City Council October 19, 2026

The Hastings City Council meeting on October 19, 2026, considered several contracts and capital projects. Council approved a five-year pre-hospital medical direction services agreement with Regions Hospital, with one-year renewal options, following an RFQ process. It also approved an $87,600 proposal from Spheros Environmental for hydrogeological assessment related to proposed Well No. 9; staff noted a separate observation-well drilling cost of about $50,000 and a broader potential site-investigation investment of $150,000–$300,000. For the Eastern Water Treatment Plant, Council approved a $15,319,700 award to the low bidder, Rice Lake Construction Group. The project is intended to address PFAS treatment needs; a $5 million state grant was expected to come before Council for approval in November, while additional state funding was pending and temporary bonds were discussed as a possible cash-flow bridge.

Council also held a public hearing on MnDOT’s Highway 61 reconstruction layout, with residents raising concerns about traffic flow, intersection safety, business access, construction impacts, and alternatives such as roundabouts. The project includes proposed roundabouts at 36th Street and Highway 316, a signal at 18th Street, and construction anticipated in 2028–2029. A motion to table the municipal-consent decision for two weeks was defeated; Council then approved the municipal-consent layout, while noting that some design details may continue to be discussed and changes could affect schedule and cost. The council discussed revised pedestrian-lighting plans, reducing the estimate from slightly over $800,000 to about $552,000 for pedestrian lights; total corridor lighting was estimated at about $716,000, plus roughly $3,400 annually in maintenance for the pedestrian lights. The transcript does not clearly capture the final vote on that lighting recommendation.