The Clear Lake City Council met Monday evening and discussed a housing development, as well as swore in a new member to get council back to full strength.

Clerk Kari Koren led the swearing in ceremony for Chad Nelson, who repeated the oath of office and was congratulated by Mayor Tim Goenner and the rest of council.

Development

Jay Roos appeared before council to seek approval of the preliminary plat for the Parkside Development. Originally platted in 2006 by Paxmar, the development’s phases were never completed and it was recently sold to LGI Homes.

Roos had been with Paxmar and will continue to be the lead person with LGI Homes and was therefore seeking several additional comments from council.

A public hearing was held regarding the development, but there was no public participation so Roos and council moved on and reviewed the plans.

Discussion centered on a section of Cherry St. that was never constructed and how that could play out in the future. In addition, City Engineer Keith Yapp reviewed several issues such as the sewer lift station that was planned in the original development but never constructed.

“We haven’t figured out a phasing plan yet,” said Roos, who mentioned that the plans called for both single family housing and several twin home designs. “It’s possible we might do the project in two phases.”

Yapp reminded council that the preliminary plat plans should be similar to what will be adopted in the final platting.

“We don’t want significant changes from the preliminary plat to the final one,” Yapp said. “As long as there isn’t wholesale significant changes to the preliminary plat, we can work with small changes to be part of the final plat.”

Other issues discussed included the looping of the water supply lines, possible house plans, and the possibility of adding a deeper lift station with more capacity to accommodate future growth.

Mayor Tim Goenner cautioned Roos that he would like to see a variety of homes built in the new sections of the development.

“I don’t like the cookie cutter developments,” said Goenner. “The next time we meet, I’d like to see some photos of the house plans.”

Member Karen White asked Roos if there were other LGI developments in the area that interested members could take a look at to see how they are together. Roos mentioned a recently completed development in Big Lake, as well as one in Montrose that could provide the comparison.

Sheriff

Sgt. Andy Ochs appeared before council to share the calls for service from the last month, which totaled 46. As usual, traffic stops were the most common occurrence, while there were also several security checks performed.  

In related news, council discussed the fine amount for truckers who violate the dynamic “Jake” brake ordinance within the city. Sherburne County handles the prosecutions of any tickets issued on the matter and it calls for a range of $0 to $300 as the fine, which is set by council.

After a brief discussion, council unanimously approved setting the amount at $300, the maximum fine, as the issue has been on council’s radar for quite some time. An additional $85 is added to each ticket by the county to cover surcharges and the law library fee, meaning that violators will pay a significant fine for the practice.

White mentioned it would also be a good idea to send a letter to any businesses in the area whose independent contractor truckers use the route, reminding them of the ordinance.

In Other Business, council:

• Discussed the status of the used oil collection site within the city and heard from Public Works Director Dustin Luhning about his department’s efforts to help at the area, despite it not being a city maintained facility;

• Discussed technology purchases for council members and City Hall, ultimately deciding upon exploring some displays for the chambers and moving towards emailed packets for council members;

• Heard from Luhning regarding some ongoing vandalism issues within the city.