City Council Minutes 02-19-2008 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday February 19, 2008 - 5 p.m.
Members Present: Tom Perrault and Susie Wojchouski
Members Absent: Clint Herbst, Wayne Mayer and Brian Stumpf.
The special meeting was called at the request of two members of the City Council. The purpose of
the special meeting was to allow Kirk Kjellberg an opportunity to provide information to the
Council that he believed the Council had not previously received
City Administrator, Jeff O'Neill noted that without a quorum of the Council present no official
action could be taken. Kirk Kjellberg could make his presentation regarding the construction of his
building at Kjellberg's West Mobile Hame however, since there is a legal action in progress and
without the presence of the City Attorney, the Council would take no action on anything that was
addressed in the presentation. Kirk Kjellberg said it was problematic that the entire Council was not
present but he would proceed with his presentation. O'Neill noted that he would forward the
information to the balance of the City Council.
Kirk Kjellberg thanked those present for taking time to be at the meeting. He felt there were some
inaccuracies in what was previously presented to the Council. Part of the basis of prosecution by
the City was that he applied for a building permit which was turned down by the City and that he
proceeded with building a structure anyway. Kirk Kjellberg made available for Council review a
copy of the preliminary plans for the structure that was originally intended to be built on the
location. He noted that the structure that was actually built was less than 1/3 of the size of the
building that had been the subject of an earlier CUP request. The original request was far a
relatively large storage building that would house equipment and trucks etc. The building that was
constructed is used for housing the heating system, a wood burning stove, and some equipment
storage. He reiterated the building is smaller in size and is a different make up of what was
originally proposed. The building is slab-on-grade and could be taken dawn and reassembled if it
had to be relocated.
Kirk Kjellberg said there was an inconsistency in the way the west mobile park was brought in to
the City. The west mobile home park was brought in under agricultural zoning and the east mobile
home park was brought in under R-4 zoning. The agricultural zoning of the west mobile park
creates difficulty in resolving the problem. The issue is not so much about the building as it is
about the zoning. When the west mobile home park was annexed he was told it would be treated in
the same manner as the east mobile home park. The west mobile home park was not zoned
properly. A change in zoning may change the non-conforming use issue relating to the accessory
building. He felt the property on the west side should have R-4 zoning which would allow for
accessory buildings and allow outside storage as long as it was screened.
Mr. Kjellberg cited an incident where Xcel Energy built a structure without getting a building
permit. Xcel Energy ended up paying a double fee but was allowed to retain the building. He
asked that the Council consider giving them similar treatment. He stated he was willing to make the
adjustments Gary Anderson, Building Official, had suggested. He noted that there has been same
animosity between Kjellbergs and the City. He felt that criminal complaint by the City which was
filed against Kent Kjellberg personally rather than against Kjellberg Inc. was a swipe against Kent
Kjellberg. It was retaliatory since Kent Kjellberg does not personally own the land. There are
several avenues available to settle this case besides tearing down the building. He felt the precedent
exists with the Xcel Energy case and he suggested corning up with a stipulation to allow for the
improvements Gary Anderson asked for, Kjellberg's paying double the building permit fee and
resolution of the zoning issue.
Susie Wojchouski asked why Kirk Kjellberg's dad didn't apply for a building permit. Kirk
Kjellberg responded that it was probably a misunderstanding on the part of his father and the
attorney. Since they were building a structure that could be relocated, they may have believed it
was considered a temporary building. He said that eventually the front portion of the west mabile
home park will probably have more value with a different use such as commercial development
than it will as a mabile home park.
Jeff O'Neill stated that the step to rezone from Agricultural to R-4 once it was annexed was a
housekeeping oversight that can be corrected. Under either zoning classification a building permit
would be required. Kirk Kjellberg said because the property was not rezoned his building was
considered an expansion of anon-conforming use. The sticking point is not how to resolve the
building permit issue but rather the non-conforming use. Mr. Kjellberg submitted pictures of the
structure to emphasize his point that the structure was not a blight problem. The information from
this meeting will be forwarded to the City Council and attorney.
O'Neill corrected the record professed by Kjellberg by noting that Xcel was required to pay a
double fee not for constructing a building without a permit. Xcel paid a double fee for converting a
building from warehouse to office use without a permit. Since the two situations are totally
different, the Excel situation does not represent an applicable precedent.
The meeting closed at 5:25 p.m.
Recording Secretary