November 4, 2022 at 2:38 p.m.
Chisago City signs off on parcels from Lent Township
When the orderly annexation process is complete, a small portion of Lent Township also will be annexed to the City of North Branch; the remainder of the township will merge with the City of Stacy, and Lent Township will cease to exist.
Under terms of the agreement, once annexation is complete, the difference between the Lent Township real estate tax rate and Chisago City’s higher tax rate will be phased in at a rate of 20 percent per year for those sections annexed to Chisago.
2023 Street Improvements Planned
The council reviewed the City Engineer Jacob Guzik’s feasibility report for 2023 street improvements estimated to cost in excess of $990,000. Streets proposed for next year include: Railroad Avenue, Wallmark, Bloom and East streets. The report from engineering company Bolton & Menk described the streets as in poor condition and at the end of their pavement life cycle. Existing pavement will be reclaimed and replaced and new concrete curb and gutter installed. Sidewalks along the south side of Railroad Ave. will be replaced with a six-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of Railroad Ave. and the west side of East St. New streetlights will be installed on Railroad Ave. If all goes as planned, work will begin in April 2023 and be completed in mid-August.
The engineer estimated total costs of the project at $993,570. Of that amount, 30 percent will be assessed against the 26 fronting properties which comes to approximately $12,960 per unit. According to city policies, assessments can be paid over a period of 10 to 30 years.
A Sept. 21 neighborhood meeting on the street project was poorly attended staff said, but residents will have another chance to ask questions at a neighborhood meeting in early November. The required public hearing will take place at the Nov. 29 city council meeting.
In other business, the council:
- set a special meeting for 6 p.m. Nov. 15 to canvas election results, and rescheduled its regular Dec, 27 meeting to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13.
- heard Councilmember Marie Rivers relay concerns regarding limited space at the city’s downtown boat dock. Rivers said that owners of kayaks and small boats say they can’t find space at the dock because large boats and pontoons fill all the slips, and the occupants of those boats often didn’t return for hours while patronizing local bars and restaurants.
“People in kayaks are out of luck,” Rivers said.
Placing additional signage at the popular docksite was discussed. The council ultimately agreed to pursue a possible joint venture with the Lake Association which has been advocating expansion of the dock
- approved the addition of a 28-foot x 8-foot outdoor cooler requested by Brad Klatt of the Uncommon Loon Brewing Company, 10825 Lake Blvd. The planning commission initially recommended fencing the cooler from street view but potential problems with snow removal, access to loading doors and impact on cooler operation resulted in an agreement to paint the cooler the same color as the building instead. The city council unanimously agreed.
- granted a variance for a garage door height of 13 feet on a detached garage to be located in the front half of a side yard at 8307 Ironwood Trail. City ordinances limit doors on garages in front or front half of the side yard to nine feet. The 2.8-acre property, owned by Ryan and Maria Goff, will not accommodate the structure at any other location, and no public comments were heard at the Oct. 6 planning commission hearing. The planning commission approved the variance, and the council agreed.
- appointed applicant Jason Houle to the Economic Development Administration (EDA) commission. Houle lives on Green Lake, is president of the Green Lake Association and owns a business in the city’s industrial park, having moved his business to Chisago City from Forest Lake.
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