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Members of the Center City Council last week were not eager to take parcels off the tax rolls, which are situated where a bike trailhead project may be developed someday.  A measure to rezone the lots from business district to public open space failed on a split vote.

Mayor Jill Behnke and Council member Ryan Pease were in favor of designating the lots open space,  sitting between the dock and lift and Bayview Dental.  But Council persons Lloyd Vetter, Mark Wolcott and Garrett Boulineau supported a motion made by Council member Vetter denying the rezone. (Vetter was attending remotely.)

Boulineau observed that the bike trail through Center City doesn’t even exist yet and making city-owned lots unavailable for development seems premature.

A local committee working with a consultant, has been putting together a Center City hub design for accessing the Swedish Immigrant Regional Trail, that currently comes out of Taylors Falls and physically ends in Shafer.  Generally accepted overall plans call for the SWIRT to connect the corridor westward from Shafer through Center City and continue into Lindstrom on existing paved trail, develop a route through Chisago City,  and connect to a Hwy. 8 adjacent trail, proposed as part of the future highway corridor widening and reconstruction.  

The work group recommends a trail shelter and parking lot on highway frontage that Center City acquired years ago.  The council, however, has yet to officially sanction a trailhead master plan, although it has approved a general route for the SWIRT through town.

In other business, Hursh Ironworks, east of Pioneer Lake and north of the county highway operations shop, asked for council okay to hook-up to city water lines.  The site is outside of the municipal infrastructure area by a few hundred feet.  The municipal water is sought for making the parcel sellable, the city has been advised.

Council felt the request merits review,  but only if the applicant  asks for both water and sewer access. It was explained the company is probably going to seek an okay for a holding tank, which council was strongly against and prefers the DNR would review this due to proximity to a lake.  They mentioned there being enough land to do a mound or other type of wastewater system, but it would be helpful to see more engineering details.

The 5-0 vote tabling the water-only hook-up and requiring an application for sewer and water authorization, will go back to Hursh Ironworks for a response.

~ In public works; council approved a quote from Lawrence Creek contractors to take down a large, hazardous tree for $1,430.  The tree is on city property, recently acquired in a right of way, re-platting and public lake access deal, worked out to facilitate a resident’s request to redraw lot lines, near the county government center.  Otherwise, council noted, the tree hazard would be the citizen’s responsibility if it only was in street right-of-way.

~ Three applications have come in for an opening for a temporary public works position.  Council will do interviews at 6 p.m. Feb. 15, with potential for two members participating on the Internet. Public Works Supervisor Eric Garner said he’d like to get somebody hired quickly.

~ Garner reports a couple of water meters need immediate attention but due to being commercial accounts he has to bring a licensed plumber in. The work is estimated at $1,066 for the meters, plus the installation.  With regular-sized residential meters Garner usually does the work himself.

Council approved the replacements.

~ Seven citizens were approved for the election judge roster and because it’s such a small number the city clerk was given authorization to make substitutions if shorthanded. 

~ Water billing issues going back two years were discussed.  Staff have identified three accounts that were drastically undercharged.  These will be notified and council agreed the city should allow extra time for accounts to be caught up on.

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