NICOLLET – Troy Hewitt and Kent Evans, two of the owners of Hewitt Manufacturing, discussed their expansion plans with the Nicollet City Council at their Monday night meeting.

Hewitt Manufacturing is currently located at 709 Old Highway 14 Road and 9th Street in Nicollet.

Hewitt said their business continues to grow and they are engineering new products. For example, they made a special dock project for the City of Wayzata, handicap ramps for homes, and fish armor boxes used for live scopes or fishing poles.

“We are getting into new things that we haven’t done before and our staff have changed a lot,” said Hewitt. “In the last six months, we hired a vice president of sales, two more people for marketing, two more engineers, and another sales rep.”

“We would like to set up a time or meeting to discuss the 9th Street project with the idea of possibly closing it so that we would have more outdoor storage and more places to push snow into piles,” said Hewitt.

“We are completely out of office space, and even have some employees working remote. We are hoping for a 2,500-3,000 square foot addition built on to our office. We probably need another 24,000 square feet of warehouse,” added Hewitt.

Hewitt employs over 80 employees with a turnover rate of less than 4% per year. They hope to expand in their current location, but if that doesn’t work then they will need to look for another location and separate the business.

Council Members Kevin Ostermann and Mary Wels volunteered to meet with Hewitt Manufacturing to further discuss their expansion possibilities. Joe Duncan, of Bolton and Menk, will be invited to attend the meeting.

Other news

Jesse Samuelson of LJP Waste Solutions of North Mankato attended Monday’s meeting requesting the city renew their waste management services contract for another five years. Nicollet has had a contract with LJP for the last 15 years. The mayor/council approved the renewal of the five-year contract.

Mandi Russow, resident of Nicollet, attended regarding the street assessment on her taxes for the repair that was done in 2013. She said that when the work was done, the contractor did not come back to fix the things that had been marked with pink paint to show what things needed to be fixed. She also said there is a chunk of curb missing, possibly due to being hit by a snowplow.

The Utilities Committee, Council Members Ostermann and Wels, recommended a procedural change for utility bills. Currently, City Clerk Vanessa Drill sends a property owner two copies of their tenants’ utility bills. The mayor/council approved to provide only one copy of each tenant’s utility bill to the property owner and let them make copies as needed. This new procedure will start January 1, 2025.

Joint Powers

Mayor Fred Froehlich read the Joint Powers Chief’s Report from their meeting on November 25, 2024. They are working on grants to help pay for equipment. They installed one new fire fighter, Danny Sheeks. They currently have 28 firefighters.

Starting January 1, 2025, Joel Polzin will be the billing person for insurance issues. This is the final year as chief for Jeremy Sieberg. He is retiring from the fire department with 23 years of service in mid-2025. The new chief, assistant chief and captains will start on January 1, 2025.

Old Business

Correction from last month’s story on Reagan Outdoor Advertising regarding the possibility of digital advertising in Nicollet.

“The city would be paid approximately $2,500 a year, not per month, for the lease of the land for the billboard.”

The remaining $300 left from the American Rescue Plan funds will be spent on the side panel for the snowblower.

The mayor/council agreed that the 312 4th Street property will need to be monitored to be sure they are keeping the property clear of equipment.

The flashing lights have been installed on Highway 111. Mayor Froehlich advises students and residents to always be sure to still stop and look before crossing the road.

New Business

A letter was received from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding a Notice of Violation that involves the City of Nicollet Wastewater Treatment Facility and the significant industrial user Stickney Hill Ingredients, LLC. Mayor Froehlich said this will be talked about and handled in the near future.

The city adopted the final 2025 Tax Levy and final 2025 budget. The levy is $653,524 and is $43,000 more than last year’s levy. The final budget is $1,304,238.40.