Comp plan faces final hurdle tonight

Some say approval has been too rushed

Staff

Published Monday, December 22, 2008

Albert Lea’s new comprehensive plan will face its final hurdle tonight when the Albert Lea City Council will decide whether to approve it. The plan has been in the making for the past 18 months.

Last week, the plan was approved by the Albert Lea Planning Commission, and in the week prior it was approved by the Albert Lea Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.

During both meetings, the plan was met with some collegial debate among a few local leaders, who voiced opposition to specific parts in the document. Others, too, have commented that the process of getting the plan approved before the end of the year has been too rushed. Others point out there are too many last-minute changes and additions.

Despite the opposition, the planning commission most recently voted unanimously to move the plan to the council.

During the Thursday preagenda meeting, Community Development Director Bob Graham said people need to understand that the comprehensive plan is a guide to the development of policy, but the plan itself is not a policy.

He said he wanted to clarify that “Albert Lea is a planned community. It has been a planned community from day one.”

City Manager Victoria Simonsen said the process of the comprehensive plan began with a steering committee of 34 people who interviewed different consultants to formulate the plan. The committee decided on a consultant that was more visionary instead of traditional.

Mayor Randy Erdman said people had ample opportunity to join the steering committee and to give their input into the plan.

For him, he said, the plan process actually started in 2001 after the Farmland Foods fire.

Since, there have been several different catalysts to move it forward.

Graham said the plan is one he can fully support. He said he raised a number of questions about it but he believes those answers have been answered thoroughly.

Councilor Vern Rasmussen wanted to make sure the document the councilors would be voting on would include all of the appendices.

If the council decides not to approve the plan, Graham said it would become the responsibility of the staff to continue with the process to get it adopted. He does not expect the consultant to have any additional thought process in this.

The plan is now 100-pages long.

The city’s last comprehensive plan — which covers several aspects of the community including housing and the downtown to traffic flows and parks and recreation — was made in the early 1970s.

During the Monday meeting, the council will also:

- Have a public hearing about the proposed fee schedule for the new rental housing licensing ordinance passed by the council on Oct. 13.

The fee schedule, proposed by city staff, is based on a declining schedule with the cost of the license for a single family dwelling being $20 per year per unit to a $2.12 per unit per year fee for larger complexes licensed by the Minnesota Housing Finance Authority that provide 24-hour staffing. The license would be good for three years for rentals up to 100 units or for four or five years for properties inspected by the Minnesota Housing Finance Authority.

If rental property owners register their properties with the inspection department before March 31, 2009, their inspection fees for 2009 could be waived.

Under the proposal, if properties have to be re-inspected, the first re-inspection is free. For single units and duplexes, additional re-inspections would cost $20 for the second re-inspection, $40 for the third re-inspection, $80 for the fourth re-inspection, and $160 for any additional re-inspection.

For properties with three or more units, the second re-inspection would be $40 per hour, the third re-inspection would be $80 per hour, the fourth re-inspection would be $160 per hour, and any additional inspections would be $320 per hour. All inspections have a minimum time frame of a half hour.

Initially, city staff had proposed a point system for the licenses; however, that has been eliminated.

Councilor Al Brooks said the proposal looks like it is the fairest solution.

- Have a public hearing and then vote on a change in water and sewer rates for bills after Jan. 1, 2009.

City staff are proposing a 4 percent increase in water rates and a 3 percent increase in sewer rates to meet the revenue needed to operate these enterprise funds.

If the changes pass, they will mean a 35 cents increase in water rates per month and a 7 cent increase in sewer rates, Simonsen said.

- Have a public hearing and then vote on authorizing the revocation of the on-sale intoxicating liquor license for Blue Dragon Properties at the Albert Lea Inn.

Simonsen said the city received notice of license revocation from the state Department of Revenue for failure to pay state sales tax.

The notice said the city must revoke the license on or before Jan. 2.

The question is if the revocation will be effective right away or a week later on Jan. 2, Simonsen said.

“The decision is yours, but we have to revoke it...” she said. “The state has told them they would not work on a payment schedule with them. It is due.”

She said from the documentation she has seen, the last sales tax payment made was in March of 2008 for up to $40,000.

- Have a public hearing and then vote on whether to approve the full Small Cities Development program loan application.

The funding would be used to provide owner-occupied rehabilitation for low-to-moderate income households in areas south of Main Street, west of Garfield Avenue, east of Highway 65 and north of County Road 19. The application would include an expanded area north of West Front Street, the railroad tracks intersecting State Highway 13 and north of Highway 65, east of north Highway 13, south of Autumn Street and east of Broadway Avenue.

- Vote on awarding the annual bids for chemical supplies and fuel in 2009.

- Vote on allocating the police and fire pension interest earnings. In 2008, the city earned interest income of about $500,000. The money available would be allocated to the second of five lease payments for the Freeborn County Government Center totaling $270,000, fire department equipment for $20,000, and payroll for police and fire personnel at $150,000.

- Hear a request to assess the cost of repairing the water service line to the property at 1608 Morley Ave.

- Vote on authorizing transfers from tax increment funds and from the parking fund.

Hear an update about the Fountain Lake Bookstore from Grace Haukoos.

Recognize the outgoing mayor and council members.

Swear in the new mayor and council members.

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