At the Oct. 6 Hastings City Council meeting, City Administrator Dan Wietecha shared updates on the central water treatment plant and possible future sources of funding.

Construction
Mobilization and construction has begun for the raw water line from Well 7 that runs mainly along Seventh Street West and North Frontage Road to the site of the central water treatment plant.
Construction for the central water treatment plant has been temporarily delayed due to the discovery of “asbestos containing material in the subfloor of the existing building” that delayed the demolition of the building, said Wietecha.
The existing building is expected to be demolished within the week and hasn’t changed the timeline of the project which is expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2026.
“Progress is coming but just a little bit slow at the front end,” said Wietecha.

Funding
Currently the city is anticipating another 30% increase in water rates in 10% increments in January 2026, July 2026 and January 2027.
This phased timeline is a way for the city to buy more time in seeking outside funding.
“We do continue to seek grants and outside funding but in case those don’t pan out, we need to make sure we do have money,” said Wietecha.
One avenue of funding is through state bonding dollars. For two years now the State of Minnesota has failed to pass bonding and as such, Hastings hasn’t received state bonding funds.
The House Capital Investment Committee is scheduled to visit Hastings on Nov. 6 for a tour of the potential project.
Wietecha called the visit “obviously good that we have their interest and they are going to make a stop here.”
The city also recently met with state legislators Sen. Judy Seeberger and Rep. Tom Dippel about working to get funds for the project in the upcoming legislative sessions. Both legislators authored several bills seeking funds for Hastings, none of which passed.