Delano Herald Journal

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

Plans for assisted living in Delano move forward



Plans for bringing assisted living to Delano keep moving along, as developer Tom Schuett received approval from the council for his conditional use permit and preliminary/final plat at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The proposed complex consists of 100 independent, assisted, and memory care senior housing units, located on just over 11 acres of land north of St. Peter Avenue in Delano Crossings.

Schuett proposed to the council 36 independent living units in a three-story apartment building, 48 units of assisted living in a three-story apartment building, and 16 units of memory care in a one-story building.

Phase one of construction would include both the assisted living and memory care facilities, with phase two being the independent living units.

Issues discussed during the meeting Tuesday included utilities, landscaping, site circulation, and parking.

It is anticipated that with the facility will come approximately 40 to 50 new jobs, with 10 to 14 people there at a time, Schuett said. The remaining 10 to 15 parking spaces will be for visitors.

Schuett said in many facilities similar to this, parking gets overbuilt. While people visit residents in facilities, Schuett said there is rarely an influx of people there at any given time.

Schuett, who has owned the property since the early 2000s, said his original intention for the land was to be for market-rate apartments, but since that time, the plans for the assisted living facility have fallen into place and are looked favorably upon by the city.

“We’re excited about the support we’ve seen from the city,” Schuett said.

At the same meeting, the council also conducted a hearing for proposed tax increment financing for the project. No one from the public spoke at the hearing, which was continued to Tuesday, Sept. 4, when a final TIF plan will be presented.

Wright County Road 30 expected to be closed a week this fall

The council approved plans and specifications for bidding storm and sanitary sewer installation for the east side lift station, which will be constructed in 2008.

Improvements under Wright County Road 30 need to be made this fall since the Highway 12 detour route next year will utilize the road in 2008.

The project will relocate sanitary sewer presently under County Road 30 toward the public works building, and add a second culvert to increase capacity toward the future lift station.

It was noted County Road 30 will be closed for approximately one week, that the school will be notified, and the detour will be well posted. Completion of the project is expected in mid-November.

Odds and ends

In other business, the council:

• reviewed and approved the audit report for the Delano EDA/Crow River Villa Apartments for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.

The council also adopted a domestic violence and sexual violence protocol policy for the Delano EDA/Crow River Villa Apartments.

• executed a quitclaim deed to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) for the purchase of land at 236 Babcock Boulevard.

The property is part of the floodplain acquisition grant program the city received from the state, and a condition of the grant was that the city would convey all right of way to MnDOT needed for Highway 12 construction.

• approved paying 50 percent of the cost of a welcome/thanks for visiting Delano banner that would cross Bridge Avenue near Delano Municipal Utilities to Xcel Energy. The low bid for the banner was from Herald Journal Sign and Graphics for $495 plus tax.

This is one of several projects taken on by a group of downtown business owners who are a part of the Delano Area Chamber of Commerce in an effort to promote downtown Delano.

• approved rezoning four lots north of the downtown area fronting River Street, in order to conform to meet the lots’ current uses and comply with the surrounding zoning.

• entered into a contract with Intercomm Technology for information technology work at a cost of $7,200 in up front server and service installation/training work, and after that, $1,150 per month, or $13,800 per year.

• entered into closed session to discuss the 2003 River Street interceptor project, and litigation regarding work done by LaTour Construction.

After the meeting, City Administrator Phil Kern said that in 2005, LaTour Construction filed for completion of the project. Upon final review, the city determined additional work was needed.

The contractor completed some corrective actions in the spring of 2007. Since that time, the city, contractor, and former city engineer, Bonestroo have been negotiating a resolution to the payment issues, withheld since 2005.

The council accepted a settlement proposal Tuesday night to make final payments to the contractor and engineer.

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