Photo by Ben Bisbach
The Canton City Council tackled several items at its February 12 meeting. The first order of business was a public hearing on the rezoning of a property owned by Devry and Tina Kerns at 401 W Hwy 52, from Residential to Commercial. One resident spoke to express concerns about the limited amount of buildable land in the city limits, and the potential loss of future residential development. Clerk Anne Koliha noted that land rezoned to commercial can still have a home built on it.
The Public Hearing portion of the meeting was closed and the regular meeting was called to order. Jeremy Hanson was sworn in as a new council member. The floor was then opened to public comments. Many residents had come out to share their feelings on the ongoing feral animal issue in Canton, and how the city is managing this issue. Mayor Kristy Zeigler gave a statement on the city’s position. The city’s policy of “trap and release” is considered best practice. Cats are fed in a specific location, then once they have learned to find food in that location, the food is withheld for a period of time. Food is then offered again within in a no-kill trap. Feeding of feral/stray cats by residents makes it less likely the cats will be motivated to find the food in the traps. It also brings in other types of animals including skunks, and risks exposing residents to unknown diseases.
One resident stated he felt the city was not enforcing the entire ordinance prohibiting the feeding of feral animals, or is enforcing it selectively. Another said that Minnesota law requires the city must hold seized animals for five days, which they are not doing. Questions were raised about the person who is actually doing the animal control for the city. Another resident simply expressed her worries that this issue was causing division and disunity in Canton, and undermining the community spirit that makes Canton a great place to live.
Individual departments then gave their reports, with few major items to discuss. There have been some issues with water freezing at the sewer plant, which has been taken care of. Canton used 6,358,000 gallons of water in 2024, as reported to the DNR.
Clerk Koliha updated everyone on the general obligation utility bond the city has been pursuing. The bond will be worth $1,374,000. The best offer came from a local lender, First Southeast Bank, which is the city’s official depository. In addition, First Southeast is not charging any origination fees. Koliha pointed out that recent consumer price data came in hotter than expected, causing turmoil in the bond markets, and making their quoted rate look more attractive. The board voted to approve the bond issue.
Finally, the board heard from a representative of the Canton Softball League. The League is growing and has big ambitions for improving the ball field, especially dealing with the poor condition of the sand. It is heavily compacted and full of gravel, which makes for an unpleasant and sometimes unsafe playing experience. They also want to upgrade the electrical and lighting systems and repair the fence. They would like to apply for a grant through the MN DNR, in which the league would raise $25,000 and the DNR would match $25,000. The grant is available to registered non-profits, or city or county governments. The League is not a registered non-profit so they would like to work through the city. Volunteers would do the fundraising and actual repair work. The board agreed that the Parks and Rec committee would look into the matter of the city working with the League on this.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:39 p.m., exactly the same time as the January meeting.
Leave a Reply