by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
On Monday, September 13, the Garretson City Council approved two ordinances regarding medical cannabis dispensaries in Garretson city limits, and had a first reading on a natural gas incentive and a noise ordinance.
The two cannabis ordinances, 670 and 672, included provisions that had been discussed at the special meeting held at the end of August. Ordinance 670 covered zoning regulations and 672 covered licensing. Despite having been a source of long debate at prior meetings, the two ordinances had very little discussion or comment from council members or members of the community. Both were passed unanimously.
Mayor Greg Beaner then discussed an opportunity the city had for implementing a natural gas incentive, an idea that had been brought forward by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance (SMGA) executive director Jesse Fonkert. The purpose of the incentive is to attract new business to Garretson, or encourage revitalization from current businesses, by giving a discount on any markup from the City on natural gas prices. Markups occur as a way to provide funds for continued maintenance to pipelines, and the incentive would give a 100% discount on retail costs for the first year, 75% for the second year, and 50% for the third year.
However, stipulations may box out some current businesses, as it requires a minimum value of $30,000 worth of improvements, as well as a business plan that shows increased square footage and/or a plan to increase customer base or staff.
The plan is post-paid, meaning that the discount wouldn't begin until the January or July after projects are complete.
The council will vote on the incentive at the next meeting.
Tim Mader then presented on a conditional use variance on his new property at 215 5th Street. In this first phase, he is converting this property into 16 smaller lots at around 3900 square feet each, along with adding an outdoor storage lot. Each of these lots will be for sale, and are smaller than those on offer at the industrial development next to it.
The variance was required as city ordinance requires a minimum of 6000 sq ft of land for industrial use.
According to Mader, the outdoor storage lot will likely be moved to the south once all current lots are sold and new lots are developed. City council member Dave Bonte asked if the storage lot had a plan for a fence, which Mader stated would be part of the second phase. Bonte expressed his preference that a fence be placed in the first phase, but no motions were made to amend the variance, which was approved. Construction has begun on the land, with the first areas taking shape.
Rod Tillma of Central Valley Dairy spoke next on a conditional use variance request for the property at 108 Railroad Ave. The property is currently zoned residential, but it is a Morton building with a one-owner residential variance that had been awarded to Rollie Peschon. Tillma had recently entered a purchase agreement and was requesting temporary residential use, but was also looking into utilizing a portion of the building for commercial use. The council noted they did not have an issue with granting the variance until Tillma had mentioned he would like to section out the residential portion and rent it out for apartments in the future.
At that time, the conversation turned to code requirements for rentals and commercial use. Peschon (who was also in attendance) noted the wiring in the building is residential, not commercial. Council member Greg Franka stated that this aspect was worrying for him, especially if Tillma was planning to rent. He preferred to see the building be changed to commercial use only. Tillma was concerned the wiring requirements would change and force him to re-wire the building with conduit piping, but City Maintenance Officer Craig Nussbaum said it likely wouldn't be required unless he remodeled or added on.
After discussion, the council voted to amend the request and grant a temporary mixed use variance, with a provision that the land be re-zoned in early 2022 to commercial zoning with a mixed use allowance.
Noise Ordinance introduced
The council then moved onto a first reading of a noise ordinance. This item had been discussed twice earlier in the summer, but had appeared to be indeterminately tabled again due to lack of a motion. However, the ordinance that was produced was slimmed down substantially from the initial ordinances that had been studied, and removed all references to specific decibel levels.
The ordinance sets hours as 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for noise such as domestic power equipment less than 5 horsepower, construction, and commercial power equipment. Further exceptions include city-sponsored events, religious events, and school events during those hours.
However, anything outside those hours or parameters will require a permit, including horns/signaling devices or any motorized equipment that can be plainly heard within 50-100 feet. This would likely include lawn mowers and snowblowers; however, a provision was included that allowed a seasonal permit to be purchased for $25 and would allow for the use of those items outside the parameters. Sound permits could also be issued daily at a cost of $25, and would be required for any noise within the 10:30 p.m.-6:00 a.m. hours.
City Finance Officer Anna Uhl requested the council read through the ordinance and make requests for changes as needed prior to the next meeting, at which time they could vote.
