The Newport City Council met Thursday, June 18 at 5:30 p.m. in city hall. Prominent on the night's agenda an annual update from Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy, along with approval of an amendment and development agreement for the East Ridge Heights housing project. Included as well were updates on city construction work and a new tree-removal grant program.
The meeting opened with a presentation from Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy, which operates the recycling and energy center near Newport. Executive Director Trista Martinson, joined by facility staff and partners, updated the council on odor monitoring, food-scrap collection and upcoming public outreach efforts.
Nate Klett of Foth, who handles odor monitoring for the facility, said the center continues to use a nasal ranger device to measure odor strength at locations around the facility and Newport. Monitoring began in 2016 and is conducted weekly in winter, twice weekly in summer and once a month on weekends, with extra checks when needed.
“We go out weekly, once in the winter and twice in the summer,” he said of odor management at the Recycling Center.
Klett said more than 600 individual monitoring checks had been completed in 2025 and recorded odor at 43 locations, but no readings exceeded the target threshold of seven on the dilution scale, with most at two or under two, described as a faint smell.

“It is a little funny when you have a nasal ranger to your nose but it is proven science,” he said. “Whether they’re in your city or not, odors don’t care." Included in monitoring locations shown on a map were the 494 walking path, Red Rock Crossing Transit Center, Newport City Hall, intersection of 24th Street and Third Avenue, Mayle Trans Trucking School, and Ford Road.
Newport Mayor Laurie Elliott said it was helpful to see the amount of work being done to track odor concerns.
“It’s nice to kind of see what it used to and kind of how it operates, and that a lot of testing is going on to make sure that the work that’s being done there isn’t contributing to any odors in Newport,” she said.
Continuing the presentation, Martinson updated the council on the food scrap pickup program, which Newport joined early as one of the pilot communities. The food scraps program collects food scraps waste to feed into compost, with residents given bags they can put scraps in to throw in the trash,
Martinson said the next phase of the program would begin July 6, when all Washington County residents and residents in northern Ramsey County will be able to participate. By the end of the year, the program will be available to all residents in both counties. Residents who sign up receive green compostable bags from the Center, fill them with food scraps and certain compostable paper products, tie them shut and place them directly in their regular trash bins, the bags later picked out at the plant by computerized pickers.
“You have a choice between six and thirteen,” she said for how many gallons each bag can hold. The Center will help with 150 bags, with free containers provided by the Center as well.
Martinson said participation in communities where the program is available averages about 12 percent, while Newport is at about 9 percent.
“You just throw it in your regular garbage bin or dumpster,” she said. “We’ll take care of it from there.”
Accepted items include food scraps, leftovers, bones, eggshells, coffee grounds and filters, paper towels and napkins, and some certified compostable products. Plastic bags and other plastics should not be included.
"We don’t want any plastics in of course, because then we have micro plastics in our digestion process,” she said.
Martinson further said the collected material currently goes to composting, but by the end of next year it is expected to go to an anaerobic digester to produce renewable natural gas. Remaining material would then go through a pyrolysis process to create biochar.
“It really is full circularity,” Martinson said. “It’s not going to landfill, we’re going to get renewable natural gas from it, and the biochar.”
Martinson then turned the presentation over to Facility Director Sam Hall also invited city officials and residents to an Aug. 27 “hauler picnic” celebrating the community, employees and the facility’s 10-year anniversary under Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy ownership.
Also Thursday, the council heard more on East Ridge Heights, where the developer and builder requesting an amendment to the project’s planned unit development approval. Community Development Director Nathan Fuerst said the request focused on the city’s requirement that windows and door openings make up at least 15 percent of the front facade of a home, otherwise outlined in city code section 36-446(a)(4).
Fuerst said the issue arose because many of the East Ridge Heights homes will have three- or four-stall garages on several home models, increasing the amount of front wall area and making the standard difficult to meet. The amendment approved by the council waives the front-facade window requirement for the development while adding a condition that at least 50 percent of the front facade be finished with higher-quality materials such as LP SmartSide, Hardie board or stone.
Dean Lotter, director of entitlements for David Weekley Homes in the Minneapolis market, said East Ridge Heights will be the company’s first east metro neighborhood.
“We’re really excited about that,” Lotter said. “We want to be more present on the east side of the metropolitan area.” Started by founder David Weekley at Houston in 1976, the company operates in 13 states and 19 markets.
Lotter said the homes at East Ridge Heights will range from about 2,155 square feet to more than 4,500 square feet, with three to six bedrooms and mostly three- or four-stall garages, and that starting prices will be in the $700,000s. Lotter said the PUD amendment has to do with home design and buyer preference rather than cost, noting that garage-door windows could help meet the city standard but are not popular with many buyers, who have privacy concerns.
“It’s not about cost,” he said. “It’s about buyer choice.” Three of the seven homes on offer would be disqualifed without the waiver, with similar homes being sold in the Maple Grove market. The waiver would allow for choice, diversity, and good "anti-monotony" in home choices for the neighborhood.
Council member Bill Sumner had a question.
Will this area have a homeowner’s association?” he asked. Lotter said it would have a minor one to maintain the entrance sign for the neighborhood.
The council approved the ordinance amending the East Ridge Heights planned unit development, along with a development agreement for the project.
Council members also approved Saturday construction hours for East Ridge Heights from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. after discussing whether the size and location of the development justified additional flexibility for the builder.
Elliott expressed concern with the hours prior to the vote, with the city generally going for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. when approving Saturday construction. Sumner and council member Marvin Taylor voiced their support for the extended hours, Sumner's support came from general support for homes, while Taylor acknowledged the realities of construction and noted it wasn't around other neighborhoods.
“Especially since it’s not in proximity to other neighborhoods,” Taylor said in preference to letting Saturday construction go forward. The only inconvenience would be to their own customers.”
In other council business from June 17, City Engineer Jon Herdegen brought forward a final payment request for the Loveland sport court reconstruction project. He said the city had held back a small amount of retainage until late-season vegetation could be reviewed, and that the project had now met the required 75 percent coverage standard. The council approved the final payment of $3,015.01 to Winberg Companies.
Herdegen also updated the council on several other projects. Meyer Contracting has resumed work on the 2025 street improvements project near Cedar Lane, while Geislinger and Sons has begun work on the Third Avenue improvements project near 17th Street.
“They had two crews, I think four excavators, about 10 guys working within the intersection,” Herdegen said of the Third Avenue work. “It was organized chaos, and they did an awesome job of getting in and out of there within a day.”
Giving his own update, Public Works Superintendent Matt Yokiel announced that the city had received a DNR-supported grant to remove dead or dying trees in Newport, including on private property.
“We’ve received a DNR grant to remove dead and dying trees,” Yokiel said. The one year process has to be done next June and is first come, first serve. Applications are being accepted through August and are available on the city website and will be accepted through the end of August.
As for council updates, Elliott noted that city offices would be closed June 19 for Juneteenth and shared that the next council meeting was July 16 rather than July 2 because of the July 4 holiday schedule.
“That is our July 4 break,” she said.
Sumner took time to promoted the Newport Library in his update.
“I will always remind people that the library is a hubbub of activities that benefit the residents, adults and children alike in Newport,” he said. “Opportunities to participate in fun events, as well as volunteer opportunities.”
Newport City Council meetings are held the first and third Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in city hall. The public is welcome and invited to attend.