The Clearwater City Council Monday appointed Vern Scott as the fifth member of the council.
He fills the spot formerly held by Rollie Lange, who stepped down at the end of 2018 after last year’s elections, creating a vacancy.
Scott is no stranger to the council. He served as a member from 1983 - 1987 and from 2007 - 2011.
He has lived and volunteered in Clearwater for 50 years and has been an active member of the community. He has served on the Clearwater Joint Planning Board, The Clearwater-Clear Lake Sewer Authority, the Clearwater Fire Dept. and is currently a member of the Clearwater Park Commission.
His council term ends in two years.
The council also appointed Rollie Lange to the Clearwater Economic Development Authority.
The council has two interested individuals for the park board. That vote will come during the next council meeting.
Annexation Agreement
The council reviewed the latest draft of the orderly annexation agreement with Clearwater Twp.
Administrator Kevin Kress presented the draft, which was reviewed and edited by the township.
He said an item the council should discuss is the property taxes paid by the city to the township after a property is annexed. In the draft, the city would pay 100% of the taxes for five years after annexation. He felt there should be some type of tiered system where the taxes are scaled down each year.
“We don’t think we should be paying 100% of the property taxes for five years, especially if they’re not offering any services like roads or anything like that,” he said.
He said the council should also discuss the zoning review process for any parcels in the Orderly Annexation Area.
He said he will set up another workshop with the township to negotiate the final few items.
Other Business
In other action the council:
* Approved a temporary gambling permit for Ducks Unlimited for an event April 4;
* Approved a temporary gambling permit for St. Luke’s Church to hold a raffle and bingo at its Fall Festival Aug. 25;
* Approved the transfer of WAC/SAC funds totalling $60,661.49 to the Water and Sewer Enterprise funds;
* Approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Clearwater and Wright County to work cooperatively on a master plan for a regional tail, with costs for Clearwater not to exceed $9,000.