Next was an approval of the Appropriations budget for 2022. This budget was initially presented at the August meeting, and at that time, was $46,000 over. Uhl stated she was able to make some changes and balance the budget out. One of those changes was receiving a cost due from the county that was lower than initially estimated, and the second was learning the values for the debt limit were higher than expected.
Mayor Beaner then proposed a change to the use of the third-penny sales tax, which is a budget item that is required to be set aside for community development. This budget has been used on an as-needed basis in the past, and never specifically set towards any specific idea or project. The mayor requested the third penny tax be placed toward Main Street redevelopment, including the purchase of buildings that may need demolition or rehabilitation and were not finding a developer. The council approved the change with no challenges.
As part of committee reports, Uhl pointed out an email that had been received from Clayton Energy. In this email, President Bill Lindley stated that hedging costs were still substantially higher than expected, partly due to a natural gas shortage in Europe and Asia. This shortage was leading to higher exports of natural gas from the U.S., increasing demand and lowering U.S. supply.
All cities that had been impacted by the pipeline disturbance in February had voted to go with a "100% of average usage" plan, which meant that instead of 70% of average winter use, the company would be pre-purchasing 100% of average use. This does come with potential drawbacks when the average is lower one year than the previous, but would prevent similar catastrophic costs such as those seen in February.
Lindley stated that due to the increased costs, the company was still waiting to purchase with the hopes that pricing may still decrease, but wasn't very hopeful as time is running short. This does mean that natural gas prices may be overall higher this year than last (without factoring in the 3-day price jump that was seen).
The Combine to open soon
LeRoy Austin, a Garretson resident who owns Vinnie's Dang Fine Dine in Luverne, has entered into a lease and will be opening The Combine Bar & Grill in the former O So Good space. He is aiming to open the restaurant in October, and was applying for a full liquor license. He described the business as a small-town version of Buffalo Wild Wings, with a focus toward the Garretson sporting community with memorabilia from local sports teams. The license was approved unanimously without further discussion, and Austin was welcomed warmly to the business community.
Not long after that approval, the council discussed a request by a community member to place a stop sign heading east on Essex and Granite. This brought up discussion about law enforcement issues. The cost for law enforcement has been increasing year over year for the same hours, but according to the council, attention to speed and stop sign violations has been decreasing. It was noted that this appears to be a common issue around the area, but also that the number of tickets given seemed to be on the decline.
Mayor Beaner pointed out that this may be due to attention on community relations, where deputies are encouraged to develop a relationship with the community to reduce crime, but also because the Sheriff's office may be looking at the bottom line. If a community is unhappy about what they may perceive as over-enforcement, they may not opt to renew their contract with the department. Council member Bill Hoskins suggested that the new captain of the patrol division be invited to one of the next meetings so they could discuss their concerns in person.
The request for a stop sign on the truck route was tabled until the Sheriff's department could attend the meeting.
Next was was some disappointing news. Chad Hanisch of Infrastructure Design Group, who has been working diligently on developing the bike trail from Palisades State Park to Garretson, stated that while doing some checking with neighbors who had agreed to the trail when a grant was first applied for back in 2016, he learned that one landowner was no longer willing to sell off a portion of their land for this use. Mayor Beaner stated he would work towards getting the landowner back on board as soon as possible, since the deadline for the grant application is October 1st. Movement on the bike trail would ideally be started this year in order to coincide with the expansion of Palisades State Park.
The discussion about the events center was next, with Hanisch presenting the council's requested map with the purchase of 4.18 acres just south of the residential area between Main and Frank Avenues. When it was pointed out that concerns about noise disturbances had been brought up by community members, city employee Jordan Doane asked if the continuation of Main south and placement of the events center by 254th Street had been considered.
While this placement may not be possible due to terrain, the council did discuss in depth the possibility of extending Main regardless. The benefits were high, including a third entrance into town from Highway 11 and an entrance that wasn't as industrial-appearing as Dows Street and 5th Street. The discussion is ongoing, though Hanisch did point out that decisions will need to be made sooner rather than later.
The next meeting of the city council will be held on Monday, October 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
