During their recent meeting, the Big Lake City Council heard a proposal for the Parkwood Knolls development.

QV Big Lake LLC, a developer, submitted a proposal to present to the city council. The plan is to construct 37 single family homes and 152 townhomes. 

Council Member Paul Seefeld noted that he was not in favor of changing the zoning of the area for the project, per developer request. Council Member Ken Halverson agreed, and noted that a previous proposal by the developer had been rejected by the council for not meeting zoning requirements. He expressed frustration that the developer didn’t significantly change their proposal after being rejected previously.

He also noted that the proposed roads were narrow and had several dead ends, which makes access difficult for emergency response vehicles.

The developer’s representative responded that they wished to have the higher density in order to make a good return on their investment.

The council, however, stood united in their desire to keep the current zoning of low density housing.

There was no council action, as this was meant to gather council feedback on the proposal.

Final 2024 Tax Levy

Finance Director Deb Wegeleben presented the final tax levy and budget for 2024. The levy increased slightly this year, from $5,346,485 to $5,607,316.

The majority of the council voted to approve the budget and levy. Halverson voted against the fire budget because he didn’t believe it should be increased, and Hanson abstained from the vote on the fire budget.

In Other Business, the Council:

• Held a public hearing regarding the city’s storm sewer plan;

• Reminded the audience that this will be the last meeting of the month and for the calendar year, as there will be no second meeting due to the holidays;

• Congratulations Council/Student Liaison Allie Cross on being awarded the Minnesota State High School League ExCEL Award.