The strategic plan, checked against the record

What the plan says to do

1. Continue the facade improvement program
2. Look at options to increase off-street parking downtown between Red Wing Avenue and Spring Street
3. Identify business owners near retirement and work with them on a succession process for core downtown services
4. Work with potential buyers and renters for vacant properties
5. Provide technical assistance and referrals: business plans, financing, marketing, permits
6. Replace banners where needed

What the record shows

Underway on four of six; nothing in the record on succession or parking

• Dec. 2025The EDA rewrote the facade grant wording (applications open each December, awards at the January meeting); two 2026 applications were in the February packet. More
• Apr. 2025Todd Kieffer's Kenyon Business Directory went live on the city site; this site's directory rebuilds it with photos and hours. More
• Jan. 2025EDA business survey at the annual breakfast: owners asked for beautification, foot traffic and marketing outside the city limits.
• Mar. 2026EDA adopted a 13-question owner interview and a commitment to interview eight owners a month.
• 2025The Commercial Club was revived with Jill Warner as president and runs Fall Fest and Christmas in Kenyon. More
• Not foundNo packet since 2023 mentions a succession process for retiring owners (the word appears only in a 2022 lease's tax clause), and downtown off-street parking has not come back since the council asked for it to be looked at in November 2022; the only 2026 mention is a variance request from parking requirements.

What the plan says to do

1. Update and address needs annually in the capital improvement plan
2. Prioritize sanitary sewer replacement and rehabilitation to reduce inflow and infiltration and eliminate private sewer mains
3. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the city sidewalk system
4. Regularly update and follow the infrastructure management plan

What the record shows

The heaviest spending of the plan period; the sidewalk assessment appears only as project alternates

• June 20232023 Street Improvements awarded to Bituminous Materials, $450,694, and the Pearl Creek sanitary sewer and Gates Avenue utility project to BCM Construction, $1,241,494. More
• July 20252025 Street & Utility Improvements awarded to Fitzgerald Excavating at $2,294,629 after the first letting was rejected; assessed over 15 years at 5.25 percent, with an 8th Street sidewalk alternate. More
• 2022Pearl Creek and Forest Street mains televised by Empire Pipe Services ahead of design; Highway 60 sanitary televising quoted in 2026. More
• 2026Lead service line replacement design scoped by Bolton & Menk for a future sealed bid. More
• Not foundNo stand-alone sidewalk inventory has come to the council; sidewalk work rides on street projects as alternates, and the claims lists show sidewalk repair invoices to Ace Hardware, the VFW, Mary's Rustic Rose and Che Che's.

What the plan says to do

1. Assess the existing facility
2. Get contractor costs for renovation versus new construction
3. Assess grant and fundraising opportunities
4. Implement the renovation or new facility

What the record shows

Planned twice, funded in pieces; the big build waits on a match the city says it cannot carry

• 2024Minnesota State University, Mankato master plan for the park; the EDA's five-year schedule put ADA work first and a walking path third. More
• Oct. 2024SMIF Taylor Rural Improvement Grant ($25,000 for ADA mulch, sidewalks and a walkway) denied.
• Feb. 2025Kenyon selected for the University of Minnesota's Empowering Small Minnesota Communities program; the plan (ADA depot, pickleball, walking loop, Trondheim link, Safe Route to School crossing) was presented at the EDA breakfast on Jan. 27, 2026.
• 2025–26SMIF Small Town Grant, $10,000: two timber picnic shelters built by K-W construction students. More
• Feb. 2026Kieffer told the EDA the city cannot carry a $100,000 to $200,000 DNR match; the park is to be split into phases for the Park Board to rank.
• Sept. 2026Depot Park concrete apron and ramp, Lexvold Construction low quote $9,980, a spring 2027 job; League of Minnesota Cities Grant Navigator application ($5,000) pending. More

What the plan says to do

1. Assess locations
2. Get contractor costs
3. Assess grants and fundraising
4. Build it

What the record shows

Quotes in hand since November 2023; no award in the record

• Nov. 2023Two community-entrance sign quotes compared: Schad Tracy Signs $16,512 (staff recommendation) and Precision Signs $19,355; the item was left unresolved. More
• Aug. 2022A separate granite monument for the old Kenyon High School site was quoted by Lewiston Monument ($14,500–$20,500) and Anderson Memorials ($23,873–$25,653) for the Kenyon School Monument Group. More
• Not foundNo resolution, purchase order or claims-list payment for an entrance sign appears through September 2026.

What the plan says to do

1. Market the site: update signage, written and online marketing
2. Explore a spec building: location, construction estimates, lease pricing, financing, implementation

What the record shows

Listed, not sold; no spec building work in the record

• May 2017Ordinance 86 rezoned 29.58 acres north of Mantorville Road and County 12 from agricultural to industrial for the EDA. More
• TodayThree EDA lots on Engel Drive have been listed for 657 days at $187,778, $201,457 and $252,230 (2.27 acres and up), assessed at $79,100 to $107,300. More
• June 2025The EDA moved the listing from LoopNet/CoStar to the state's free LOIS site.
• Mar. 2026"Sell remaining industrial lots" is one of the EDA's four 2026 goals.
• Not foundNo packet discusses a spec building, its cost or how to pay for it.

What the plan says to do

1. Review current facilities, especially public works and KMU
2. Identify facilities needing upgrade or replacement, with preliminary costs and financing
3. Look at park facility needs including trails and a dog park location
4. Plan trails and a connection from the Trondheim area across the Zumbro River

What the record shows

Repairs made; the river crossing is drawn, not funded; no dog park mention

• 2024–25Public works shop roof repaired by Heyn Brothers ($7,650); Muni roof and HVAC replaced; City Hall cameras, doors and roof loan handled piecemeal rather than through a facilities review. More
• Jan. 2026The ESMC plan drew the Trondheim-to-Depot Park trail link and a Safe Route to School crossing; the Grant Navigator application names an accessible Trondheim trail. More
• Feb. 2025MnDOT Active Transportation planning grant denied.
• Not foundNo packet mentions a dog park.

What the plan says to do

1. Administrator stays involved in community organizations
2. Administrator meets at least annually with townships, the school district, Goodhue County and others
3. Administrator or mayor meets annually with key businesses
4. Work with K-W Schools, KABA, CEDA, SBDC and others on an entrepreneurship event

What the record shows

Done through CEDA and the EDA breakfast; the entrepreneurship event has not happened

• Nov. 2024CEDA's contract for Todd Kieffer raised from one to two days a week ($53,580; $55,053 in 2026), which is where most business contact now runs. More
• Jan. 2026"State of the City" at the EDA breakfast at Angie's; owner interviews at eight a month from March 2026.
• 2024Administrator search run with South Central Service Cooperative ($14,500); Scott Lehner hired; performance review and step increase July 2025. More
• Not foundNo entrepreneurship event with KABA, CEDA or SBDC appears in any packet; "entrepreneur" occurs only in grant boilerplate.