The Special Meeting of the Garretson City Council was held on July 8. The main item on the agenda was the final approval of the development plats, but also covered a fence ordinance, discussion of a nuisance or code enforcement board, and some items on the City agenda that require finishing.
All members of the council except councilmember Richelle Hofer were in attendance (councilmember Tom Godbey attended via phone), and they began with the fence ordinance for Rusty and Trista Vandersnick, who were looking to install a portion of their fence at 805 3rd St beyond their back door, which is on the side of the house. After a few questions regarding the spacing between theirs and their neighbor’s fencing and the style, the council approved the request.
The next item on the agenda regarded final details on the platting within the new development east of Sarah C St. Infrastructure Design Group had presented the City with several items of concern; some areas had been brought up by the engineer to the developer and not changed, and other items had been addressed. Some of those items brought up were regarding lot width and drainage issues (see the June 13, 2019 issue of the Gazette for a full accounting).
Councilmember Bill Hoskins requested further clarification regarding the cul de sac and the lot widths, as he was not at the June meeting. The council reiterated the points that had been made prior, mainly that the developer had been presented with different instructions from the development corporation than the city plan, and the city plan had been finalized after the developer had signed on, which meant that the development corporation’s instructions took precedence.
At this time, there was a motion to approve the preliminary plan, but the council noted that drainage had not yet been addressed. Currently, the developer, Kelly Nielson of Nielson Construction out of Baltic, has planned to allow drainage into the fields south of the development, but if further construction and housing were to happen in that area, then according to Infrastructure Designs, issues would occur. The council opted to pass the platting subject to Mayor Greg Beaner’s approval after head engineer Chad Hanisch spoke with the developer to fully certify that drainage would not be an issue.
The council is wanting the developer to be able to start as soon as possible. City Finance Officer Anna Uhl mentioned that Nielson has already fielded requests and inquiries to purchase lots and build.
The council then addressed an inquiry about creating a nuisance or code enforcement board. It was surmised that it could act as an advisory board to the council, reducing the need for the council to handle individual complaints. Councilmember Greg Franka pointed out that the council should be the ones to handle it, as they were the ones that passed the ordinances, and the rest of the council agreed heartily.
“We should be the ones to stand there and take it,” council member Dave Bonte said. They agreed a board could be formed later if it was needed. (Editor’s Note: It is important to note that Uhl requests all issues with code violations should be addressed to code enforcement officer Scott Dubbe first, and your representative council member second, before contacting City Hall.)
Mayor Greg Beaner then asked about the Cars for Groceries program that had been brought up the week prior. This program would reduce non-working or “junk” vehicle parking within city limits by offering a $150 “Garretson Bucks” coupon to anyone willing to sign their vehicle over to the City, which would then be responsible for transporting it to the auto recycler’s. He had not yet heard back from Nordstrom’s Automotive regarding their willingness to participate. As the program would hopefully be at virtually no cost to the City, the council passed the motion subject to Nordstrom’s agreement to participate and after details were outlined.
After this, the council addressed several minor areas of clean-up, both on BNSF railroad grounds and on City property. Council member Franka agreed to contact BNSF to have them clear the piles of lights, railroad ties, etc that had built up near 5th Street.
City maintenance supervisor Craig Nussbaum said the tresses in front of the City maintenance building should be in use by end of July or beginning of August, as a new maintenance shed is built.
The mayor agreed to ask the code enforcement officer about the property at the corner of Center and 3rd Street, which should be receiving a house soon, but still has a large hole. Several members believed that a new basement was not going to be built prior to house placement, and were wondering what the hold-up was with regards to getting it filled in.
The final piece of maintenance was regarding the light at Dows and Highway 11, which was out and made it hard to see the corner at night. Nussbaum said he would get it taken care of.
The council agreed that there are many small projects that have been talked about, but haven’t been finished or followed up on, and Mayor Beaner said he will be maintaining a list of those projects.
At this time, the council voted to go into executive session, at which the city lawyer and representatives from Sayre Associates were present, which closed the public portion of the meeting.
The next meeting of the City Council will be on August 5 at 6:30 pm at the Henry G Fix Post #23 Legion building.
