Open House For Walking Trail & Road Improvements In St. Augusta

At last night's St. Augusta City Council meeting, an open house date was set for a major road construction project that will also include a walking path. The road construction project will reconstruct 238th Street, 240th Street, and Gaberdine Road. The project, which is still in the planning stages, is expected to be ready for project bidding in early 2026.

Walking Trail Will Eventually Connect To The Beaver Island Trail

The walking trail, which has been proposed to run along the south side of 238th Street, and then cross over to the north side of the road and run along the west side of 240th Street, will eventually link up to the Beaver Island Trail.

The open house is an opportunity for property owners to get a look at the trail that is being proposed, as well as an opportunity for residents to see what is being planned. The trail would connect to the existing trail located inside Kiffmeyer Park, and then run along the newly reconstructed road to County Road 75.

The open house was set for December 16th from 5 to 7pm at City Hall.

Residents who live on Gaberdine Road have long awaited the road repairs, with numerous attending the past several City Council meetings to inquire about when their road would be repaired.

According to the latest report from Moore Engineering on the City of St. Augusta's website, the road project has a current pricetag of $1.5 million dollars and the trail costs about $752,000.

St. Augusta's Levy Increased In 2026 With An Eye On Future Road Projects

Mayor Jeff Schmitz addressed residents' concerns about the levy increase during the public forum portion of the meeting, indicating that the council would rather the entire city help pay for the costs of future road construction rather than assess property owners, which in some cases could have devastating financial costs.

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The levy was approved to increase by 7% at the meeting, on a 4-0 vote with councilmember Marlin Hommerding absent. The levy increase put many residents' property tax rates at around 39%, which also includes taxes for area schools, county, and other applicable taxes for 2026.

According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, "The 2026 preliminary property tax levies for cities will total approximately $4.022 billion compared with a final levy of $3.700 billion in 2025, an 8.7% increase."

**This story was written by Paul Shea, who is a member of the St. Augusta Planning Commission**