The Spring Valley City Council held a regular council meeting on October 11. Tony Archer was absent, so Luan Ruesink led the meeting. Immediately prior to the regular council meeting, a public hearing was held regarding the garage owned by Jeffrey Sass and Linda Sass, located at 610 Hillcrest.
Mr. Sass addressed the council during the public hearing, asking, “I was just wondering if you guys could just hold up with all of this stuff until next summer. Then I could get my operation, get healed up, and approach the garage in a proper manner.” No other persons spoke on the matter during the public hearing, so it was closed.
During the subsequent council meeting, the council returned to the issue. City Attorney Lee Bjorndal spoke to the council saying, “The garage is in a state of collapse, a wall has fallen down, part of the roof is detached from the structure, the structure is not completely covered by the roof, the siding is coming off. It is beyond repair, and needs to be removed. And pieces of the building could blow away, possibly in a storm.” Bjorndal also pointed out that the council has photos documenting the condition of the garage.
Bjorndal explained that the council could add or delete any of the concerns he listed. He also stated that his draft of a removal order states that Mr. Sass would have 60 days to remove the structure, but that the council could increase or decrease the number of days, because the statute simply calls for giving the property owner “a reasonable time” to address the issue.
Council member Greg Brooks spoke up, explaining that he is concerned about the garage remaining in place for the upcoming winter. He stated, “My concern is, with the condition of the building now, we’re coming into our storm season, high wind, snow, all that.” He said pieces of the garage could easily end up on other properties or on the city streets.
Chris Danielson asked how long Spring Valley has been attempting to get the garage issue resolved; Deb Zimmer said it’s been “multiple years.” Greg Brooks made a motion to move forward with the removal order, giving Mr. Sass 60 days to remove the garage. The draft letter states that if the garage is not removed after 60 days, the city would then move forward in the process of having the garage removed, and assessing the costs to the property owner. The council unanimously voted to approve this plan.
Drew Weber, representing the engineering firm of Bolton & Menk, addressed the council about the Fremont Street project. He explained the scope of the project, which is set to be completed during the upcoming year. The proposed schedule includes informational meetings in November, bid opening in January, construction to begin in April or May, and construction to be completed in September. After discussion, the council voted to accept Bolton & Menk’s report as submitted.
The council considered the only bid received for the city’s retired ambulance vehicle. The bid was $100. Brooks explained that the city would get more than that by taking the vehicle to the junkyard, so he advocated for not accepting the bid. There was discussion about reporting for bids again. Chris Danielson made a motion to scrap the vehicle. When brought up for a vote, the motion was a tie vote. The matter was tabled until the next meeting,
A requested street closure for the grand opening of Hop & Barrel was approved, for November 20. Council members reminded citizens to not place leaves onto city streets, and to avoid parking on the wrong side of the street (facing the wrong direction).
The council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, October 25 at 6 p.m., at city hall. The public is welcome.
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