Council Paves Way For CentraCare Plaza Addition; Sets Hearing for Predatory Offender Ordinance Monday Night

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud City Council unanimously passed every item before it on Monday night, including a final plat approval for CentraCare to begin construction on the north side of town and set a public hearing surrounding an ordinance where level three predatory offenders can live.

Mayor Dave Kleis tells KNSI News with the approval of the CentraCare plat; crews can ramp up work. “It’s all the pieces they need to kick everything into high gear. They’ve gone through, not only earlier, the approvals of what they’re building. And then, of course, they went through the process of conduit debt, I think that was at the last meeting. And then, of course, this is just those final pieces.”

Kleis says some of the project is renovations, which were able to get started in earnest already. The bulk of the project is new, though. CentraCare is building an ambulatory surgery center, adding to its physical, occupational, and speech therapy centers, and creating a dorm for medical school students.

Kleis drives home the point that CentraCare’s work is all due to the new medical school. It will begin classes next fall and focus on serving rural communities in Greater Minnesota.

A public hearing is scheduled for October 7th to create an ordinance for where level three predatory offenders can live. Two maps are laid out. One prevents a high-risk offender from living within 1,500 feet of schools, parks and places of worship, making virtually the entire city off limits. A second would ban level three offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, opening up many more housing opportunities.

In June, a working group was formed to develop an ordinance after the issue came to light thanks to a member who learned two level three offenders had moved near an elementary school in 2022.

The panel also heard from Community Development Director Matt Glaesman on progress made among the Community Development Block Grant projects approved this summer. The largest of those was Avivo Village. Councilman Dave Masters asked about where things stand. Glaesman responded that he expects construction on the homeless shelter to start by the end of the year.

Kleis reiterated that all projects are coming along nicely. “All indications that everything that the council approved earlier is still on track.”

Avivo Village was awarded $232,000 to help with planning and design for a 56-bed facility near 33rd Avenue South on a roughly one-acre parcel of city land next to a retaining pond. The funds were freed up when previously approved CDBG projects could not get started on time.

The council also voted to accept bids to build two electric vehicle charging stations near Highway 15 and Highway 23. Both standard plug types will be provided to allow virtually all types of EVs to connect. Erickson Electric Company of St. Cloud submitted the low bid of $57,987.44. This is 21.5% over the final engineer’s estimate of $47,712.00. The city has a $200,000 grant and will make up the difference. Interstate 94 is designated as a U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Alternative Fuels Corridor, which designates a national network of EV charging infrastructure along national highway system corridors.

___