City officials propose ordinance changes, discuss nuisance vehicles

New Rockford city commissioners reviewed several ordinance changes Monday, which were proposed by city attorney Travis Peterson.

At the Nov. 1 regular meeting, Peterson brought the proposed revisions for a first reading. He noted that all were the result of discussions held at previous meetings on a variety of issues.

There were two primary changes, for which language was revised in several sections as needed. First, the commission sought to take control of making determinations regarding violations of the health and public nuisance ordinances. Specifically, Peterson proposed revising the make-up of the “board of health” as referenced in ordinances so that the city commission alone can act as the board of health. The current ordinance states that the board of health is composed of the city physician and the city commission.

Revisions were made in various sections of Chapter 7 (Health) that contained references to the board of health. For example, 07-04-05 was revised as such: “The board of health or building official, or authorized representative of either, shall determine that a dwelling is unfit for human habitation.” The term “board of health” was added and the word “city” in front of “building official” was removed. This change gives the city commission the power to inspect properties to evaluate their condition and initiate the process of demolition for property that does not meet the criteria as outlined later in Section 5.

References to the building official remain, to allow for the appointment of such an official if deemed necessary in the future. However, a slight revision allows for the city commission to act as the building official in the absence of one. The city hasn’t had a building official for many years.

The revised language states, “During temporary absence or disability or vacancy of office of the building official, the Board of City Commissioners shall act as the building official.”

Peterson also sought to remove the 30-day jail sentence provision as a penalty for city offenses. The language “or by imprisonment not to exceed thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment” was in several ordinances, including Chapter 01-02-08 (General penalty), Chapter 10-03-04 and 10-03-08 (Public nuisance violations and penalty), Chapter 07-03-05 (Garbage disposal penalty), and Chapter 07-04-16 (Penalties for violations of health ordinances).

Additionally, four sections of the ordinances are slated for repeal. Three sections within Article 1 of Chapter 2, which outline that jail time or labor can be used as a sanction for non-payment of fines, are no longer in accordance with state law. The fourth section to be repealed states that city tree board members “shall serve without compensation.” The commission wants to have the authority to decide whether tree board members should receive compensation for work completed.

Later in the meeting, commissioners held a first reading for yet another ordinance change. This one, which revises Chapter 01-07-02, gives the city the ability to spend up to $200,000 on city projects without engaging in the competitive bidding process. This action will bring the city up to the level approved by the state legislature, and will open the door for the city to make ADA-accessible sidewalk improvements on an as-needed basis without engaging an engineer.

Commissioners say this will keep the cost more affordable and allow them to complete the installations as funding allows, rather than all at once.

The second reading for all the above ordinance changes will take place at the Dec. 6 meeting.

Copies of the marked-up ordinances are published in pdf form and available at this link, https://www.newrockfordtranscript.com/home/cms_data/dfault/pdfs/misc/2021-11-08, for readers who want to see the context of the changes in print.

Commissioners also asked for an update on nuisance vehicles. According to Public Works Superintendent Bruce Hirchert, the impound lot is full. The sheriff’s office has eight vehicles on the lot, and the city has four.

After a vehicle is brought to the impound lot, it must be held for at least 90 days to allow the owner to recover it. Once the 90 days have passed, however, the city can then declare the vehicle abandoned property and go through the process of disposal or sale.

The city towed six vehicles this year, although there were several more that were deemed nuisance property.

“It’s just an ongoing problem,” Commissioner Kelly McKnight noted.

President Stu Richter asked Peterson to review the process for disposing of abandoned property and determine if there are any ways they can expedite it.

Commissioners also asked about the possibility of creating a new impound lot. Among the options, they discussed either using the city-owned area south of the Eagles Club by the compost pile, or purchasing privately-owned lots on the west end of town near the Divide Electrical shop. The topic will be placed on the agenda for the December meeting.

In other business, the commission:

• Ordered the demolition of a substandard home on Fifth Street.

• Approved three building permit applications and one application for housing incentives.

• Reviewed and approved a change order reducing the cost of the water plant updates by $7,250. 

• Authorized a $38,502.57 payment to Sentry Crane for work completed at the water plant in October.