Assessments

on forfeited

property

tax council

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The City Council wrestled with how to handle special assessments on tax-forfeited property and gave city staff the green light to apply for $250,000 in state funds for the ice rinks in the new Fairgrounds Community Center at its Tuesday meeting.

The council also sent a proposal listing three options for repairing the heating and cooling system in the old library building back to staff to develop a fourth option, providing heating and cooling to all three levels.

But it was the handling of the special assessments on property at 2 N. Minnesota Street that generated the most debate.

At issue were Lots 12A and 13A in Block 65 north of Center Street. Outstanding assessment principal for 1996 Streetscape (Minnesota Street) and 1997 Streetscape (Center Street) totaled $18,949.26, with interest totaling $7,257.38 through 2002.

Brown County has set a minimum bid of $25,000 for the parcel and intends to sell the property at public auction, City Manager Brian Gramentz said. The dilemma for the city is that the assessments plus interest total $26,206.64, which is more than the proposed minimum bid.

In addition, a potential bidder had written the city council, complaining that the $26,000 in assessment principal and interest created too big a burden to make purchase of the property viable.

After some discussion, Councilor Joel Albrecht proposed forming a committee to negotiate a solution with the county because "we could come out of this with nothing."

Council President Dan Beranek supported Albrecht's position, and the council voted to create a negotiating committee of Beranek, Councilor Clark Tuttle, City Attorney Hugh Nierengarten and Gramentz "and any staff he wanted to add" to discuss the situation with the county.

Nierengarten had proposed that it might be possible through negotiation to get the county to agree to a minimum bid of $35,000 with the additional $10,000 going to the city as a settlement on the assessments.

Councilors approved with little comment the application for $250,000 from the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, through the state's General Fund, for capital funding of construction of the Fairgrounds Community Center which will hold two ice rinks.

The money would come from unappropriated funds in the "Mighty Ducks" program that provided financial assistance to communities for new ice arenas or improvements to existing facilities.

Of the three options provided by staff for repairing or replacing heating and cooling units in the old library building, even the highest priced option (expending $52,000) recommended by staff, provided no heating and cooling to the top level.

"None of these options addresses the top floor," Councilor Ron Fleischmann said. "What I would like to see is an option 4 which would do it right the first time. We don't know what use the top level will be put to, but we shouldn't have to come back and re-do this to meet whatever use it might be."

Albrecht asked if the top level might not become the future home of the City Council chambers because "the library has indicated it needs this space (the library meeting room)."

"It's not certain that the children's library would go in this space," Beranek answered. "There's talk now that it might go into the old library."

The council approved Fleischmann's motion to have city staff do an analysis of what it would cost to do the entire building.

The council approved an expenditure of not more than $15,480 for Bolton & Menk, Inc. to provide additional engineering and management services for the proposed skate park as well as year-end transfers of unspent monies from 2001.

It also set public hearing dates of Tuesday, March 19, 2002, at 7:30 p.m. for nine street and alley projects in 2002 Utility, Street and Alley Improvements -- Group I, and for issuance of a $714,000 revenue note to aid construction of a headquarters building for Sioux Trails Mental Health Center that serves Brown, Nicollet, Sibley and Watonwan counties.