On Monday, February 3, around fifty AES second graders made the trip to Adrian City Hall for a lesson in local government. A short council meeting was held in their honor. Present at the meeting were Dave Edwards, Public Utilities Director; Ron Lonneman, council member; John Faber, Adrian Mayor; Jill Wolf, City Administrator and Megan Vortherms, Community Assistant Associate; Peg Faber and Merlyn Inglett, Adrian community members.
The students were given an agenda before the meeting began. The items covered at the meeting were: a request from Adrian High School to host a “ride your snowmobile to school day” on Februrary 7th. After a brief discussion on the stipulations for the permit, the Council unanimously passed the permit request. Second on the agenda was a generator update. Dave Edwards explained the generator, how it is used and how it works to the students. The Council next passed the designation of Adrian City Hall as the 2020 General Election Polling place for Adrian residents. An explanation of the election and polling process was given to the students.
Three representatives from the class were invited to come forward and present two ideas the class had to help improve the city of Adrian. The first idea was longer hours at the Adrian Branch Library during the summer. The Council asked how many of the students present used the library.
Three quarters of the class raised their hands indicating they did. The Council took this request under advisement and will pass this on to the Nobles County Commissioners and Library Board. The students next suggested a trampoline park by the Adrian Pool. The Council and the students discussed the building and upkeep costs for this kind of facility, as well as insurance costs. They also discussed how to find the funds for the project and upkeep with an explanation of taxes and donations. The discussion about the trampoline park was tabled until the next council meeting. The meeting was adjourned after several questions from the students.
It was a good learning experience for the students and the City Council always welcomes input from the residents of Adrian.
