The April 9 Lanesboro City Council meeting opened at 5:30 p.m. with the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting. County Assessor Cindy Blagsvedt and appraiser Ron Vickre were present to review the appeal and equalization policies and procedures with the council. After the review, the meeting was opened up for questions from the council and local residents. An appeal application was approved by the council.
At 6 p.m., the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting was closed and the regular council meeting opened.
City Administrator Michele Peterson spoke about the Zenith Street paving petition that has been discussed at the last several council meetings. The residents of Zenith Street have asked that the city pave their road as it’s within city limits and some are willing to pay up to 50% assessment costs for the project. However, the project is not currently in the budget. “We take that document (the budget) very seriously,” she stated. She spoke with the city’s financial advisor Mike Bubany, who ran the numbers for the project with all scenarios. If the city were to pave the road at 50% assessments to the homeowners, it would increase the budget by approximately $1,000 a year.
The portion of the road that has been requested to be paved by the residents stops 300 feet before city limits. Council member Bridget Harvey made a motion to pave the road, but to go all the way to city limits. “If we’re going to do something, let’s do it right,” council member Marge Drake agreed. “Let’s not do a band-aid job.”
Mayor Autumn Johnson was not in favor of the project, saying, “What’s going to stop others from coming in and saying, ‘hey, I want this paved and I want it done at 50%.’ There are lots of other issues in town that need to be addressed,” She also pointed out that the city policy is not to assess at 50% and the standard is 35%. “What if we pave it and then two years down the road, we have to tear it up to build the infrastructure,” she asked. “This discussion should’ve happened back during the Auburn/Zenith project. That’s why I’m not supporting this project,” she concluded.
Zenith Street resident David Webb mentioned that he had previously offered to personally lend the money needed for the project to the city if needed and was told that the city attorney would have to be consulted for the legality of the offer. He asked what the outcome of that discussion was. “Manion said that it was not in the city’s interest,” Peterson responded. Council member Jason Resseman said that while he was not supportive of the project at first, he feels that if the majority of the council wants to move ahead with it, that it should be done all the way to the city limits instead of stopping 300 feet before that. However, he noted that the project is not in the budget this year. “You have to understand that we are charged with being diligent for the entire community,” he pointed out. A motion to pave the road to the city limits was approved with a public hearing to be held at the May 7 city council meeting. Authorization was granted to Malm to obtain quotes for the project to present at that meeting as well.
A new squad car has been ordered for the Lanesboro Police Department and is expected to be in service by the end of May. The department is looking for a part-time officer to staff a recently vacated position and is hoping to have the spot filled by the time the city’s summer events start.
Mayor Johnson opened and read several sealed bids for the sale of the 1949 fire truck. The council approved the sale to the highest bid.
Several representatives from the Lanesboro Farmers’ Market were present at the meeting to discuss the market’s upcoming season. The market will be starting on the first Saturday in May and going until the last Saturday in October. The first day coincides with the city wide clean-up day. Some of the vendors from last year complained about the noise of the garbage truck which was parked nearby for the clean-up day. Peterson said that she would see what could be done to help that situation this year.
Lanesboro resident Melissa Konsti was at the meeting to discuss the issues she has had with property damages due to flooding that occurred during the Auburn/Zenith Street project in August, 2017. Sewage backed up into her basement and caused significant damage. She has not been able to get the full cost of the repairs covered by the project contractor or her homeowners insurance. Konsti was hopeful that she would be able to work something out with the city, especially as she still has city assessments to pay on the project. Peterson informed Konsti that she had spoken with the city attorney and he didn’t feel that the city was liable for the damages. City Engineer Brian Malm noted that there is a clause in the contract with the contractor, Gen X, that relieves the city of any responsibility in such situations. “I think we’ve put as much pressure as we could on the contractor through the contract,” he said.
“I was told that everything would be covered through Gen X’s insurance company,” Konsti stated. However, Gen X has refused to do anything more for her, claiming that they are not liable for the damages. Malm suggested that Peterson speak with City Attorney Thomas Manion to see what could be done to help resolve the issue, which she agreed to do.
Peterson spoke with the residents who live on one of the three driveways in Lanesboro that the city has been maintaining only to recently discover that they are actually privately owned. The homeowners of the driveway parallel to Pine Street preferred that it remain private. The others for the driveway parallel to Coffee Street and the alley parallel to Parkway, requested that they be changed to be public property. The council approved the requests and Peterson will work with Manion to make the changes.
Peterson asked for one city council member to volunteer for the interview committee to conduct interviews for a seasonal park job later in April. Mayor Johnson agreed to fill the seat.
Thanks to Lanesboro resident Anna Loney’s help, Lanesboro was designated as a Tree City USA. The council expressed their thanks to Loney for the part she played in the designation.
The Park Board and Lanesboro Public School jointly applied for the Minnesota Twins Field of Dreams grant to rebuild the baseball field and was notified that they have been awarded the $10,000 grant.
The next Lanesboro City Council meeting will be held on May 7 at 5:30 p.m.
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