Fred Heinonen
Scandia Area Reporter

Dresel Contracting Inc. of Forest Lake has been awarded the 2007 road improvement contract in Scandia. The Scandia City Council on Tuesday, April 3 voted to award the contract to the company.

Dresel was the lowest responsible bidder at $1,376,282.60. The most recent unit assessments are $1564 for collector streets and $4692 for residential streets.

The final amount will be determined at the assessment hearing, following construction.

Public hearing

A public hearing was held and the city council approved vacating parts of 3rd Street and 1st Ave in Old Lions Park.

The planning commission and the council conditionally approved a conditional use permit for Sprint Nextel to co-locate three antennas on the existing US Cable tower at 15072 Old Marine Trail. Conditions are as follows:

•Remove the unused 10-foot microwave dish on the tower

•Submit a landscaping plan for planting 10 coniferous trees (minimum of four feet tall)

•Install a six-foot chain link fence with a locked gate that encloses the tower

•Install a secure gate at the entrance

Tii Gavo issues

Big Marine Development, LLC presented an incomplete application for final plat approval for their Tii Gavo development on Big Marine Lake. An amended final plat could be reviewed as early as the May 1st planning commission meeting if the controversial issues can be resolved.

A list of the six major items that were discussed at the April 3 meeting was presented by City Administrator Anne Hurlburt, as follows:

An amendment to the preliminary plat is required before a final plat application can be accepted. The preliminary plat stated a community water system would be installed. The present plan is multiple shared wells. The planning commission requested an environmental impact study comparing multiple shared wells with individual wells.

Park dedication requirements for the project were reviewed. The developer must dedicate an easement for a parking lot and a trail at the Newgate St. entrance and to the north end along the east border, hopefully being able to extend farther north in the future.

The city also requests the full amount of park dedication ($1500 per lot) provided by the development code.

The developer received approval to postpone the final finishing of the north loop of the road across the development. The final blacktopping of this road will be done when the final phase, that includes eight homes south of Rasmussen Pond, is implemented.

The developer proposed to defer design of the accessory storage buildings to allow building on demand. The developer has a design quality committee to assure reasonable construction. These buildings are not expected to be visible from any road.

The financial guarantee to the city must be in the form of a letter of credit instead of the developer posting a performance and payment bond for public improvements. If the need arose, it would be too difficult for the city to obtain funds from a bonding company.

The developer wants to start constructing the community center building before recording the final plat. The city will enter into an agreement to proceed, which holds the city harmless if the project does not complete and requires a financial guarantee for removal of non-conforming construction materials.

Church approved

The public hearing on the request from Willowbrook Church for a text amendment to the shoreland management regulations to allow places of worship in the shoreland overlay district that has been continued March 6 was resumed on April 3.

City Planner Barry Farrington’s revised draft of city ordinance 102 incorporates a larger (20-acre vs. five-acre) minimum lot size, an increased setback (500 ft vs. 200 ft) from the ordinary high water level of a lake, and requires frontage on a collector or minor arterial road.

The planning commission forwarded the request to the city council without a recommendation. The council approved the request, but the amendment will not be in affect until it is approved by the DNR and then published.

Mining ordinance

City Planner Richard Thompson presented an updated draft of new mining regulations for Scandia.

Thompson will meet with a couple of planning commission and council members and the city administrator to review the draft prior to scheduling the public hearing required to adopt the ordinance. Copies of the draft have been sent to the current mining operators (Tiller, Dresel and Bracht Brothers).

Other items

Scandia Fire & Rescue Department members are not comfortable with providing space at the fire hall to house a sheriff’s office, as was recently suggested by the city council.

Mayor Dennis Seifeldt and Council member Mike Harnetty will meet with members of the fire department to discuss the issue.

City Treasurer Colleen Firkus experienced a broken mother board in her computer and she received urgent approval for a new computer.

A furnace needs replacement at the community center, according to diagnosis by Lakes Air Heating and Cooling. The council decided to solicit a second local cost estimate to assure a fair and orderly replacement.

Next meetings

The next Scandia City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 17. The next city council and planning commission meeting will be Tuesday, May 1, at 7 and 7:30 p.m.

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