WILLMAR -- A developer who's helping the city provide a second entrance and exit to Valley Brook Estates in northwest Willmar won't be required to pay accrued interest on a 1987 storm sewer improvement, the City Council has decided.
The council voted Monday night to forgive interest payments totaling $32,835 on a $29,782 storm sewer project. The sewer was built 18 years ago through formerly empty land that's now being proposed for a residential development called Hidden Valley Estates.
Hidden Valley would be developed on the south edge of Valley Brook, a large development whose only access to County Road 5 is provided by Seventh Avenue Northwest.
A second access to County Road 5 would be provided by connecting streets in Valley Brook and Hidden Valley with a street through Vos Park, a neighborhood to the east, a preliminary plat indicates.
The issue of the access arose after J & C Enterprises proposed to develop the remaining 32 lots in Valley Brook. Valley Brook homeowners, concerned about safety, said access to the neighborhood can be difficult when Seventh Avenue becomes blocked with snow.
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Mike Cruze of J & C Enterprises told the council he knows from experience that access to Valley Brook can be difficult. "The object here is not to create a lot of problems in developing this,'' he said.
After the access problem surfaced, the developers looked west for an access, but the half-mile distance to 45th Street was not practical. They looked south and were able to secure the property, which will make the second access possible, he explained.
The developers were asking the council for some consideration on the storm sewer assessment, according to Cruze. Their request was presented to the council's Finance Committee, which voted last week to recommend forgiving the interest but requiring payment of the $29,782.
"This came about because Mr. Cruze and his organization bought this property to develop and to develop a second exit out of that area,'' said Finance Committee chairman Denis Anderson. "They did that to kind of alleviate a little bit of a problem that we were seeing develop there, that we had only one method of ingress and egress. They ended up buying this property to kind of help alleviate that problem, so that weighed into our decision too.''
Council member Doug Reese said he was glad to see the development but was concerned that forgiving the interest would set a precedent.
City Administrator Michael Schmit said the city has received requests to defer assessments. In 2001, the council approved a resolution to reduce similar assessments on tax-forfeited property in Valley Brook, he said.
City Attorney Richard Ronning advised the council to look at each situation individually. "Certainly there have been several things mentioned here that the city is benefiting by as a result of this. I don't think you're going to find another situation identical to this one that's going to come up in the future,'' he said.
"We were trying to come up with some sort of a compromise, something that we thought was fair, and this was the solution that the committee felt comfortable with,'' said Anderson.
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In other business, the council:
- Received a report from firefighters Howard Carlson, James Larson and Chad Johnson on their Hurricane Katrina relief effort at Belle Chasse, La.
- Approved the final plat of Gesch Acres, a plat of three lots located east of Cash Wise Foods on Willmar Avenue Southeast.
- Voted to hold a public hearing on Dec. 5 to consider vacating a portion of Fourth Street Southeast in front of Cash Wise Foods. City staff recommends the street be vacated because construction of the new Fifth Street Southeast is nearing completion.
- Approved the final plat of North Creek, five lots located between the Business 71/23 North frontage road and High Avenue Northeast.
- Approved an off-sale liquor license for Super Valu, doing business as Cub Foods. The store now operates a liquor store, which was built within the perimeter of the South First Street building. The liquor store has separate access through an outside door, explained City Clerk Kevin Halliday and Police Chief Jim Kulset.
- Renewed the currency exchange license for Quick Funds Inc.
