Photo by Ben Bisbach
The Canton City Council worked through a number of issues at its April 9 meeting. There were no public comments.
After approving the consent agenda, individual departments gave their reports. Mayor Kristy Zeigler reported that the city brush pile is open for the season. She asked that only yard waste be dumped there. She also gave a reminder that anyone driving UTVs or ATVs in the city should be a licensed driver. There have been accounts of underage kids driving these vehicles around town and there have been a few close calls.
Clerk Anne Koliha has been working on planning for the streets project. She has also met with the Canton Historical Society regarding the train depot restoration. Some grant funds came in from the Minnesota Historical Society for this work.
Public Works recently discovered a sewer pressure line leak. Director Jon Nordsving described that when power lines were buried several years ago, the pressure line was ruptured but this was not discovered until now. Tri-County Electric is assessing the damage. Repairs will be paid by The Boring Company, the contractor that caused the damage.
Clerk Koliha informed the council that Nordsving had received an award of Operational Excellence from the MPCA, for his work operating the sewer treatment plant. The council gave him a hearty round of applause for this honor.
The fire department also dealt with damage to the city’s underground infrastructure. A contractor hit a gas line, which caused a leak. They called it in, however then they continued digging and hit another line. A block and a half of town had to be evacuated as a precaution. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
The department has an opportunity to get a “new” pump truck from the city of Chester, which is selling their 1999 Freightliner for $15,000. Fire personnel went down to take a look at it and it looks good, and is an improvement on Canton’s 1986 truck. They would use $10,000 from city fire funds and $5,000 from Fire Relief Association Funds. The council approved the purchase.
Clerk Koliha then took a quick opportunity to mention another honor: Jim Davis’ 20 years of service to the fire department. The council expressed their gratitude for his service.
In new business, a CD worth $10,259.57 will mature on April 28. Koliha recommended they take the cash and put it in the park fund, to be used for the ball field project and to refresh the mulch on the playground. Leftover funds would be reinvested when those projects are complete. The council approved this move.
Talk then turned to the issue of property inspections and property clean up. A reminder of the city ordinances will be put into the next utility bill. Mayor Zeigler stated that a city-wide inspection was done a few years ago, but generally they have left it up to residents to make complaints. This means that enforcement depends on who your neighbors are and how picky they are. Zeigler said councilors could do a one day, full city inspection, focusing on violations they consider most serious. She expressed that overgrown raspberries in people’s yards were less concerning to her than abandoned cars and scrap metal.
There was broad agreement that old, unregistered vehicles sitting in people’s yards for years and years is a big concern. Councilor Jen Dowling noted that the last time the city tried to proactively go after this issue, people threw a fit. Councilor Jason Magnuson said he is not really a fan of city inspections. He feels citizens also don’t like the idea of the city going around and scrutinizing people’s properties. He suggested they should put a reminder of the ordinances in the utility bill and rely on residents to bring concerns to the city’s attention.
The council ultimately agreed and decided not to do a city-wide inspection.
The final order of business was approval of a building permit for Roman Yoder, to put in a garage. The permit had been reviewed by the planning commission, and was approved by the council.
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