The January 13 Canton City Council meeting began as many other January meetings in the area, with new mayors and city council members being sworn in. Nick Prestby took his oath of office for the first time while city council members Cindy Shanks and Randy Gossman reaffirmed their oaths as incumbents on the council.
During the meeting, the council addressed several utility billing issues, including an inquiry from resident Robroy Kelly, assessing late fees to unpaid bills and practices for snowbirds who leave Canton for several months during the winter.
First, during the public comment period, Kelly expressed his frustration with having to pay the sewer charge when his property is under construction and he is not using wastewater. “I don’t have any sinks or stools active,” he told the council.
Kelly added that he accepts the water charge as he has used 53 gallons, but he feels he should not have to pay the wastewater charge.
Councilman Charlie Warner made a motion that the council “make a deal” to have the city waive the sewer fees in exchange for the promise that Kelly get rid of an abandoned vehicle on his property. His motion died for the lack of a second.
City Clerk Brock Bergey cautioned the council about setting a precedent for similar situations. “We assume water comes in and it also goes out,” he said. “We’ve had others complain about the fee, but no one else in town is charged only for water unless they have their own, private sewer system.”
Gossman said he felt the council should continue to follow the practices in place, with each resident paying both water and sewer fees. “I do not feel the council should make any exceptions,” he added.
Bergey then explained that Kelly had the right not to pay his bill, at which time late fees would be applied and the disconnection process would begin. He would then be charged a $75 disconnection fee as well as a $75 reconnection fee when he was ready to utilize the service.
Prestby recommended that Kelly should just pay his bill. “If you pay the water and sewer, it’s not that big of deal, but you can make it a big deal.”
Kelly agreed and said he will pay, but he did add, “I’m taking a derelict building and spending tens-of-thousands-of dollars to put it back on the tax roles.”
During another discussion regarding the utility billing, Bergey noted that the city ordinance does state that a 10 percent late fee would be assessed 30 days after the billing due date.
“In truth,” Bergey said, “the city of Canton has not been charging late fees.”
However, he feels the city needs to begin following the ordinance and assessing the late fees as stated. The council concurred.
Bergey shared an example of a typical bill being sent on Feb.ruary 1, which would be due on February 10. If that bill was not paid by March 11, the late fee would be assessed on the balance. Each month, if the bill remained unpaid, that late fee would continue to accumulate.
Finally, Bergey also noted that, in the past, when residents would travel to warmer climates in the winter, their water and sewer fees in Canton would be waived.
However, considering Kelly’s request earlier in the meeting, Bergey told the council the city needs to be more consistent in its practices.
There are three or four households in Canton which this affects, he added. The resident can request a shutoff when they leave, for $75, and a reconnect when they return, also for $75, and the service would be inactive while they were gone, with no additional charges in the meantime.
If the water and sewer utility continues to be in service, the monthly base charges would continue to be charged to the resident. The sewer base rate is $33, the water base charge is $28 with monthly garbage, recycling and waste tax totaling $15.75.
Former Mayor Donivee Johnson was at the meeting and explained a bit of the background for the practice of waiving the charges in the past. “I think it came down to the former clerk getting tired of the complaining from the snowbirds,” she said.
She agreed that the best way to handle the situation was to either have the snowbirds pay their service fees through their absence or to have them disconnect the service while they were gone. “It’s my opinion, if you can afford to go away for the winter, you can afford to pay that bill,” Johnson said. “If you can’t, then shut it off at the curb.”
Again, the council did not need to make a motion to this affect, but to just follow the city ordinance and not make an exception for snowbirds.
Nuisance properties
County Attorney Brett Corson attended the council meeting to review legal cases Canton currently has pending as well as to discuss possible civil actions the city could take as well.
The city has four cases dealing with nuisance properties, including Steve Popplewell for building maintenance on the former Canton Elementary School building. Corson said he originally pled not guilty, but has since changed his plea to guilty, accepting probation and a fine. Another case, against Robroy Kelley, is dealing with an abandoned vehicle on his property and he has a pre-trial hearing in early February. Danny Whalen, with charges of public nuisance, is on unsupervised probation until February 10. Joel Torgerson, on charges of building maintenance and public nuisance, filed an appeal.
Corson complimented Bergey and the city for developing the record and taking photos of the properties in question. “We can take those into court and show the judge that the city has tried to get these resolved without bringing it to court,” he added.
Corson added that the city can pursue the criminal side through the county, but the city also has the right to pursue a civil sanction against these property owners.
The biggest differences is that in a criminal case, the person is entitled to a court-appointed defender, while the property owner would have to hire an attorney in a civil case.
Also, in a criminal case, the burden of proof has to be proven “beyond a shadow of doubt,” while a civil suit only needs to have a 51% majority.
Corson also explained that through a civil case, the city can get an injunction against a specific performance, which is a remedy. If they don’t comply, the city can step in, do the work, and assess the costs on taxes.
“I’m happy to continue to pursue the nuisances on the criminal side, but this also gives the city different ways to remedy the project,” Corson said.
The council members voiced some frustration as to how long they have been dealing with some of these property owners. There are improvements, but after a few months, issues emerge once again.
“There’s no perfect way to deal with this,” Corson agreed. “I think we’ve had some success with these cases, but would like to talk about some of the civil options.”
Bergey said the city wants people to take pride in their homes and their properties, as well as in the community. “We are trying to work with them to improve the image of our community for a number of reasons. We are not trying to be the bad guys. How do you educate the public to let them know we are not infringing on their individual rights?”
Corson replied, “You show them the law, and sometimes you have to bring them into court. Some you can reason with, some have common sense. We’ll keep working with you – if you have concerns about a certain case, you can ask.”
Finally, Corson update the city on the case against former clerk Lolly Melander who allegedly took money from the city during her employment. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the county has not yet been able to take the case to a jury trial.
“We may be able to resolve it, we’re waiting to work with the defense attorney,” Corson said.
Fire Department requests
Fire Chief Billy Richardson was at the meeting to request approval for the fire department to pay off it’s loan. “Our account is healthy,” said Richardson, “and we’d still have a really nice balance.”
The loan payoff is currently $29,466 and the last payment, made on December 15, was $97 in principal and $1,192 in interest.
The council approved the request.
The department also requested a higher speed of internet at the firehall, which was approved by the council as well. The new cost for the service would be $64.95 and would come out of the fire department fund.
Finally, Richardson reported that he and his fellow firefighters had been told they were now eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine, which many will do in the coming weeks.
Other business
It was noted that Davis Construction donated $3,075 to the city in work on Prairie Avenue. Warner made the motion for the clerk to send a thank you to Davis Construction with the council’s thanks noted.
Bergey reviewed the current bonds for the wastewater treatment facility with the council and discussed ways the city could save over $90,000 over the next 25 years. He suggested having financial advisor Mike Bubany attend the February meeting to explain the details and process. Bergey noted there would be a $12,690 cost to refinance, however there would still be significant savings. The council agreed meeting with Bubany would be beneficial.
The council approved annual appointments for 2021, which included Cindy Shanks as acting mayor, the Fillmore County Journal as the legal newspaper, First Southeast Bank as the official depository, Nethercut Schieber as city attorney, Hawkins Ash as city auditor, Bill Richardson as fire chief, Kyle Ryan as assistant fire chief and committee appointments for each council member.
The official meeting location will be the Canton Town Hall with meetings taking place on the second Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. The council will no longer change meeting times during the summer.
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