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VOL. 23 NO. 10 www.readthecitizen.com $1.50
HUGO CITY COUNCIL: Receives update on Hopkins Schoolhouse efforts PAGE 15
City of Hugo gears up for summer street project BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
Honoring the fallen Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 25. For the 80th consecutive year, American Legion Post 620 will visit several local cemeteries on Memorial Day, including Walker Cemetery, Withrow Cemetery, Gethsemane Methodist Cemetery, Incarnation Lutheran Cemetery, St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, Twitchell Cemetery, St. Genevieve’s Catholic Cemetery and St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery.
HUGO — Residents and business owners who live in and around Bald Eagle Industrial Park should gear up for a summer full of construction related to the street improvement project. The project consists of full-depth pavement removal; paving and mill and overlay improvements; spot curb and gutter replacement; and trail, street lighting and minor utility improvements. (See “Council sets public hearing for street project,” Nov. 28, 2025, The Citizen.) The city received four bids ranging from $3,774,284 up to $5,095,769; the engineer’s estimate was $4,337,316. The City Council selected low bidder Bituminous Roadways’ proposal for $3,572,331, which includes two bid alternates. Alternate 1 is for the 140th Street trail and Alternate 2 is for the Fenway Boulevard trail. The city of Hugo will fund $3,669,043, or 78.22%, of the project; the remaining $1,021,357 (21.78%) will be covered by assessments to benefiting property owners. Property owners within the partial reconstruction portion of the project will be assessed $4,100 per unit for residential or approximately $77 per foot for commercial. For the mill and overlay, property owners will pay $2,100 per unit for residential or approximately $39.87 per foot for commercial. SEE STREET PROJECT, PAGE 8
Centerville assessment shows slight drop in property valuations The Centerville City Council recently had its yearly visit from City Assessor Mary Wells, SAMA, and her team. Accompanying Wells at the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting were Chris Larson, AMA, Erik Skogquist, SAMA, and Diana Stellmach, senior manager in the Anoka County Assessment Office.
Their presentation of the city’s 2026 property assessment report included a public hearing that opened and closed quickly without comment. During the presentation, Wells focused on residential values, while Larson focused briefly on commercial valuation. The 2026 assessment for Centerville is based on 1,664 parcels of property within the city, 260 of which were inspected during the quintile review process (20% of all properties within a city are
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made up the rest. Of the 60 residential sales, 40 of those sales met the criteria of “qualified sales,” according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. These sales were the basis for adjustments made to the improved residential properties throughout the city. Only one commercial sale met the criteria for a “qualified sale,” so commercial/ industrial valuations
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inspected each year). The 71 properties where building permits were issued for improvements, remodeling or demolition were also reviewed. For the remaining 80% of properties that were not reviewed this year, real estate sales are used to determine their valuation. The city saw 65 total sales recorded during the 2026 assessment study period, Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. Residential sales made up 60 of those sales and commercial/ industrial
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