The Spring Valley City Council discussed the possibility of formally banning dogs from the city’s South Park. Present at the meeting on June 11 were Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Mike Hadland was absent. Mayor Struzyk stated, “We’ve got the signs up (in South Park), but we don’t really have an ordinance.” Council members shared their thoughts that the two main reason to ban dogs are sanitary reasons (some dog owners don’t pick up after their dogs) and safety (some dogs may become aggressive around children or other animals).
Jessy Betts stated his opinion that if the city chooses to officially ban dogs from South Park (and/or anywhere else), larger signs should be posted at these locations, to be certain that everyone will be aware of the ordinance and penalty. Deb Zimmer pointed out that if the council wishes to proceed with the process of creating such an ordinance, a public hearing would be required, and the soonest that hearing could happen would be at the council’s first meeting in July. Council members discussed possibly prohibiting dogs only at South Park, because the city’s other park areas have bike trails which are popular with pedestrians who are running or walking their dogs. Zimmer will check with the League of Minnesota Cities to begin work on drafting an ordinance to address this issue, and a public hearing will likely be scheduled for early July. Such a meeting will be publicly announced as required through official means.
The council heard from a citizen who brought up a complaint about “Jake-breaking” by truckers within the city. Jake-breaking is a common, but noisy, way for trucks to decrease speed. There are signs posted about Jake-breaking, but the practice continues, and is a nuisance to some citizens. Todd Jones has heard Jake-breaking often, and said, “It rattles every window in my house,” but he admitted it’s also a common part of trucking. He suggested asking the State Patrol to monitor this, and he said if a few truckers are cited, word will quickly spread among other truckers. No action was taken at this time.
Another citizen, Nathan Redman addressed the council, saying, “I moved into Bucknell, and we’ve had a lot of discussion about the bike trail, and how we could get it out there.” He said extending the trail northward (past Sunshine Foods) would not only encourage young families to move into the area, but would be a good safety enhancement for all. Council members commented that some of the land involved would be private property, which can be a challenge, but Todd Jones summarized, “We’ll take a look at it.”
Regarding the site of the Tourist Information Center, Zimmer suggested the council may want to consider creating a committee of citizens that could fundraise for the planned electronic sign that the city hopes to install when the TIC building is removed. Todd Jones spoke in favor of this, and added his idea that perhaps each of the local groups that will be featured in advertising on the sign could have a representative on this committee. No action was taken at this time.
Regarding the Washington/High streets project, Zimmer said, “The project seems to be going pretty good. No major complaints at this time.” The council voted to approve Pay Estimate #1 for this project, totaling $199,274. The council considered quotations from Bargen Construction regarding street crack repairs and seal coating, and chose the options that were feasible within the budget.
Zimmer brought up that the owner of a rental property within the city asked if the council would wish to formally prohibit smoking at such dwellings. Council members shared their concerns about making such a rule on private property, and Betts said, “It seems outside our scope.” The council chose to not take action on the issue. The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m. The next regular meeting of the council will be Monday, June 25 at 6 p.m. As always, the public is welcome.