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Large chunk of undeveloped city property changes hands

The City of Kenmare has signed a quit claim deed to turn over a large parcel of property to the Kenmare Community Development Corporation (KCDC).

5/15/13 (Wed)

Purchase finalized . . . The city blocks located south of the new 12-plexes
on Division Street and north of the old city landfill are currently under development
by KDAK, LLC.  The company has finalized purchase of the property from the city
and the Kenmare Community Development Corporation for $300,000.
This photo shows the view looking north from the old landfill.

 

By Terry Froseth

The City of Kenmare has signed a quit claim deed to turn over a large parcel of property to the Kenmare Community Development Corporation (KCDC).

The Development Corporation, in turn, has finalized sale of the property to KDak LLC for a sum of $300,000.

The property is already under development for new residential homes. KDak began working last fall on the unimproved city blocks located south of the new 12-plex apartments on Division Street, and north of the old city landfill.

KDak has contoured the hillside for streets, and has dug in water and sewer lines.

For its part in the transaction, KCDC asked to retain 12 percent of the purchase price, amounting to $36,000, which is the cost assessed for sewer hookups to the new line the city installed to the south of the property.

The city will receive 88 percent of the purchase price from KCDC, amounting to $264,000.

The council gave its approval to the arrangement.

Appointments approved
At its monthly meeting held Monday, the city council gave its approval to appointments made by the mayor.

Steve Simoneau was appointed to replace Al Munson, who has resigned from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Matt Borud was appointed to replace Bob Mau, who has resigned from the Fund Itt city sales tax screening committee.

Mayor Roger Ness thanked each of the resigning committee members. “I appreciate their years of service and I look forward to the two new guys,” Ness said.

Bids opened
Two bids for labor and materials for cement work at the city shop were received.

Pete Johnson of Berthold submitted a bid of $33,500.

Fat Boys Construction of Kenmare submitted a bid of $33,663.

It was mentioned the city is under no obligation to take the lowest bid.

The Fat Boys Construction bid, $163 higher than the other bid, was accepted with the reasoning they are an in-town contractor.

Diversified Services (Don Knatterud) was approved for a $7000 per year contract for upkeep of the Lakeview Cemetery.

Mayor Ness said Knatterud does an excellent job with the upkeep.

It was discussed that the city had to mow the cemetery last year just before Memorial Day because Knatterud’s mower was broke down.

The council approved the contract with the stipulation there be a penalty if the city has to do any mowing out there.

Gaming sites approved
The Veteran’s Club of Kenmare was approved for gaming sites at the City Limits Bar, and the Memorial Hall.

Minot Hockey Boosters was approved for a gaming site at Dave’s Place.

Building permits
and city limits islands
City building inspector Don Siebert presented building permits to the council for approval.

Phil Kelly was approved for a manufactured 30’x64’ house on the northeast corner of nearly eight acres at Kenmare’s north edge, 1213 North Central Avenue.

Siebert informed the council the property is not served by city water and sewer. Kelly will not be able to place the house at the site until water and sewer is made available.

Ness said the property will have to be annexed to the city before water and sewer can be extended to it. Siebert said Kelly was aware of this.

Ness added there are several other “islands” at the city’s edges where a home is not in city limits, but is surrounded by property that has been annexed to city limits.

Ness said during annexation several years ago, the city took all commercial properties and left the residential islands.

In regards to Kelly’s situation, Ness said it would be quicker for Kelly if he petitioned the city for annexation.

The council approved the building permit to allow Kelly to proceed with his planning.

Farmers Union Lumber, 1011 N. Central, was approved for a 12’x16’ office addition on the north side of their building.

Jeff Bartlett, 521 1st Ave. NE, was approved for a 48’x56’ privacy fence.

Vernis Nelson, 302 5th St. NW, was approved for a 6’x28’ deck and two sets of steps.

Don Boos, 408 5th Ave NE, was approved for a 16’x16’ patio cover.

Shayne Haustveit, 223 3rd Ave NE, was approved for a 8’x8’ garden shed and a 48’x65’ privacy fence.

There was discussion of a request to place a mobile home on a 50-foot lot. That is not allowed, however, as the ordinance requires the front door face the street for fire call access.

Engineer’s report
Justin Froseth of Ackerman-Estvold Engineering presented the city engineer’s report.

An Energy and Oil Impact Grant application was submitted for the city.

Three projects included in the grant application were lagoon improvements, County Road 2 (Sixth Street) improvements, and downtown square improvements.

Froseth acknowledged in the report that Kenmare in not in the heart of oil country, but is still impacted. He said with the program having more money available than ever before, it is hoped Kenmare would stand a better chance than in years before of receiving grant funds.

Froseth added there has been no decision yet on the application to the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) for downtown square improvements. He said the date for the decision had been moved to May 30.

Regarding other items, Froseth said Maguire Iron finished site work at the new water tower on May 5. They intend to paint a west facing Kenmare logo on the water tower in early June.

Contracting installation of booster station controls, and moving the booster station to a new site are still in the works.

Work is also progressing on the design of the downtown square improvement plans.

Plans must also be made for forming an assessment district to pay for the improvements.

Grant to Souris Basin
Upon the recommendation of Mayor Ness, the council approved a donation of $5000 towards operating costs of Souris Basin Planning Council (SBPC).

SBPC has been responsible for distributing grants and administering revolving loans to communities in the region.

Recent restructuring of the staff and management have left the organization in a tight financial state for its own operations.

Ness said Kenmare has received $573,000 through SBPC over the past years, and seven Kenmare businesses have also received their assistance.

“It’s a very important program. It’s got its niche. I think they’ve done a lot of good things,” Ness said.

In other action:
• A Minot Hockey Boosters gaming fund donation of $350 in Kenmare Bucks to the KHS Post Graduation Committee was approved.

• The Mighty Grapplers were approved for a raffle permit.

• A liquor license transfer for Dave’s Place to the Memorial Hall for the GooseFest activities was approved.

• A change of zoning for property owned by Phil Kelly at the north edge of town was approved from agriculture to R-2 (residential).

• The mayor and city engineer will meet with the Ward County Highway Department this week, possibly on the topic of Ward County 2, which runs east-west through Kenmare.

• Council president Chuck Leet said there have been a lot of semis being parked on residential streets, and the police department needs to enforce the ordinance prohibiting it. He also mentioned the fire hazard of barbecues on the decks of the 12-plex apartment buildings. And, he reminded the council the streets need to be sealed this summer.

• The council adopted a resolution supporting the actions in the Ward County Emergency Plan. A plan specific to the City of Kenmare is still being fine tuned, Mayor Ness said. Leet said having the plans in place allows the entities to collect funds from FEMA in the event of a disaster.

• The city will be helping with the City Wide Clean Up on May 15.

• Council member Terese Skjordal said she has witnessed kids riding the city streets on their non-street legal motorcycles.

• A meeting will be held Wednesday on the future of the never-installed water slide at the pool.