LESTER PRAIRIE, MN – After reviewing the situation regarding the school’s petition to vacate a portion of Second Ave. North to make way for a building expansion project, the City of Lester Prairie has approved the necessary permits to allow the project to proceed.

City Administrator Mike Skrbich issued the following press release on behalf of the city:

This notification is to communicate that the City of Lester Prairie School Expansion Project, the vacating of portions of 2^nd Avenue North and the special use permits related to this project are all approved at this time.

Prior to approval, the city reached out to our attorney to determine the necessary votes needed to pass the petition for vacation. Our attorney often encourages us to utilize the League of Minnesota Cities Handbook to preserve city funds and utilize resources already available. The city did exactly that and made our determination on the information that we had. We assure all, there was no ill-intent or purposeful denial of the school’s petition for vacation. Furthermore, the petition was received on 1-6-20 and the city initially estimated a 3-4 month approval process. The process is completed within that timeline.

After our meeting, we reached out to our attorney and we had a lengthy discussion about the issue and are in agreement that there is an exception to the super majority vote and the petition should have passed. There was a simple majority vote at the meeting, and all requests are approved at this time.

NOTE: the press release was updated to reflect the correct date for receipt of the petition.