New Richland City Council
By JESSICA LUTGENS
Staff Writer
A brief discussion regarding a commercial property on the south edge of town was the only new business on the agenda for the New Richland City Council’s first meeting of the month on Monday, Feb. 8. All members were present, along with acting ambulance director Chris Schlaak, chief of police Scott Eads, and Larry and Pam Goehring. The agenda and consent agenda items were approved.
The property in question, 402 2nd St. NE, New Richland, located south of One Stop at the intersection of Highways 30 and 13 and owned by Blake Wilmes, who resides in Waterville, is zoned as a C-3 highway commercial lot.
According to city ordinance regarding zoning, permitted uses for such a property include: retail businesses, repair and maintenance services of household appliances, offices and professional services, restaurants/bars, amusement establishments, accessory buildings or structures that are clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal use, community/governmental buildings and public parks, laundromat, drop-off dry cleaning establishment, seed sales, auto service stations, convenience stores, implement and farm service stores, and automobile sales and service. Owned automobiles not held for sale to the public, stored outdoors on any property, are required to be verified operable and currently licensed.Any other uses of the property would require application for conditional use, if allowed. Concern with the accumulating amount of automobiles on the property prompted contact with the owner, as the property is not a licensed auto dealer – therefore indicating that the lot is being used as an auto salvage yard, which is a city zoning violation.
An auto salvage yard is described as an open area where waste, used or secondhand materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including but not limited to scrap iron and other metals, paper, rages, rubber, tires and bottles; includes an area where three or more unlicensed, untitled or inoperable vehicles or the remains thereof are kept for the purpose of dismantling, wrecking, crushing, repairing, rebuilding, sale of parts, sales as scrap, storage or abandonment.
A notice was given to Wilmes in May 2015, requesting the nature of the business being conducted at the property to determine if city ordinances are being complied with. No response was received to the notice.
A second notice was sent on Feb. 3, confirmed to have been delivered to the Wilmes residence on Feb. 6, stating that the property at 402 2nd St. NE has been determined by observation to be an auto salvage yard and must be cleared of autos, machinery and other items by May 16, 2016. A hearing will be scheduled for March 28 at 7 p.m. with the city council if the owner wishes to appeal the non-compliance finding, and if the property is not cleared by the aforementioned date the Council will determine further action.
Due to the lack of communication from the owner in the past, the council agreed the issue should be pressed so that the property, which has received multiple complaints, can finally be cleaned up.
“It [the property] is right on our front door,” said councilman John Hullopeter. “I think we should push it so that something can be done.”
Scott Eads presented the police report, stating that the department responded to 66 calls for service and had 41 additional contacts/activities in January. Two felonious criminal sexual conduct complaints were received, both past-action reports that occurred over two years ago. One was determined to be unfounded by the county attorney’s office, and the second is still pending.
It was mentioned that the squad car was taken in for a broken front suspension spring and malfunctioning radiator cooling fan assembly. The new squad car is expected to be ready for the department by the end of this month.
A purchase request for a new computer tower for the squad car was approved at a cost of up to $635.20. Eads also said the department is looking into three possible new part-time officers, with more information to come at next month’s meeting. The report was approved.
Chris Schlaak presented the ambulance report; there were 22 runs in January, and one so far this month. Member Tony Martens resigned from the ambulance, and members Sarah Sundve and Casey Garza passed EMT classes with Allied Health and will take the national test next. The report was approved. The meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m.