Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Garretson City Council reconvened and installed two new members, and almost right after they took their oath of office, they received a first taste of a difficult decision that would have to be made. Nachurs Alpine, a fertilizer manufacturing company located off Dows and Railroad, was requesting to zone a portion of land to industrial from residential/commercial.
Jackie Rotert and Bruce Brown, both of Ward 3, began their terms on Monday. Rotert won a run-off election last month against incumbent Karen Stainbrook, who had been appointed when long-time council member Richelle Hofer vacated her seat last year.
Brown had petitioned for the one-year term, and received no competing petitions, which meant that he ran unopposed and did not require an election.
Mayor Greg Beaner, Greg Franka of Ward 1, and Dave Bonte of Ward 2 took an oath of office, continuing their service on the council. All three had run unopposed as well.
Fire Dept explores new building options
After committee appointments, Tad Heitkamp of the Garretson Fire Department presented to the council. He was formally letting them know of the Fire Department plans to re-build their facility.
Heitkamp is currently in charge of the building committee for the fire department.
He stated the goal is for the department to build a new station in the next 3-5 years, as the station built in 1986 had been thoroughly outgrown at this point.
Heitkamp said he wasn't interested in ensuring the next building would only last 35 years, but for the next 50+ years.
"We are looking to build something that will last a long time," he said. The initial proposal is for a building that is 70-foot by 200-foot. The current building is 40 feet by 100 feet. This larger size would not only accommodate the trucks, but also a bigger meeting room, kitchen, and storage. He noted that the fire department has been renting two storage units for at least the last 25 years, and fire trucks have gotten longer over the past several years.
They were currently looking at location options. While they love their spot at 3rd Street and Center Avenue, their current space cannot be expanded.
The industrial development made the most sense for a location, Heitkamp said. However, 95% of the force lives within Garretson city limits on the east side of the railroad tracks, and parked or passing trains have been an issue before when the department is trying to get to a call anywhere west of the tracks. This fact made them leery of pursuing that location, as it could delay response time severely.
Heitkamp stated he would continue to keep the council updated on the department's progress, and that they could contact him at any time with questions, concerns, or information.
Nachurs requests re-zoning
The council held a first reading and hearing on a request to re-zone residential land to industrial, a request that had neighborhood residents concerned.
The initial request had come at March's meeting, but as no one from Nachurs Alpine was in attendance with the proposal, it was delayed.
In Monday's meeting, John Carson, who identified himself as the local manager of Nachurs Alpine, spoke as a representative of the company. They were requesting to rezone the land immediately north of their current facility to industrial. He outlined plans to build an 85-foot by 200-foot warehouse and manufacturing facility on that land.
The approximately $1.2 million-dollar facility would manufacture micronutrients for fertilizers, something that is currently brought in by trucks and added to their product. Carson stated that the finished product is mostly water, and he foresees the manufacturing on-site to be a boon to the area.
He also predicted that total truck traffic would decrease since they would only be importing raw materials instead of finished product, and pointed out how Garretson's Nachurs Alpine facility serves several states including Minnesota, Wyoming, and Minnesota along with South Dakota.
The land under consideration for re-zoning is just east of Railroad Avenue and north of Essex Street, directly behind 309 and 317 Granite Avenue and beside 300 Essex Street.
Currently, it is zoned as residential and commercial, though the City of Garretson website zoning map lists all of it as single-family residential, and the notice of hearing also listed all of it as single-family residential. A portion of that land has already been in use as storage for Nachurs Alpine for some time now.
Railroad Avenue continues north past Essex, but has never been developed or paved, and has only been minimally cared for by the city. By all appearances, Railroad Avenue turns into Essex Street via a curve in the street.
Recently, the land had been purchased by Nachurs Alpine from Dean Kuehns and Justin Bueller. Kuehns and Bueller had purchased it in 2019 with the intent of installing an outdoor storage facility, though the conditional use permit and re-zoning request had come from Wil and Jo Paterson, the land's prior owners. The council at that time, which included all but two of the same council members as Monday night's meeting, had passed the conditional use permit and re-zoned the property to commercial, dependent on the development.
