After several years of trying to buckle down on properties within the city that are not compliant with city ordinances, the Peterson council voted Wednesday, May 9, to approve taking legal action on the properties.
Mayor Tim Hallum noted that some of the non-compliance issues stem back to 2014. Last year, after physical review of seven properties by council and city staff, letters from city hall detailing the violations were sent, but the city received little to no response from the property owners. “Letters from me aren’t working,” said City Clerk Christopher Grindland.
“We just keep delaying it,” added Councilor Gail Boyum. “They just don’t respond.”
According to the letters, the majority of issues are vehicles and debris. “The City of Peterson is committed to maintaining quality neighborhoods,” read the letter introduction. “Your property is not conforming to ordinance, as described below. The city requests you take action to bring your property into compliance on an agreed upon timeline with the city council. We hope you will work with us to maintain a positive community environment.” Property owners were also notified of the meeting, had they wanted to make public comment. Following the council meeting, at least two in council meeting attendance noted they’d received letters, but declined to make any comment at the time.
“The only way is to do it and enforce it,” noted Grindland.
The council voted unanimously to declare the properties a nuisance. City Attorney Greg Schrieber will draft a letter detailing a reasonable timeline for property owners to remedy non-compliance. If not addressed by the expiration of the timeline, it was noted the city would head to court with property owners.
In other news the city is also looking ahead to getting past due payment of utilities in order. In 2016, the council passed measures to create a policy certifying all unpaid utilities to the county for addition to property taxes at the end of each year. Also included in that year’s utility changes was addition of a minimal past due interest rate and policy details making past due bills of rentals the ultimate responsibility of the property owner.
More than $8,000 in past due amounts was certified to the county at the end of 2017. So far this year, there is more than $20,000 in past due balances. The city has touted the idea of adding a disconnect policy to the current policy, effective spring of 2019. In doing so, properties past a set threshold would see utilities disconnected until balances are brought current. Once paid in full, the utilities would be reconnected, with the reconnection fee the responsibility of the bill holder. Any unpaid balance at the end of the year would still be certified to the county.
“I think we need to go with a combination of disconnects and assessment,” said Hallum. “We will have to run it across legal, but I think we should move ahead with this.”
Councilor Boyum questioned delaying the disconnect policy until next spring. However, it was noted the wait allows everyone to be made aware of it, if and before it becomes effective, so there are no surprises.
Councilor Dave Colbenson suggested the city look at a cap for disconnection, whether an amount or time frame. He also questioned whether or not there was additional assistance or leniency for those who may have had recent difficulty, such as loss of a job. Grindland will research how other municipalities handle disconnect benchmarks and will bring the information back to the next council meeting.
The city will be including a survey for all residents in its next newsletter. The intent is to gather public opinion for what to do with the recently acquired land in the south end of town. Site of the former R-P School District athletic fields, the property is now owned by the city, per an agreement between the district and city during the 1991 district consolidation.
The city is looking for citizen comment on whether the area should be designated city park or be parceled. At least one adjacent property has requested to purchase a section to extend their back property line.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, June 13, at 6 p.m., at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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