Select Board Declares Local Emergency, Approves Wastewater Loan Application

MELROSE — March 19, 2020 — Melrose Select Board declares local emergency and advances $11.4 million wastewater loan application amid COVID-19 crisis. The board voted unanimously Thursday on Resolution 2020-21, granting the mayor temporary authority to make operational decisions without convening a full council meeting as the pandemic rapidly changed conditions. City Administrator Colleen — last name unclear in the recording — told the council that foot traffic at city hall had fallen to roughly seven or eight people by day's end, that the library and senior center were already closed, and that neighboring jurisdictions including Stearns County were shuttering administrative offices in real time. The board also unanimously approved Resolution 2020-17, authorizing a Public Facilities Authority loan application for the wastewater treatment facility upgrade, whose estimated construction cost has risen from $11.2 million to $13.4 million; the city is separately seeking $5.75 million through the state bonding bill, which would substantially reduce the PFA borrowing needed. The board tabled a $1,000 strategic planning retreat and pushed a proposed town hall meeting to fall 2020 at the earliest.