The Spring Valley City Council held a regular council meeting on August 13. Members present were Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Mike Hadland was absent.
The council heard from a citizen, Risa, who described her frustration with a home near hers that uses “snow fence” to help control leaves. She suggested the city come up with an ordinance to address this type of fencing. Leah Stier rebutted, saying the homeowners in question are her parents, and she pointed out that they are across the street from the complainant, so there is no direct impact.
Later in the meeting, the council discussed possibly sending the issue to the Planning & Zoning Board. But Jessy Betts stated, “My concern with this is we may be getting a little bit nit-picky. We do have several people who use these fences for gardening in town… There’s no reason we can’t apply the same setback rules as another fence.” He also explained his concern that if a new ordinance is added, it would have to be enforced on all citizens, which could be problematic.
Tony Archer shared his opinion about an ordinance to address seasonal fencing, stating, “One of my concerns with it is, when do you say is the time you can do it, and can’t do it?” Deb Zimmer added, “People who live on the edge of town do it to protect new trees from deer.”
Betts summarized his stance that, “It’s a civil issue,… In my opinion, as long as it meets setbacks, and there’s not any direct neighbor complaint that we have to address, it is what it is.” Todd Jones stated, “I think we have enough ordinances the way it is.” The council chose not to send the issue to Zoning, and took no formal action on the matter.
After hearing from Aaron Hamersma regarding the “bubbler” which controls the pumps at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Hamersma said the unit is so old (1986) that a technician recently said it’s surprising that it still works. The council approved purchasing a new bubbler at a cost of $26,615.
Zimmer brought up a suggestion for the city to create a housing trust fund. She explained that, “This was brought up at the EDA meeting,… the housing trust fund is something that, through the League (of Minnesota Cities), they now can do a one-to-one match. It probably is funded next year. But in order to put in for it, you have to have a housing trust fund.” She suggested the city could use the $120,000 in “MIF money” that is in a “use it or lose it” status, and shift that money into the housing trust fund. The council chose to look into this possibility.
The council discussed bids on the repair of the city hall wall. Zimmer pointed out that some of the removal work will be done through the “Sentenced to Serve” program, so the council only needed to consider bid prices for the other portions of the project. The council voted to accept the bid from JJBK.
Todd Jones said he continues to hear noise complaints about “jake braking” by truckers in city limits. It was pointed out that new signs will soon be installed, which should help. The council discussed how to proceed regarding the old squad car. Zimmer said regarding bids for the car, “That’s easy, we didn’t get any!” The council chose to send the car to auction in October.
The council approved an “Ag Days” request from the Chamber of Commerce for fireworks, a street dance, and street closure as in previous years. The meeting adjourned about 6:35 p.m. The next regular meeting of the council will be Monday, August 27 at 6 p.m. Zimmer pointed out that the next meeting will include budget planning for 2019. As always, the public is welcome.