NEW ULM — The New Ulm City Council accepted the resignation of Mayor Robert Beussman and began the process of selecting and appointing a person to fill the vacant position mayor position, Tuesday.

Beussman formally resigned as New Ulm’s Mayor on Thursday, April 15. In a letter to New Ulm citizens, Beussman said one of the reasons for his resignation was medical issues.

The council thanked Beussman for his years of service and presented him with a plaque during the meeting. Beussman received a standing ovation from those in attendance.

With the resignation of Beussman, the council appointed Council President Andrea Boettger as acting mayor effective April 21 until the council could appoint a successor. A vacancy was formally declared for the office of mayor before announcing the start of the selection process to appoint the new mayor.

The newly appointed mayor will serve out the remaining time on Beussman’s term, ending Dec. 31, 2022.

The application process to be considered for the mayor position will open Wednesday, April 21. The deadline for applying closes at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 9. The application process is strictly online.

The application process will include questions about previous services on boards and organizations or any personal interests applicants have as mayor.

The council will interview all candidates for the position from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 18. A regular city council meeting will follow the candidates’ interviews, and the council could appoint a candidate.

——

The council voted 4-1 to temporarily close the alley adjacent to the B&L for the first full weekend and third weekend of the month starting Friday, May 7. The alley closure will be in place from 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday at noon. This temporary closure agreement would be in place until Oct. 31 or until Gov. Tim Walz lifts capacity restrictions. The B&L’s liquor license would be extended into the alley during this time.

This issue was discussed during the April 6 council meeting but was tabled to finetune the request to work for all the businesses. The concern was this alley is used by other businesses that may need access on those weekends.

The previous request asked for the temporary closure of the alley from April 16 through Nov. 30 beginning from 8 .m. Friday to 1 p.m. Sunday. The council has granted temporary closure requests for this alley for certain weekends. This was the first request to close the alley for several weekends.

A new arrangement was proposed to the council that would close the alley on the first and third full weekend of each month beginning Friday, May 7, from 4 p.m. to 12 p.m. until Walz lifts the capacity restriction on bars.

City Attorney Roger Hippert, speaking as the owner of the building sharing the alley, said he appreciated the request was reduced from the original request but had concerns about closing the public right-of-way. Hippert is working to move items from his office out of the building using this alley. Based on his schedule, he needed the flexibility to use the alley during the weekend. In addition, he had concerns about finding a new tenant if people are drinking next door in the alley on weekends.

Councilor Larry Mack said the council needed to be mindful of all property owners and they want access to their buildings. Mack proposed B&L choose a couple of weekends in the summer to use the alley and work this out in advance with the neighbors.

Councilor Les Schultz argued that this was a different situation.

“We’ve got bars and restaurants barely making it,” Schultz said.

He said this was a one-time change until the governor lifted restrictions.

“I think we need to help our businesses and I think giving someone a couple of extra weekends is not business-friendly.”

Councilor Eric Warmka believed B&L’s request was fair and reasonable. He believed this was a way to support a business in a time of need.

Councilor David Christian said he was on the fence on approval. He had questions about long-term solutions and possibly using the back of B&L.

Owner Rick Kamm said it was not feasible to expand the business to the backside of the bar. Kamm said he would be willing to work with Hippert if he accesses the alley on specific weekends.

Schultz made a motion to approve the alley closure with a change of the start time to 5 p.m. on Friday. The council agreed to let Hippert and Kamm discuss an arrangement that would work for both businesses.

Boettger said, “I think as a community it is important to be a good neighbor and that means sometimes being flexible. I trust they are two business owners that can work out a schedule that is reasonable and would benefit each other.”

The council passed the motion 4-1 with Mack voting against it.

——

The council agreed to lease the new Gymnastic Center in the new Recreation Center to New Ulm Turner Gymnastics Academy at $4,500 a month.

This fee was a compromise between the agreement between the $5,000 cost estimate for monthly usage and the $4,000 recommended by the Park and Recreation Commission.

A lease agreement with the city and Turner Gymnastics Academy and been discussed and planned since before the approval of the Reinvest in New Ulm (RENU) referendum was approved in November 2016.

The preliminary estimate of the cost to operate the gymnastic center is $5,000 a month. No other user group of the city park and recreation facilities pays 100% of city costs. All other youth user groups are partially subsidized by the city. For this reason, the park commission recommended a $4,000 rental fee.

New Ulm Turnverein president Mathew Berger said the Turner Gymnastics Academy wanted to be a good tenant for the city. He said the actual cost of maintaining that facility was unknown until they began operating in the space. The initial lease was for two years. He was willing to renegotiate the rental fee after those two years if the fee was out of balance.

City Manager Chris Dalton believed rent could be renegotiated after two years. Realistically, he believed rent would go up as rent is rarely lowered.

Councilor Mack made the motion to compromise in the middle with the $4,500 monthly fee. The motion was seconded by Warmka. The motion passed four to one with Boettger abstaining from the discussion due to her connection with Turner Hall.

——

The council had its first look at an amendment to the city code to cover micromobility sharing operations. This amendment would set the parameters of having micromobility operators in town, and rules and guidelines for the users.

In this ordinance amendment, a micromobility vehicle is defined as bicycles, electric-assisted bicycles, motorized foot scooters and any other transportation device identified as a micromobility vehicle as decided by the city council.

A micromobility sharing operation is defined as any rental or lending service that allows riders to temporarily used these vehicles in exchange for a fee or encourages the use of these vehicles from a city-maintained right-of-way or other city property.

The ordinance will need to be reviewed by the Park and Recreation Commission. The ordinance will ultimately come back to the council for the council.

This issue came to the council in response to a company considering operating an electric scooter operation in New Ulm.

Hippert said the terms of any license agreement with a business would revolve around the extent of scooter use on recreational trails. The council will need to decide about the restrictions at a later meeting.

——

The council approved several requests from the Hermann Monument Society in preparation for holding HermannFest 2021. The requests include temporary closure of Center Street between Garden and Highland during the festival to accommodate fireworks and a city code exception to allow the discharge of cannons.

This is an annual request and no changes have been made from previous years. The festival will follow COVID-19 guidelines if necessary.

Hermann Monument Society president Tom Furth said it was hard to believe that a year ago they were preparing for HermannFest but it was ultimately canceled. He was optimistic that it HermannFest could be held this year because of the size of Harman park and because people generally provide their own chairs.

The council was hopeful it would be held again this year. Schultz made the motion to approve the request with a second from Warmka.

The festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11.