At the January 23 meeting of the city council, Brian Burkholder reported that the installations of the water meters were near completion. At the last council meeting, he said that a third letter had been sent out to residents requesting residents to set up an appointment to have their meter installed.
Public works people and installers went door to door in the evening to catch people at home. Their efforts paid off. All but three or four meters have been installed, making the project essentially complete. Burkholder acknowledged that a few meters will have to be read with a hand held radio. Most will be read at city hall.
The last of the 39 commercial water meters are being installed. Burkholder said they are getting to the end of it, admitting some fine tuning may be needed. He thanked the public for their response and cooperation.
EDA Report
Chris Giesen, EDA director, gave the semi-annual report on the funds from Rochester’s local option sales tax extension. In 2012, $5 million was split between 17 surrounding cities including Chatfield. The city received $297,543.84.
Funds have been used for the Twiford Redevelopment Project, EZ Fabricating Expansion, a hotel feasibility study, façade improvement grant program, and a Journey to Growth investment. Journey to Growth is a regional effort to diversify economic development beyond businesses associated with health care. The money expended to date has helped directly create 22 jobs averaging $17 per hour, retained 25 jobs, and created nearly $400,000 more tax base.
There is about $110,000 remaining in this fund. The funds must be spent on capital expenses targeting economic development. The EDA works to leverage the funds to roll them forward for additional benefits in the future.
Other business in brief
• At the January 9 council meeting, city planner Kristi Clarke reviewed ordinance changes recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The council directed city attorney Fred Suhler to draft the ordinances.
Ordinance #423, Floodplain Adjustment, will bring the flood plain ordinance up to date so residents can continue to access FEMA’s flood insurance program. The first consideration was approved.
Ordinance #424, Lot Coverage and Accessory Structure Zoning Permit, will allow 40% of a lot to be included in the building area (this is an increase from 30%). The state raised the minimum size of an accessory building requiring a building permit to 200 square feet. These accessory buildings will not require a building permit but will require a zoning permit. The intent is to make sure accessory buildings and fences meet setback requirements. The first consideration was approved.
• The Chatfield School District’s request to place temporary storage containers on site at the high school was approved. The storage will be needed during its upcoming renovation project.
• The hires of Yanna Savkovais and Michael Goodeyne were approved as EMTs as recommended by EMS. The hires of Tre Bowron, Brandi Julian, Jenna Franks, and Hannah Oehlke were approved upon completion of their EMT trainings.
Tammy Kester Engel has resigned after 20 years of service as an EMT.