Eden Valley hears from neighbors of Friederichs Park

 

Several Eden Valley residents, all neighbors of the proposed Friederichs Park, attended the July 12 meeting of the Eden Valley city council. Their concerns focused on the proximity to their homes of new fencing and new activities in the park. A frustrating factor is that some property descriptions measure easements from the center of the road, while others measure from the property line. ?ÄúWe?Äôre being encroached on,?Äù said one resident. All present agreed that they prefer leaving the existing chain-link fencing where it is, or 10-foot privacy fencing if it has to be moved.

Mayor Brent Bengtson said, ?ÄúThis is just as much of a surprise to me as it is to you guys.?Äù 

The city agreed that they will need to make sure all property lines are correct and have accurate property easements in place before proceeding. The city will have the entire area surveyed, at city cost, as part of the park project, before moving forward. 

 

One point of clarification is that the existing tennis courts will not be moved, only resurfaced. Also, the local horseshoe league has disbanded so there will be no horseshoe pits in the new park; the approx. $10,000 allocated for horseshoe pits will be moved to the splash pad budget. 

Another point of clarification is that another newspaper (not us) listed the Lions match as $150,000 when it is really $100,000; and the grant was reported to be $140,000 when it is really $150,000. The Tri-County News did report the correct amounts from last month?Äôs council meeting.

Sept. 25 is the earliest that an agreement could be signed with the DNR for their grant. Much needs to be done before that, and the city is working on it. Because these are federal funds, there is lots of documentation required.

Given that, the council is reactivating the Parks Board. Current members include Jim Rademacher and Mona Haag for the city, Randy Hansen for the Chamber, Barb Tagleiter, Chuck Geislinger, mayor Brent Bengtson, and they will look to add a representative from the school and one or two community members.

Other issues

CenterPoint Energy presented a $2,500 Community Partnership Grant to the city of Eden Valley to purchase radar speed indicator signs.

Minn. Rep. Dean Urdahl gave an update on the 2017 legislative session which yielded about $24,000 for Eden Valley in the new funding bill. Urdahl is an advocate for returning LGA (local government aid) to the pre-2003 levels; they wanted $40 million and got $15 million, but it will have to do for now. LGA is very important to small communities, he explained, as it equalizes them with cities that have higher property and industry tax bases.

Zoning administrator Brian Peterka reported on progress bringing rental properties into compliance with inspections and needed repairs. He will bring a final report of the ?Äúhold-outs?Äù to the August council meeting for further enforcement. ?ÄúThe barking needs to stop,?Äù said council member Troy Huschle, stating that the city needs to start biting. ?ÄúWe?Äôre done playing,?Äù he added. A third and final warning will be sent by certified mail soon; the next step will be decided at the August meeting. Peterka reported that all tarp buildings have now been removed inside city limits.

The council unanimously approved a proclamation to participate in National Night to Unite Tuesday, Aug. 1. Block coordinators have been set up, and some streets will be closed that evening for block parties.

The council looked at banner samples to be printed with the new city logo. Vinyl is about half the cost of poly, and should last as long.

Thanks were extended to the city?Äôs Public Works and Fire & Rescue for clean-up work after the recent storm.

Assumption Parish will celebrate its 125th anniversary Sunday,
Aug. 13. The city approved a variance allowing them to have a beer garden open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. instead of the 3-8 p.m. usual city rule.

The next regular meeting of the Eden Valley city council will be at
7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9.