The Sauerkraut Days itinerary has been tentatively outlined, and the council and city departments are busy preparing for the weeklong celebration in August.

The council approved the closing of South Washington Street and the use of the nearby alley for the pancake breakfast outside of South East Linn Community Center.

All of the events that are traditionally held on Thursday have been moved to the Lisbon Sports Complex, which includes the free ice cream social and nighttime fireworks.

Another change this year centers around the bathtub races. The Fire Department has ordered 5,000 water balloons for the event, which will take place on Saturday at 2 p.m. Registration begins at 1 p.m., and the race takes place at the firehouse.

“Last year we only had 4,000 [water balloons] and they ran out pretty quickly,” said Fire Chief and City Administrator Brandon Siggins.

The Fire Department also gained a new member at the conclusion of the meeting. The council officially approved Jake Hanson’s joining of the Lisbon Fire Department, filling the vacancy of Tyler Smith.

The new Lisbon Fareway opened its doors earlier this month, and by all accounts the 930 Commercial St. store had an excellent opening.

“It was a very successful grand opening, and probably the most people I’ve ever seen at one,” said Siggins. “The support has been outstanding and [Fareway is] very happy with everything so far.”

“Fareway is a great store,” added mayor Doug O’Connor.

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Chief Jason Blinks gave the June report to the council and also provided an update on the memorial golf tournament in honor of K-9 Officer Monster.

“Huge thanks to all the donors and everyone who came out,” Blinks added.

The Parks and Recreation Department would like to remind the local community that the deadline for fall flag football and soccer will be Aug. 1. Parks and Rec is also getting ready for back-to-school events and Sauerkraut Days events such as the movie in the park and scavenger hunt.

Another exciting update announced at the council meeting is that public works will be finishing up the water main project this week.

“We’re going to make our final tie-in,” said public works director Travis Bagby.

“Thanks to all the guys working on the water main project,” Council Member John Bardsley added.

The department will also be busy prepping the city for Sauerkraut Days after the conclusion of the project, painting the streets, laying down hay and more.

“It’ll be pretty busy getting ready for the big holiday,” Bagby said.

The Lisbon Public Library would like to thank the Public Works Department for their installation of the Little Free Library by the splash pad and wants to remind the community about story time in the gazebo every Tuesday at 11 a.m., weather permitting.

The council addressed the bid date for Well No. 5, which will be near the Lisbon Sports Complex, and set a public hearing date.

“The bids are due the Aug. 7 … that is when Dave will come in here … and give you a recommendation on the bid to accept,” Siggins said.

The Lisbon Sports Complex will soon enter Engineering Phase II with YTT Design Solutions, which will result in further work being done on the baseball and softball fields and surrounding area. The city will pay YTT Design Solutions a sum of $11,160 for this phase of work.

“Grading is complete and they are looking to get started next week,” Siggins said on the progress.