Pavilion and Washington Ballpark renovation projects stalled following council meeting and conclusion of legislative session

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Two Detroit Lakes renovation projects have stalled temporarily following the conclusion of a special city council meeting and state legislative session last week.

On May 24, members of the Detroit Lakes city council debated a proposed architectural agreement with design firm RDG; the team charged with designing the city’s new Pavilion.

Kelcey Klemm, city administrator for Detroit Lakes, said the agenda item was not approval of final design, but instead soliciting more options from the firm.

“The proposal was, basically, to do some different renderings, some different design options than was has been currently put out to the public,” said Klemm. “With our charter, we require a super majority, six council (members), vote to approve any time of expenditure of public funds … we had six (council members) being able to attend the special council meeting, and that agenda item failed five to one.”

Council Member Aaron Dallmann, alderman at-large, told members during the session that he was against the new Pavilion project and voted to deny the agreement with RDG.

Council members Dan Josephson, alderman third ward, Wendy Spry, alderman second ward, and Jaimie Deraney, alderman at-large, were absent from the work session and did not cast a vote.

Klemm also said he thinks the agreement might be brought up again during the city council’s regular meeting on June 13 since the Minnesota Legislature approved the city’s local-option sales tax referendum as a funding source for the project, which must be voted on by Detroit Lakes residents by November 2024.

“We basically just got in under the line because (the state legislature) added a two-year moratorium on any new local-option sales tax requests,” he said. “We’d be looking at really forgoing any type of sales tax request for a number of years if we hadn’t gotten approval.”

Another city project halted are the potential renovations to Historic Washington Ballpark.

The city had requested about $1.4 million in bonding funds last year, and this year, from the state legislature to renovate the old ballpark. And, while the proposal was included in the Governor Tim Walz’s bonding proposal, the ballpark renovation project was removed as legislators paired back the governor’s plan.

“We were in the governor’s $3.3 billion recommendation, but they funded $2.5 billion, so, obviously, there were some projects that were cut,” said Klemm. “And, we just didn’t get in there. And believe me, it’s frustrating.”

Klemm said Detroit Lakes city council members will have to decide in June, if they want to resubmit the proposal to the state legislature to potentially by included in next year’s bonding package.