by Dave DeMars
news@thenewsleaders.com
The Rice City Council took up the issues of block parties, traffic-sign placement and a storm-water ordinance at its Oct. 3 meeting.
A group of Second Street West neighbors represented by Christina Evje had applied for a large-gathering permit for the purpose of getting to know one another and forming neighborhood relationships. Council member Paula Kampa voiced concerns about the city’s liability in gatherings such as this one. The application states Second Street will be blocked off, with placement of portable toilets as a possibility. The gathering would take place between 2-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21.
“This is like our third one this fall,” Kampa said, “and as much as I would like, I just wonder if this is something we should re-look at because according to our ordinances, this is really not permitted in the city. They are able to block our city streets and roam that street without providing any type of liability insurance – the city is assuming all the liability for it. We don’t have a schedule (fee schedule) for block parties.”
Kampa went on to say she is not opposed to the block parties and understands they are great community-building events. For now, a block party precedent has been set, but Kampa wants (the council) to reconsider the whole idea this winter after more study has been done.
Consensus on the council seemed supportive, with Mayor Dale Rogholt saying he was more concerned about this party since it blocked off an entire street, not just a cul-de-sac. Council member Al Voigt said the party needed to understand if there is an emergency, the street will be opened. The council approved the application this time with the understanding the matter of block parties will be addressed again in January or February.
Speed signs
Rice resident Brad Savola registered a concern about the speed of traffic along 42nd Avenue and 121st Street. According to Savola, Police Chief Ross Hamann informed him the speed for the roadway is 30 mph.
The problem seems to revolve around cars moving from a gravel road to blacktop and increasing speed. Savola would like to see a speed sign posted, especially on the west side of 42nd Avenue.
Kampa said that, in speaking with Hamann, he had said placing four 30 mph signs would probably take care of the problem. Cost for the four signs would run about $200.
A motion to place the signs per Hamann’s recommendations was approved.
Storm water
At present, a storm-water-drainage fee is not charged but is included in the sewer charges for residents. Council member Brian Skroch informed the council other municipalities do charge separate storm-water fees and he had done some number-crunching to see what kinds of fees might be charged should the council decide to charge such fees. The work had been done in order to provide a starting point.
Skroch said a cost study indicating how much time and labor costs were actually involved in disposing of storm water would need to be done before implementing storm-water fees. Presently, all that is simply rolled into the general-maintenance budget of the city’s public-works department. Breaking out the storm-water costs would theoretically reduce the water and sewer costs, since there would be separate charges for each service provided. Skroch said there didn’t seem to be a need to break out separate charges since it was all handled under the sewer-and-water charges.
City Engineer Mike Rardin explained there was no hard-and-fast rule as to how the issue should be approached. The storm-water costs could be taken out of the general fund if the city so desired. The storm-water breakout is simply a mechanism that more precisely shows how much disposal of storm water is costing the city. Most cities are doing the breakout because storm-water disposal costs have increased because of environmental regulations.
After the discussion, the council approved the storm-water ordinance and issued directives for its placement at selected sites, so that residents might examine the language.
Other business
The Trick-or-Treat Main Street event to be held on Oct. 28 was discussed by Kampa during the clerk’s report. The event is sponsored by the Rice Chamber of Commerce. Booths will be set up by various businesses along Main Street from 3-5 p.m. The local Parent-Teacher Association will hold a Halloween party for children later in the evening at Rice Elementary School.
Kampa suggested city hall be staffed by someone during the afternoon to give out trick-or-treat favors to small children. It was pointed out the city cannot legally spend taxpayer dollars on that type of event and that a business or group would need to donate the favors on behalf of the city.
Kampa also informed the council the League of Minnesota Cities insurance policy needed to have a locally licensed insurance professional to service the policy. Kampa recused herself from that responsibility but pointed out any licensed agent could offer services.
Kampa said the present agent is based in Minneapolis and had not had contact with the city in the past five years. A local agent is needed. The council decided to deal with the issue next meeting when more information is available.
Council members also briefly discussed the benefits of having a Facebook page, accepted the termination of the assessor’s contract with Maury and Traci Baider, and was updated on the effort to secure past street planning-and-zoning information from the former engineering firm.
Brad Savola appeared before the Rice City Council to express his concerns about traffic speed on roads near his home. He requested the council post speed signs along the roadway so drivers know what the speed limit is.
