At the February 20 city council meeting, the council unanimously approved exercising its option to buy property from Robert Doherty, which is expected to be the future home of a veterans home.
City attorney Dwight Luhmann said Doherty was not crazy about extending the option for 30 days as authorized by the city council at its February 4 meeting. The extension to the option agreement was requested by the state to allow time for it to get the survey completed.
Luhmann explained the agreement with Doherty was in two parts: the first part is the terms of the option and the second part is the terms of the purchase agreement. The state expects to have the survey completed by the end of February. Once the survey is complete the title work will be done next.
There was a closed portion of the council meeting to consider a different land purchase. At the conclusion of that discussion the council approved the purchase of 1.4 acres from Chris George. The city will pay half of the purchase price of $25,000 and Preston Utility will pay the other half (each $12,500). The parcel is near the water tower and the veterans home site. The city currently has an easement. However, the purchase of the property will make utility access easier.
Other business in brief
• A variance request from Dustin Arndt, one of the owners of the property at 141 Fillmore St. W. (former Springer Law office), had been made in late December. The variance was requested to build a canopy on the back of the building. Planning and Zoning at their January 9 meeting recommended the allowance of a variance so posts could be placed 2.5 feet from the alley and the roof of the canopy could be set back one foot from the alley. City code requires a 20-foot setback from the rear property line.
P & Z recommendations were made to allow enough room for snow plows and dump trucks to pass through the alley. Arndt has now requested a one-foot setback for posts and zero-foot setback for the canopy, extending it to the alley line. The canopy is to be 12-foot by 26-foot. The purpose of the canopy is to keep water away from the building. Water currently pools by the back door and runs into the building.
Arndt was not satisfied with the P & Z recommendation; he did not attend the council meeting. City Administrator Joe Hoffman said the decision had to be made this day, as no action would result in automatic approval of the request due to the 60-day rule (since application).
Councilman Robert Maust maintained the building needs a gutter under the eaves and doesn’t think the canopy will solve the problem. Councilwoman Holly Zuck agreed. The gutter was removed since a new steel roof was installed last summer. Due to ice and snow buildup in the gutter water was backing up under the roof. Luhmann advised the council that it was their responsibility to decide whether to grant the variance or not. A motion was approved to go with the P and Z recommendation. Maust voted no.
• A revolving loan fund application was submitted to the EDA from Dale and Becky Koch for their planned purchase of the Branding Iron Supper Club. The EDA recommended approval of the application for a $20,000 revolving loan to be repaid monthly over 10 years at 2% interest. The gap financing will be in addition to bank financing and financing from another community financing group, possibly named Friends of the Branding Iron LLC.
The council wanted confirmation that they would have second mortgage after the bank. The EDA recommendation was approved on the condition that they were in second lien position after F & M Bank. This would allow for adequate collateral for the EDA loan. The plan is to use the EDA funds for a rehab project and the creation of outdoor seating.
• Mark and Nicole Welch own three parcels northeast of the intersection of Oak St. and CR 17. They want to add a 22-foot strip to the former Drury house to allow for a larger garage pad, making this parcel .18 acres. They want to split a lot from the Amos Anderson estate into two parcels (.47 acres and .45 acres). The city council approved the lot line change to expand the smaller parcel and the split of the acre lot, creating two buildable parcels as requested.
• Jim Bakken requested approval to purchase a new John Deere 1570 mower with trade of a 2013 1445 mower. The $16,500 cost will be split between the Park Board, Preston Utility, and the city. Each will contribute $5,500 toward the new mower purchase. The city’s portion was approved and will come out of the street equipment budget.
• Dick Bahl requested a refund of a portion of the $950 that was paid for a 2019 on sale liquor license for the Branding Iron Supper Club. With the upcoming sale of the Branding Iron and closing date of March 1 the new owners will request the same liquor license. The council approved prorating of the liquor license and will refund an amount for 10 months. Hoffman noted this one-year license in this case will be shared by two applicants, adding this is a very unique situation.