Table Talk

 









Welcome from St. Charles, Minnesota

Whether you decide to stay, or just plan to visit, we welcome you to St. Charles and hope your stay is filled with many fond memories!

Located 20 miles east of Rochester and 20 miles west of Winona, St. Charles offers big city conveniences with the advantages of small town living.  Best known for being the Gateway to the Whitewater Valley, St. Charles is a vibrant community of 3,735 people comfortably nestled within the rolling hills and valleys of southeastern Minnesota. 

St. Charles is a great place to visit and an even better place to live.  Our vibrant main street, small town charm, and scenic residential subdivisions make St. Charles a desirable place to live, work and raise a family.  

In St. Charles, recreational opportunities abound. The Majestic Whitewater State Park is only seven miles north of the city. We have five beautiful city parks offering a variety of activities, including picnic areas, volleyball courts, ball fields, playground equipment and biking and hiking trails.  We are very proud of our Senior Center with over 90 active members, and our expansive recreation programs.

While you’re here, play a round of golf at the St. Charles Golf Course, enjoy a warm summer day at our state-of-the-art aquatics facility, or visit our public library. 

If shopping is more your style, St. Charles’ downtown area has several antique and specialty shops for your prowling pleasure, a pleasant outing for both the treasure seeker or browser.

 

Notice to Residents

Water FacetEffective February 2012, St. Charles Public Utilities will be transitioning to monthly water utility billing, a change that will allow customers to better manage their budgets and water usage. Early leak detection helps save residents money, which is one more reason to switch from quarterly to monthly billings. Often water leaks go unnoticed until a customer receives a larger than usual bill. By that time, thousands of gallons of water have been wasted.

In order to begin this process, the January 2012 bill will be a transition bill in moving from quarterly to monthly billing. Residents will see the sewer services consumed from September 20th thru December 19th, which is historically billed over three months, charged on your January 2012 bill. Your February 2012 bill will consist of services consumed from December 20th thru January 19th. From then on, your utility bill will show monthly readings for water and sewer.

As an added convenience to customers and City staff, the City offers online Bill Pay and a Direct Pay service. For Bill Pay, go to Online Billpay to setup your account. The Direct Pay service requires a customer fill out an ACH Authorization Agreement and return it along with a voided check to City Hall. Once set up, customers never have to worry about dropping off or mailing a check again. Payments will automatically be withdrawn from the account on the 15th of the month (following business day if the 15th lands on Saturday/Sunday).

If you have any concerns or questions please feel free to contact us at City Hall. We appreciate your patience and understanding with this change.

 

Don't Forget the City of St. Charles Snow Parking Ordinance

The winter season is upon us! The City of St. Charles Police Department and Public Works Department would like to remind residents of the snow parking ordinance. While we understand that the weather is often times unpredictable, residents can do their part in allowing crews to safely maneuver city streets and to provide the most effective and efficient service possible. With the most recent snowfalls and the anticipated future snow fronts that will no doubt make for a challenging winter, we kindly ask that if in doubt please remove your car from city streets, alleys, boulevards, or public grounds (except for municipal parking lots) until snowfall has ceased and the street has been plowed curb to curb. City crews work diligently to ensure that safe passage for the entire city is the first priority. Dependent on the amount of snowfall and timing of that snowfall, returning to properly clean all of the areas may take additional time. We hope to avoid any inconveniences for all of our residents, but this is where we are asking residents to do their part in simply removing their car until such time that crews have completely and properly taken care of the snow event. In addition, please be mindful to keep sidewalks clean so as to allow elderly, youth, or those that may have physical impairments safe during this winter season. For more information see City Code 70.10.


Come discover St. Charles!