Council:

City not

interested

in acquiring

George's

Consultant urges

city work with

county to find a use for old ballroom

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM--Based on the reuse study team's recommendation, the New Ulm City Council voted Tuesday night to notify Brown County officials the city has no interest in acquiring George's Ballroom

In its preliminary report, the team led by historic preservation consultant Thomas R. Zahn of St. Paul urged the council to instead "work with the county to find a use" for a historic building that should be preserved.

John Lauber of the Minnesota Historical Society's State Historic Preservation Office, St. Paul, also urged the city to find a use for it before "the usefulness of these places have gone away."

Lauber said his office is responsible for 501 historic buildings throughout the state and "more than half of them have been allowed to just disintegrate." The society was a co-sponsor of the ballroom study.

"The shell of the building, excluding the roof, is in excellent shape, and the floor is terrazo so you can't hurt that," said preservation architect Robert Claybaugh of Taylors Falls. "However, there is the asbestos problem, water damage from leaks in the roof and the heating and cooling system has outlived its normal longevity."

Some possible uses suggested by the team were a bar-restaurant entertainment complex, a motel-convention center, a beer garden or a casino-entertainment complex.

Keith Wallace of New Ulm, who had submitted a proposal for a bar-restaurant-ballroom complex that would cost $2.2 million, appeared to tell the council that because of "the gulf war and the state of the economy, potential investors have backed away."

Council President Dan Beranek told Wallace that it would probably be a while before the county would act on the property "so you should have time to arrange other financing, and you can work directly with the county on it."

Zahn said the team, which also included Michael Burgraff, manager of the Fairmont Opera House, would have its final report ready in two and a half months.

In other action, the council approved another six-month extension for the city's moratorium on adult-use businesses locating here. After re-reading the law governing emergency ordinance extensions, City Attorney Hugh Nierengarten said the "18-month period applies to the extension."

The city is a little over two months away from having a permanent ordinance in place, but the first extension was set to expire this month.

The council approved the service territory swap agreement with the Brown County Rural Electric Association.

In the swap, approved by the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission last week, New Ulm Public Utilities would lose about 80 customers across the river in Nicollet County but gain about 2,000 acres of potential service territory, including the new industrial park, on the west and south edges of New Ulm.

"The agreement must now go to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and the (state) Department of Commerce before we can start making the change over," Interim Utilities Director Dan Sonnek told the council.

Following a public hearing, the council ordered in sidewalk improvements at five locations within the city.

They include South Minnesota from 14th to 15th South streets (uncompleted on both sides); 8th South from Payne to Jefferson (both sides); 14th South from Franklin to Washington (uncompleted both sides); North Broadway from Doris Dr. to 23rd North (uncompleted west side), and South Minnesota from 15th to 16th South Street.

Voicing concerns that it was "too broad," councilors tabled action on the proposed city advertising policy and returned it to the Park and Recreation Commission for more details on the type of advertising that would be solicited and how it would be displayed.

An ordinance allowing the sale and dispensing of alcohol in city facilities and parks received its second reading and was approved. It will go into effect 30 days after publication.

A public hearing has been set for Tuesday, April 15, on the proposed U.S. Highway 14 reconstruction project on North Broadway from the 7th North intersection out past Airport Road.

City Engineer Steve Koehler told the council at an informational meeting that the city's share of the $6.5 million project would be $1,421,500. However, with state aid of $588,500 and $340,000 from the PUC for water main and sanitary sewer work, the city's portion would be $493,000.