WILLMAR -- A Willmar City Council committee made no decision Wednesday evening on the alignment of Fifth Street through a proposed business park in southeast Willmar.
Instead, the council's Community Development Committee agreed to let landowners and developers discuss the issues surrounding the location of the alignment and return to the committee with a recommendation on Sept. 15.
Committee Chairman Bruce DeBlieck said he thought there was some room to work out the issues raised by developers of the business park where Wal-Mart is proposing a super center and owners of two nearby properties.
"It sounds like there was some willingness to do that as of yet,'' DeBlieck told the Tribune. "I think everybody in this room and everybody in the community wants to see the project move forward and come to a realization.''
The proposed location of Fifth Street through the 113-acre Water View Business Park being proposed by Duininck Bros. of Prinsburg does not align on the south side of 19th Avenue with the location of Fifth Street being proposed on the north side of 19th Avenue by city public works director Mel Odens.
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The street through the business park on the south side of 19th Avenue follows a straight north-south direction.
The street on the north side of 19th Avenue follows the county ditch in a southeasterly direction.
If the two proposed streets were built, their intersections on 19th Avenue would be about 200 feet apart, said Bruce Peterson, city planning and development services director.
The committee was asked to make a decision on the Fifth Street alignment after the Planning Commission approved the Water View Park preliminary plat last month, but said the street alignment "shall be determined by city staff in consultation with the developer and affected property owners.''
If Fifth Street inside the business park were curved to coincide with the city's proposed alignment at 19th Avenue, the Wal-Mart store on the south side would lose a gas station and 91 parking stalls, said Wal-Mart spokesman Murl Miller, an attorney from Yankton, S.D.
Miller, Harris Duininck and several others representing Duininck Bros. spoke in favor of the straight northsouth alignment.
The city's proposed alignment was supported by attorney Wayne Larson, speaking for Jerry Gesch of Willmar who owns 3.5 acres on the north side of 19th Avenue near the Kandi Mall. If the alignment was shifted slightly west to coincide with the alignment favored by Wal-Mart, the Gesch property would be cut into two less valuable pieces, said Larson. Owners of the Kandi Entertainment Center opposed the proposed north-south alignment because they said it would restrict access to their property. Also, they would object to being assessed for the cost of improvements associated with the street construction.
They were among 18 people representing the city, developers, landowners and others at the meeting. Committee member Jim Dokken said he needed more time before making a decision.
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After listening to nearly two hours of discussion, DeBlieck asked if there was room for consensus.
Larson suggested the developers and landowners discuss the issues by themselves, rather than at a public meeting. Duininck said he would be willing to do that.
