City Council Minutes 02-12-2007 Special
Council Minutes 2/12/07
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, February 12, 2007 - 5 p.m.
Members Present:
Clint Herbst, Tom Perrault, Brian Stumpf and Susie Wojchouski
Members Absent:
Wayne Mayer
1. Call to Order.
Mayor Herbst called the special meeting to order at 5 p.m.
2. NuisanceIB1i2ht Ordinance and Enforcement.
The Building Department staff and legal counsel Soren Mattick presented proposed
amendments to the blight/nuisance ordinances. The proposed ordinance amendments would
clarify portions of the existing ordinance and also establish procedures for administering the
City's blight/nuisance ordinances.
Brian Stumpf asked about the administrative ordinance and Soren Mattick explained it is
mechanism to enforce what is already on the books and also helps streamline the
blight/nuisance process. Under the administrative process, a notice of violation is mailed to
the violator. If there is no response a second notice of violation is sent. If the violation is not
corrected a citation may be issued in amount to be determined by the Council. If the violator
does not comply the city continues to issue citations. If the citations are not paid, they can be
assessed back against the property.
Soren Mattick stated that due process requires that you give the violator an opportunity to
plead his case. This hearing could be before the City Councilor before a hearing officer or
criminal law judge. If the nuisance is not cleaned up and there is continued non-compliance
with the citations issued, the City can always take the matter to court. The administrative
process would allow nuisance abatement to proceed faster.
Clint Herbst said he would like to see the blight/nuisance ordinance made tighter. The
Council discussed the fine amounts. The first violation would be $75 and each violation
thereafter would increase by $50 which is slightly different than what is proposed in the
ordinance amendment. There was discussion of the defmition of calendar year. Clint Herbst
felt it should be marked from the date the citation is issued or 12 months from the date of
compliance. Gary Anderson noted that previously most blight/nuisance abatements were
done on a complaint basis or during sweeps of areas.
The proposed ordinance clarifies the definition of a junk vehicle. Storage of vehicles in the
rear yard was also discussed. At the present time the ordinance allows parking in the rear
yard or in the side yard on the garage side. There was discussion about limiting the number of
cars that could be parked in a back yard. It was noted that any restriction on what could be
stored in the back yard would require an amendment to the zoning ordinance. Any
amendment to the zoning ordinance would require a public hearing. It was suggested that a
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public hearing be held for all the ordinance amendments, as it would be a good way to get the
information out to the public and make them aware of the proposed changes.
Brian Stumpf felt the sooner the ordinance is in place the better. Clint Herbst agreed it should
go forward but he wanted to make sure the ordinance was written so it was effective and
enforceable. The Council didn't see any need for vehicles to be parked in the back yard so
they felt the Planning Commission should proceed with that ordinance amendment. Brian
Stumpf expressed concern about parking in the side yard. He felt off-street parking should be
restricted to the driveway with recreational vehicles being parked in the side yard as long as
the parking area was surfaced in some manner as to designate it for parking.
Soren Mattick said the administrative ordinance could be used to enforce the blight/nuisance
ordinances, zoning violations, building code violations, erosion control and other areas of the
code as designated by the Council.
The next steps in the process is to fine tune the proposed ordinance amendments, bring it back
to the Council for their approval and schedule a public hearing. The Planning Commission at
their March meeting could address the amendment to the zoning ordinance on what could be
stored in the back yard. The citation amounts would be made part of the fee schedule that is
approved each year. Clint Herbst asked if the City could justify the fee that is proposed.
Soren Mattick said since this is a penalty having it reflect actual enforcement cost is not as
important. Soren Mattick did note that in violation of the terms of the conditional use permit,
the City would take away the conditional use permit instead of imposing fines. The list of
offenses that would be covered by the administrative process would be set forth in a
resolution adopted by the Council.
A notice of public hearing will be prepared and notice given to previous violators and those
currently in non-compliance of the public hearing. In addition information will be put on the
City's website.
3. Rental Ordinance.
Jeff O'Neill reported staffis working on the rental ordinance. However because of time
constraints for this meeting staff would like to schedule a workshop meeting on the rental
ordinance for February 26,2007 at 5:30 p.m.
4. Representatives ofthe Monticello Times.
Kathleen Ostroot and Bruce Treichler representing the Monticello Times were present to
discuss with the Council concerns about coverage by the paper.
Clint Herbst noted his concern with the reduced amount of coverage that the City is receiving.
Other members of the Council agreed noting that there are many important issues coming
before the City that residents would want to be aware of. For many residents the paper is still
the primary source of information on what is going on in the city.
Brian Stumpf felt that the paper should look at the City as a customer and try to meet their
needs. He expressed his disappointment that on major items such as fiber optics a
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representative from the paper was not present. He didn't feel that being short of staff was a
valid reason not to have coverage for city meetings.
Bruce Treichler responded that regardless of staffing issues, the Council meetings are one of
the big items the paper covers. He said although he is new to Monticello, the paper has an
interest in serving the community. He asked that Council contact him if they have any
concerns regarding accuracy or coverage.
Brian Stumpf noted that when the Council discussed looking at other options for the official
newspaper he was surprised that it was three days before anyone from the paper contacted
him regarding the Council's discussion. Susie Wojchouski said in defense of the newspaper,
that the deadline for getting the paper out overrides other considerations. Brian Stumpf felt
that staffing issues was not an excuse for poor coverage. When the full Council meets to
discuss an issue, it is an important item warranting coverage.
Kathleen Ostroot responded that at least seven times fiber optics was covered in the paper and
she was not sure why the Council didn't feel there was coverage of this item. She stated that
the week of the Council meeting the events of the meeting are highlighted and on the off
Council week she devotes space to a more detailed story on one of the key issues of the
meeting. As managing editor it is her job to decide what stories are important.
The Council felt if the argument is used by the paper that coverage is not needed because the
item is on cable, the same argument could be made for not publishing the minutes in the paper
since there are other sources available to the public to get the same information.
Mr. Treichler reiterated that the Council should communicate any concerns about coverage to
him.
5. Adiourn.
The special meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
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