During the Ostrander City Council meeting on May 5, the council responded to a number of issues related to complaints voiced by Ostrander citizens. Council members in attendance included Stephanie Start, Dan Hellerud, DJ Start, Vernon Thompson, Mayor Pam Kunert, and City Clerk Wendy Brincks. Council members and other attendees were asked to sit at least six feet from each other to follow social distancing guidelines. The two main issues the city has recently received complaints about are fire pits and yard debris.
The meeting agenda included a reminder to citizens to only burn wood in fire pits, and to make sure a fire is completely extinguished when done. Brincks said there have been complaints related to non-wood garbage being burned, and some fires that are allowed to smolder for hours.
The council also reviewed a list of properties that appear to be in violation of the city ordinances related to eyesore nuisances and other ordinances. The council voted to send letters to the property owners, asking them to clean up the applicable items. City Clerk Wendy Brincks stated that, in years past, former Police Chief Tom Mosher would regularly make note of properties in Ostrander that were potentially in violation of the city’s nuisance ordinance, and the council then was informed and able to take action. She asked if the council would consider setting up a system in which the council as a whole, or individual council members, would drive through town to look for areas of concern. No formal decision was reached on this suggestion.
One of the properties mentioned was listed as the McKenzie shop property on Main Street. Photographs showed a number of large logs on the lawn. Brincks explained that, after consulting with the City Attorney, Brincks became aware that, according to ordinance, the property is operating as a sawmill, which is not allowed within city limits without a conditional use permit (CUP). Kim McKenzie was on hand at the meeting, and said the logs could be moved into the building, and/or a temporary fence could be installed to shield the logs from public view.
Brincks stated, “The property is zoned General Commercial District. The City Code of Ordinances state, ‘Any sawmill doing sawing for other than a rural home based business shall be required to obtain a Conditional Use Permit…’” She added, “So that’s City Code of Ordinances… Now the actual ordinance in Zoning denies the use of a sawmill within city limits.” She said if Ostrander were to approve this, the city could be liable, because the DNR requires a special permit for sawmills. She summarized, “It was a lot bigger thing than I expected it to be.” So, she suggested that for Ostrander to avoid potential lawsuits, a sawmill should not be allowed to operate in the city. Since there was no formal request or proposal to the council on this issue, no formal action was taken. Brincks gave Kim McKenzie a copy of the City Code of Ordinances rules on this matter.
The council discussed a building permit request from Verland Lange. Brincks explained that Lange would like to put in a 20’ x 8’ “shipping container” to replace two sheds that he currently has on his property on Minnesota Street. Council members voiced concerns with allowing a “shipping container” to be brought in for such a use, and worried about the precedent that would be set. The council voted unanimously to deny the request, while expressing that they would likely not object to a regular building being erected, if the owner were to request a permit for that.
Brincks brought up that citizens are expected to obtain annual licensing for animals, golf carts and ATVs. She said the number of registrations has declined sharply, so she plans to include a note with utility billing to remind all citizens of this expectation.
Maintenance Chief Jeremy Runkle informed the council that there are a number of ash trees within the city that are showing evidence of various stages of Emerald Ash Borer infestation, so those trees will have to be removed at some point. Council members said the city will determine a plan, so that one type of tree can be planted to replace the ash trees as they are removed, for uniformity and aesthetics.
DJ Start brought up an issue he’s noticed where trash accumulates along the curbs and gutters in the city, and he asked if a street sweeper could be brought in to clean that up and prevent the trash from washing down into the sewer. Per Vernon Thompson’s suggestion, the city will check to see if the county has equipment available to help with this task.
The next regular meeting of the city council will be Tuesday, June 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the community center. The public is welcome at all meetings, other than special closed meetings.
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