The main concern at that time was the number of residential lots that were directly to the south and east of that property.
Years prior, Garretson city councilors had refused to zone the area commercial despite repeated requests from landowner Steve Kirton, who operates a business out of a garage structure just to the north. That council, too, was concerned about commercial development in that area due to the number of residential structures nearby.
This was a point Kirton drove home to the council in his rebuttal during public comment. He, LouWonna and Marvin Jastram, and Tyler Ramsbey were all in attendance, representing the neighborhood. Newly-installed councilor Bruce Brown also lives in that neighborhood and would be directly affected by the request if approved.
Kirton stated that he had passed a signature form around Granite and Essex residences in the week prior, and found zero residents in favor of re-zoning the land. He was frustrated that he had been turned down for commercial zoning in the past, something that was highly regulated by city ordinance, but that the council was considering industrial, something which was not, he said.
LouWonna Jastram was adamant that the council oppose this request, going as far as letting the council know they should "grow some balls and tell them no."
She stated that, "Frankly, Nachurs is a terrible neighbor. They're obnoxious, loud, noisy, and they stink." She pointed out that there have been several times where they cannot have a window open or enjoy their backyard due to the facility currently in operation.
Despite assurances from Carson that the new facility would not produce more smells, Jastram was not convinced. She let the council know that there have been leaks in the past that had not been fixed right away. She also pointed out that, back when the initial facility had been built "back in the 80's, we were promised it would never get bigger than it was." She demanded that the residents of the area be protected too.
Resident Tyler Ramsbey stated he was keeping an open mind about the facility, but if there was a chemical smell, he definitely would be against it. His backyard directly abuts the property, and he has two young children who play in their yard regularly. He said he would also request, at a minimum, an 8' privacy fence. However, overall, he was mostly against having his residential backyard become industrial.
When asked why the manufacturing facility couldn't be placed elsewhere, such as the industrial park, Carson responded that it needed to be close enough to the rest of the facilities and the railroad in order to accommodate piping. This would allow the product to be loaded onto trains, something they use heavily for transport of materials.
Councilor Brown asked if water usage would increase for manufacturing. Carson said that yes, the facility would use "a couple hundred thousand gallons per year," but it was well within capacity limits for the city.
Councilor Franka asked about drainage, especially as the land in that area flows down towards Kirton's property. Carson said they were ensuring that drainage plans were incorporated into their design.
L. Jastram also asked about children's safety and protection. She pointed out that she's noticed children on Nachur Alpine's property many times. Carson responded that he's well aware of the issue, and stated that whenever children are caught on the property, they are redirected. A sidewalk was installed on the east side of Railroad Avenue two years ago, but it still isn't seeing heavy use.
Councilor Brown also asked whether the manufactured material would be classified as a fertilizer or a chemical, and if they were supervised by OSHA. Carson stated it was classified as a fertilizer, which is not classified as a chemical (for instance, if there's a spill, it's not classified as a chemical spill). He also said they were very closely supervised by federal authorities, and in the five years he's been employed there, they had never run afoul of them.
"We continue trying to make improvements," he said. He said they recently replaced much of their piping, eliminating plastic pipes. He pointed out that they do everything they can to keep residents safe.
"Safety is a big part of our culture," he said. "We are 100% invested in helping people produce food in the world." He pointed out their importance in the world of agriculture, and that Garretson, as a rural community, is highly impacted by their business. He also stated he does his best to hire locally, though that has been challenging in recent years due to a lack of applicants. He expects the new facility to require hiring 3-4 more people on top of the 4-5 already employed.
L. Jastram challenged that assertion, saying that if Nachurs was so convinced their facility wouldn't impact the neighborhood negatively, they should buy her house and have Carson live there.
"It's a residential neighborhood and you can't tell me things won't change," she said.
Mayor Beaner ended the hearing with a reminder that this was a first reading, and that no decisions would be made that evening. Residents were invited to talk with their council members over the next month, and to attend the next meeting on June 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
UPDATE 5/12/22: The story that went to press stated the land was directly south of Nachurs Alpine. The land is directly north of the property and north of Essex Street.
