Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Land use survey will be taken door-to-door



The citizens in Winsted will see a volunteer with a survey
at their door Oct. 21 Councilwoman Bonnie Quast told the Winsted City Council,
Tuesday.

The planning commission has worked on a land use plan,
and it will be brought to the public in the form of a survey, she said.

Public input is required for the completion of a study
being done by Mid-Minnesota, a firm that collects data and delivers reports
on that data.

The survey will be Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a kick-off
at 6 p.m. at the city offices for the volunteers.

“At least 25 volunteers are needed in order for this
to only last one night,” said City Clerk Betty Zachmann.

The city will be divided into four sections. The one-page
survey will be dropped off at each home and picked up a short time later
by the volunteer working that block.

There are 12 questions on the sheet that only require a
check mark in a box. The sheet will be sealed in an envelope and the information
is completely private.

Volunteers will be identified by a badge. Anyone wishing
to assist in this survey should call Winsted City Offices at 485-2366.

Old city hall

Mary Stamm addressed the council on the issue of the possible
restoration of the old city hall building.

She said, “We have a proposal, but we have a small
budget.

The committee has been allocated $5,000 from the city for
a reuse study and has $1,500 from a state historical grant.

The proposal is to hire Thomas R. Zahn and Associates to
do the reuse study for $4,500 and spend the $2,000 on an architect.

Stamm said Zahn should have the reuse study done in six
to eight weeks, and the council can review it and decide from there what
it wants to do with the building.

Councilman Gary Lenz said, “Id like to progress to
the next step right away and see a more concrete proposal with numbers.

“We know it is going to be used as some kind of public
building.”

Mayor Don Guggemos said, “The reuse study is to explore
the non-obvious uses.”

Lenz declared, “I’d rather get some hard and fast
figures on fixing it up. I’m opposed to selling it to someone for a dollar.”

There is no intention to sell the building for a dollar,
and the money has already been allocated for the study, said Guggemos.

Quast said, “Maybe we should go ahead with the reuse
study and then slow down and see (what we need to do).

The reuse study will do private interviews to get honest
community input, she said.

Final Co. Rd. 1 review

Mcleod County Highway Department Engineer Rick Kjonnas
told the council he was very satisfied the city got an exceptional product
in the new Co. Rd. 1 surfacing this summer.

Even though some striping and painting issues need to be
addressed, the only major problem seems to be lack of drainage in the city’s
industrial park acreage.

All the problems will be corrected, Kjonnas assured the
council.

Airport road

The council received a wide range of estimates for the
new airport road. The lowest estimate was $5,000; the high estimate was
$89,700 .

“I don’t think we will take that $89,000 estimate,”
laughed Councilman Lenz.

The council agreed that was probably more road than it
wanted.

The middle estimate of $10,200 included class five gravel
trucked into the site, and Zachmann was instructed to contact the contractors
to make sure they were estimating the same items for the project.

Main street parking

Winsted Police Chief Michael Henrich said a request was
made to him by Marvin Hirsch for permission for his tenants at 147 1st St.
N. to park in the downtown area on first street north, during all months
not affected by the winter parking ban.

Henrich stated he would not give special parking permission
to any apartment owner for several reasons.

First, it is up to a landlord to provide proper parking
for tenants, and such an action would compromise the purpose of the current
ordinance.

Also, this makes it difficult for the maintenance department
to clean and sweep streets downtown.

Mayor Guggemos said he felt there has been no real problem
with the parking, and if the tenants need to have a vehicle parked there
overnight, they can contact Henrich and let him know ahead of time.

New city offices

The will have to be moved, as the lease will expire Oct.
31. A 90-day notice will be required by either party after that time to
break the lease.

A floor plan of the old theatre building on the corner
of Main and 2nd St. So., owned by Steve Haugdahl, was presented by Zachmann
to the council.

Since the city has a contract with Winsted Township to
provide space for meetings and record storage, Guggemos said he would like
to see a floor plan that presented office and meeting spaces for all the
city’s needs before deciding on that building.

Zachmann will attempt to get some drawings for the council.

Other business

– City Clerk Betty Zachmann reported that 23 applications
have been received for the post of city administrator. The council instructed
her to have the selection committee present a top-three list at the next
council meeting.

– The agreement with Gene Ochu has been completed prior
to accepting a petition for annexation of his property. It contains wording
that provides some fencing and proper display of salable items.

– Public Works Supervisor Pat Radtke presented estimates
for a new city pickup truck. The council agreed to a price of $24,585 and
will advertise the present truck and plow for sale.

– Quast presented the council with a request to place a
sign on the corner of the industrial park land that would be more attractive
to potential investors. A sign will be designed to show how the park will
be plotted.

– A variance was approved for Jim Koch to construct an
addition to his garage to within two and one half feet of his property line.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.