Continued from Page 1
After approving a plat for the new development off Sarah C Street and approving all liquor license renewals, Dean Koehn addressed the council regarding property to the west of Granite Avenue.
Potential New Storage Lot
Koehn, who owns River Avenue Court trailer park, would like to build an open storage lot for residents of River Avenue Court and for the community members of Garretson. This lot would allow camper, trailer, and other vehicle storage, and will have an improved surface. While he plans for open storage only, the potential of closed storage is there in the future.
Currently, he has a purchase agreement for the land, which is visible looking north from Railroad Avenue. A gravel road connects Railroad to a property in the north and to the fertilizer tanks to the west. However, the purchase is contingent on the council changing the land from residential zoning to industrial or commercial zoning.
The council addressed several areas of potential concern, including maintenance of the gravel road, privacy fencing, and the potential for that area to actually develop as residential property. This was to ensure that not only Koehns, but potential future property owners would maintain that type of area properly, since it is so visible.
After agreeing that a rezoning to commercial may be the best bet rather than industrial, and ensuring that Koehns talked with all property owners in the vicinity of the property, the council agreed to place support behind the rezoning when it is brought officially by the property owner, whether that be Koehns or the current property owner.
The council then addressed having personal email and phone number contacts on the City website, and keeping the fence ordinance as is.
They expressed their preference to have phone numbers on line, encouraging community members to speak with their council members rather than email.
A change to the fence ordinance was addressed because often, property owners don’t realize they have to apply for a variance until the fence company shows up to do the work, and ensures that all permits are in line. The council opted to keep the ordinance as is.
City Finance Officer Anna Uhl then brought up a new on-line system for ordinances, which brings in a group that compiles and places them on-line in a way that is easily searched. While the initial costs are $3000-$5000 for set-up and $475 per year for maintenance, the system is currently used by several municipalities who find it very worthwhile. The council agreed to have Uhl pursue researching the option.
City Maintenance Supervisor Craig Nussbaum then gave an update on the 5th Street water project, which is completed except for drainage on the south side of the road by the bridge, which was delayed due to the wet conditions. Councilmember Bonte asked about cloudy water that has a slight taste to it, and Nussbaum noted that the lines likely need to be flushed.
While there was no update on the Main Avenue and Railroad Avenue project, Uhl noted that in conversations with CCoG and Sayre, they decided to pursue more funding for the remaining amount of the project cost due.
Community member Denise Schmidt then asked whether 3rd Street is a truck route, as she had noticed several trucks traveling down the street. She was curious about damage, because she had noticed an imprint left earlier this summer by a garbage truck after the second layer of asphalt had been laid and cured. If a single garbage truck left an imprint, she wondered, what kind of damage were the other trucks doing to a newly-laid road?
While the council agreed that the road is not a truck route and would encourage law enforcement to police the road more, they did note that a garbage truck should not have left an imprint, and wondered if that was a continuation of the issues from the contractor.
The council then entered executive session and adjourned. The next meeting of the City Council will be held on Monday, December 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
