NB Council agenda busy Monday night

By Barbara Brown
The North Branch council Monday night entertained a varied agenda during its regular meeting that lasted nearly three hours.
Among the general business and clean-up items was a request by Dave Melby to build a new office building on the vacant lot at the corner of Fifth Ave. and Hwy. 95.
When the item came up for discussion Fifth Ave. resident Nancy Gibson said she wanted to see the building up, but that she hoped the city could resolve a long-standing water and sewer problem with her property.
Dating back to 1992, Gibson has been trying to get the city to fix a ìtemporaryî bandage applied to her sewer system.
Apparently, Gibsonís sewer line taps into the line under the vacant lot improperly instead of connecting directly into a trunk line.
Instead of taking the sewer line through the public utility easement and to the Hwy. 95 pipe system, Gibsonís line was simply hooked into the neighborís line.
The house that used to be on the corner burned down about three years ago.
Gibson asked the council to postpone approving Melbyís request to build on the property until her sewer line was fixed properly.
Her main concern is that the line runs directly underneath where the parking lot is planned and if the line is not fixed before the lot is installed, she could end up paying to tear up the lot to get to the lines.
Melby told the council he understood Gibsonís situation and hoped the city could resolve it, but he said he would not be held financially responsible for any of the repairs.
ìItís a stinky situation,î Gibson said to the council. ìI donít have anything against Mr. Melbyís plans.
ìIt will be nice to have a neighbor there again, but if we could just get this taken care of, that would be great.î
The council agreed.
City Planner Al Cottingham told the council that in 1999, the city got a report that estimated how much it would cost to run a new sewer line down Fifth Ave. and assess the property owners.
He said Gibson and Qwest, the other property owner affected, could have paid about $11,000 each to have the line run down the street.
He said another option would be to look at installing a private lift-station type setup in Gibsonís yard, much like other Fifth Ave. homeowners have.
Cottingham said the lift system would retain the private line, but send wastewater down Fifth Ave. on the grass side and to a manhole on Hwy. 95.
The council approved Melbyís building plans and included a provision that the parking lot would not be installed until the sewer issue was addressed and corrected.
Green Acres
Several planning and development items highlighted the agenda, including provisions for a new assisted living facility planned by the county.
Chisago County asked the council for a land use guide plan change, zone change and a preliminary plat approval for the proposed new Green Acres.
The county needs the zoning for the proposed Green Acres site to be changed from general industrial district to regional business district for property on Falcon Ave.
The council also approved a preliminary plat, submitted by the county on behalf of Little Sweden, Inc., for land which would be listed as a three-unit subdivision. The land is located east of Falcon Ave. and south of 386th Street.
Apartments on hold
Citing ìextremely high hook-up feesî for an apartment project that would bring 56 units to North Branch, Kelly Bros. withdrew their request to build two apartment buildings on Ash Street between CR30 and Oak Ridge Drive.
A letter from Lonnie Kornovich on behalf of Kelly Bros. said the approximate cost asked by the city to hook up units to water and sewer service was $10,000 per unit.
Kornovichís letter said the total cost would result in tenants to pay $64.43 per month for 25 years to cover the cost and that was not feasible.
The developer, in turn, asked the city to put off approving the developerís request for the conditional use permit until an agreement on water and sewer hook-up fees could be reached.
New industrial land bought
The council approved a purchase agreement for 171 acres just north of 400th Street near CR30 from Art and Evelyn Engdahl.
A third-party broker was brought in to seal the deal on the Engdahlís request.
The city will buy the land for $2 million with $50,000 paid immediately and the remainder paid at closing.
The city will have access to nearly all the property, but the Engdahls will be allowed to remain on their 6-acre homestead until such time as both die or voluntarily move out.
The Engdahls also will retain farming rights on the land until the city needs it for development.
If the city has to plow under any crops that would be growing on the land to make way for new buildings, the Engdahls would be reimbursed the crop value.
The city plans to use the majority of the land to build more industrial park space.
Finance director Dave Stutelberg briefed the council on a bond sale that would allow the city to defer payment until 2009. The council is expected to receive details about that bond option, and possibly vote on the bond, at its next meeting.
Equipment certificate
The council approved the sale of a $390,000 equipment certificate that would allow them to buy a police vehicle, a snow plow, a new computer system and repair the libraryís roof, among other items.
The library roof project was added to the proposed certificate sale at Monday nightís meeting.
The roof leaks so badly that mold has started to grow and property inside the building is at risk for water damage.
The city accepted a bid from Top-All Roofing of St. Paul, which was not the lowest bid received.
Gary Schaefer, the cityís maintenance supervisor, said Top-Allís bid included asbestos inspection and other extra services that the two other bidders did not include.
The Top-All bid was $29,980. Ra-Den of Taylors Falls submitted a bid for $19,500 and Rosenquist Construction of Minneapolis sent in a bid for $38,400.
The city was not required to hold competitive bidding because the work would cost less than $50,000.
The council approved the sale of the 5-year certificate through First National Bank at low interest rates of 2.5 percent, 2.75 percent, 3 percent, 3.25 percent and 3.5 percent in consecutive years.
The first payment would be due July 2004.
Council members Kathy Blomquist, John Pace Jr. and Mayor Gloria Karsky all voted for the certificate.
Council member Rod Lofquist was not present at the meeting and member Amy Oehlers voted against the sale.
Oehlers said she would rather see the city use its borrowing power for larger capital items and projects.
She said some of the items included on the equipment certificate, like computers for police cars that would allow them direct access to vehicle records and let them avoid using their radios as much, were smaller and not necessarily needed for public protection.
ìIím a firm believer that you buy things that you can afford, and if you canít afford them, then you donít purchase them upfront,î Oehlers said Tuesday morning.
ìBuy now, pay later. Itís just not a good way to operate on a daily basis.î
Oehlers participated in and supported discussion of an equipment certificate purchase when it included an emphasis on public safety items like remote controls that would allow safe passage of emergency vehicles through lighted intersections.

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