The Houston County Planning Commission was called to order at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 7, 2016. This was the first commission meeting since September 6, 2016, and the commission passed the previous meeting’s minutes without debate. Present at the meeting were Jim Edwards, Tony Shultz, Krin Abraham, City Administrator Christina Peterson, and Vice-chairman Vicki Olson.
Abraham noted that the variance from the previous meeting had been approved, and Shultz mentioned that the floorboards had been put down, with a roof to follow. There was a period for public comment, during which no comments were made. The commission then moved on to the single Old Business item on the agenda regarding the Prairie Meadows Development and paving of Elm Street. Olson mentioned that the meeting was called now partly due to the length of time between this meeting and the previous one, and there needed to be some dialogue and “discussion in general” started about future city developments. The subdivision agreement the city has requires the city to pave 7th Street, also known as Elm Street, within two years after someone has built a house and moved in. By that agreement, the commission noted that it has until summer of 2017 to pave the street. The quickest option put forth by the commission was to simply pave the street by the deadline, but in the interest of planning ahead, the commission wanted to look into possibly extending a water main at the same time as the new street paving.
The water main, it was noted, would not have to extend all the way to a cul-de-sac on Elm Street, as there was already a private well for that area. The main would be, as best recommended by the commission, extended Kilborn to Stoddard Street with a water main before paving Elm Street. Questions were raised by Jim Edwards as to whether or not a building inside the Houston city limits was required to have city water and sewer. Olson produced and paraphrased the city ordinance, which says that if city water and sewer are available, a person or business must hook up to it. However, as the city services were not available at the time of building, wells and septic were used. Olson continued that some building agreements are specially written to allow for wells and not city water, depending on the availability of city services at the time of building. If it is not specified in a developer’s agreement, the ordinance says the city can set up a policy and a timeline for mandatory city water hookups. Currently, Olson noted, the city has not enforced that policy.
One of the biggest discussion of the meeting was the different possibilities for different buildings within the community to be connected to city water and sewer services. Houston, like many cities in Bluff Country, poses unique challenges and situations for laying water mains and sewer lines, along with septic and wells. Examples were given of locals who may be upset if the city hookup policy was enforced for some and not for all, but overall the commission argued that logistical and financial roadblocks to setting up and installing city services allow for exemptions from the policy. The commission was in general agreement that if a lot was to become or looked to become a residential property, the availability of city water and sewer to a potential buyer would be very attractive. The most prominent issue came from the balance between cost-effectiveness for the taxpayers of the city weighed against providing the best options not only for current residents, but future residents as well. The commission ruled to investigate these matters further before deciding on a firm course of action regarding paving or water and sewer extension in the future. The commission was in unanimous agreement that, in order to attract new residents and builders, the infrastructure needs to be available.
The commission covered New Business, looking at utility extensions in the Westgate area. The businesses in the area have sewer grinder pumps installed due to the city’s high water table. According to City Administrator Peterson, the grinder pumps run about $10,000 for each of the businesses. Peterson also mentioned that the button factory is not on city sewer, and could be a target for expansion, along with expansions of other businesses in the Westgate area. Peterson has been in talks with Marlene Schultz on the possibility of parceling a nearby field for business expansion, but no decisions have been approached. Running water and sewer to that property, Peterson reported, is estimated at $129,000. One of the issues, Peterson noted, with utility extension is what she called a “timing issue.” When each person is on their own system, they update and replace them at separate times, meaning there will never be a perfect time when all need to be replaced. Again, the issue boiled down to the issue of quality of life versus cost-effectiveness. City Administrator Peterson took pains to tell the commission that she doesn’t want to be ruling alone on these issues, and urged the commission to consider them for the next meeting.
The commission also discussed a possible expansion to the Elementary School building to improve cafeteria and meeting space, as the school is currently holding classrooms in the library. It was determined by the commission that a school/city partnership with the extension could cause scheduling issues. The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m., after a unanimous motion to adjourn.
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