muetzel, Police Chief Jason Cotner, and Asst. Police Chief Steve Schroeder interviewed several candidates for a vacant police officer position. One of those interviews was with Redwood Falls resident Phil Johnson. Mr. Johnson had been a police officer in the State of Washington, however, at the time of the interview he was not eligible to be licensed by the State of Minnesota. Since the interview, Mr. Johnson has begun the process of becoming license eligible in the State of Minnesota.
Chief Cotner stated Mr. Johnson is an excellent candidate and is very interested in becoming a Redwood Falls Police Officer. Police administration believes he would be an excellent candidate for future vacancies and presented the option of entering the Police Recruit Program. Mr. Johnson accepted this offer. The terms of the Police Recruit agreement are consistent with prior agreements. Once Mr. Johnson is eligible to be licensed by the State of Minnesota, if Redwood Falls Police Department has a vacancy, and he is accepted for the position, he would be eligible for up to $7500 in tuition reimbursement for law enforcement related classwork or training. In addition, he would be allowed to participate in all in-house training at the department and encouraged to participate in the ride-along program.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve the Police Officer Recruit Agreement with Phil Johnson. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
City Attorney Trenton Dammann introduced Ordinance No. 104, Fourth Series – An Ordinance Amending the Unified Development Ordinance, 2014 Edition, as Provided in §14.04 of the Redwood Falls City Code, for the Purpose of Regulating the use of Portable Storage/Shipping Containers Within the City of Redwood Falls.
Mr. Dammann stated the City of Redwood Falls has the authority to adopt an ordinance pursuant to Minn. Stat. Sec. 462.357, allowing a local unit of government to adopt zoning regulations for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare by regulating on the earth's surface, in the air space above the surface, and in subsurface areas, the location, height, width, bulk, type of foundation, number of stories, size of buildings and other structures and the uses of buildings and structures for trade, industry, residence, recreation, public activities, or other purposes, and the uses of land for trade, industry, residence, recreation, and agriculture.
Mr. Dammann stated Ordinance No. 104 creates a new chapter in the Unified Development Ordinance for the regulation of portable storage/shipping containers. The goal of the ordinance is to provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community and its people through the establishment of standards to ensure that portable storage/shipping containers are used for the short-term, temporary storage and transport of personal property; are not used as accessory buildings; and do not impede vehicular access, traffic flow or circulation, or create public safety hazards.
Mr. Dammann stated on April 14, 2026, after published notice in the Redwood Gazette on April 2nd, a public hearing was held by the Planning Commission to discuss Ordinance No. 104, Fourth Series. After the hearing, the Planning Commission adopted the Findings of Fact found in Section 2 of Ordinance No. 104 and recommended approval of Ordinance No. 104.
Zoning Administrator Randy Thole was present.
Mr. Thole stated the changes are being suggested following a recent inquiry from a commercial business regarding the use of portable storage/shipping containers in a construction project. City Staff began researching other communities and ordinances in place regarding these types of containers. To be proactive, City Staff feels these ordinances need to be in place to create a clear definition for how and where these portable storage/shipping containers can be used in residential and commercial districts.
A motion was made by Council Member Kerkhoff and seconded by Council Member Guetter to waive the reading of Ordinance No. 104, Fourth Series – An Ordinance Amending the Unified Development Ordinance, 2014 Edition, as Provided in §14.04 of the Redwood Falls City Code, for the Purpose of Regulating the use of Portable Storage/Shipping Containers Within the City of Redwood Falls. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering introduced Resolution No. 29 of 2026 – Authorization to Execute Transfer and Repayment Agreement of Federal Entitlement Funds.
Mr. Doering stated in previous years the airport received expiring funds from other airports for current projects and then transferred new entitlement funds back. This resets the 5-year, use-it or lose-it clock of the lending airport. The proposed agreement with Pine River will allow the transfer of airport entitlement dollars in the amount of $300,000.00 from the City of Pine River to the Redwood Falls Municipal Airport for use on the 2026 airport improvements. The transfer will be repaid back to Pine River by May 01, 2028, utilizing 2026 and 2027 entitlement allocations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Mr. Doering stated it is a unique and useful feature to keep allocated federal funding in the state, rather than allowing it to expire and be sent back to the nationwide funding pool. This also prevents the FAA from penalizing the state on future allocations where they track that funding was sent back so therefore the state will need less going forward. Staff recommend approval of the resolution and agreement.
A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Arentson to waive the reading of Resolution No. 29 of 2026 – Authorization to Execute Transfer and Repayment Agreement of Federal Entitlement Funds. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve Resolution No. 29 of 2026 – Authorization to Execute Transfer and Repayment Agreement of Federal Entitlement Funds. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering introduced the Library Expansion Project – Change Order #1.
Mr. Doering stated Staff is recommending the approval of “Change Order (CO) No. 1” for the addition of a code required exterior fire department connection and related check valve with backflow preventer. Approval will allow the City Administrator to execute the CO. Change Order No. 1 is being presented due to the discovery of the missing external connection during field verification of the current fire suppression system and tie-in for the new library addition. The connection was omitted with the original library construction. The change order amount of $20,793.05 will be paid with project contingency funds already included in the project costs.
A motion was made by Council Member Guetter and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve the Library Expansion Project – Change Order #1. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Bills and Claims were presented to the Council for informational purposes. No questions, comments or concerns were raised.
There being no further business, a motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Arentson to adjourn the meeting at 5:18 p.m. Motion passed by unanimous vote.