02-07-2025
County declares local state of emergency tied to mid-June flooding in western Freeborn County
Jul. 1—The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday declared a local state of emergency tied to flooding in western Freeborn County in mid-June.
Emergency Management Director Adam Hamberg said western Freeborn County received 6 to 7 1/2 inches of rain June 16, leading to a flood warning for that area and multiple roads that were barricaded, including Minnesota Highway 109 and other county and township roads.
He said preliminary damages include $6,000 for the city of Alden, $20,000 for Alden-Conger Public School for damages to the athletic grounds, $12,000 for Carlston Township for road repair, $10,000 for Alden Township for road repair and culvert cleanup and $35,000 thus far for the Freeborn County Highway Department.
Hamberg said he planned to submit the $83,000 in damages to the state, which passes the county's threshold of $72,900. Though he estimated the final numbers will be higher than the initial reports, he did not think they would meet the $145,000 threshold in public infrastructure damage to qualify for a FEMA event.
He noted the city of Alden's sewer and drainage system was overburdened and flooded its sewage ponds.
Some of the roads that are being repaired have also already been recently repaired after a prior flooding.
The city of Albert Lea did not have any public infrastructure damage.
Commissioner Nicole Eckstrom said she had received a call from the Alden mayor, who said he would like to gather as many of the entities who have been affected by these flooding issues in recent years to see if there is something that can be done differently for the future. She said it doesn't seem like weather patterns will be changing.
In other action, the board:
—Accepted the resignation of Lyndon Stinson, the county's probation and pre-trial services director at the end of October and voted to refill the position. Stinson said he hoped to help train in the new director.
—Awarded the contract for about $206,000 to Ulland Brothers Inc. for the state-aid Magaretha Avenue railroad crossing improvement project.
County Engineer Phil Wacholz said improvements will also improve pedestrian crossing there.
The engineer's estimate was $187,200.
The county had received a $245,000 grant that went toward a portion of the project.
—Approved the final payment for almost $9,600 to Sir Lines-A-Lot for road striping on various county roads. The total project cost was about $176,000.
Aside from that project, Wacholz said Freeborn County applied with some other counties in the 6th District for federal funding for reflective paint for some other roads, and that project is just being advertised. He expected that to be done by June or July 2026.
—Appointed Dan DeBoer, Alan Bakken and Mitchell Delger to another term on the Shell Rock River Watershed District board of managers.
—Voted to table a motion that would set the Highway Department office hours as 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
