The Stanley Common Council met Monday, Jan. 19 in city hall. Among agenda items was a proposed car wash on North Broadway, approved with the stipulation that it be substantially completed by January 2029.
Syndi and Chad Halterman attended to answer any further questions that the Council may have.
Alderperson Mark Fitzsimmons mentioned that the chemical list was approved.
“There was a little bit of a concern with the wastewater treatment that that’s high in ammonia,” added Alderperson Jason Meyer. “She said she talked to Dave Jensen and he said they could change it out but “it’s such an insufficient amount it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Fitzsimmons confirmed that they will have a chemical room so “if something spilled it didn’t all end up going down at one time.”
Halterman also confirmed that the car wash will be located next to the Don Smith’s lot.
“How long before you’d have it completed,” asked Mayor Mike Henke. “Generally, 1/28?”
“Hopefully be done by then barring any problems,” Syndi Halterman replied. “It takes about 18 months from start to finish,” she explained. “So, if we can’t start this summer, we would have to start next summer.”
Henke mentioned that a general completion date was needed.
Chad Halterman added that it could take eight months for the state plans alone.
“I’m hoping to break ground this year, but I don’t know. I can’t give you that,” Syndi stated mentioning that it depends on the availability of their contractor and getting the state plans approved.
The council amended and approved the original agreement to add that the project be substantially completed generally by January 2029.
Also from Monday, the council voted to hire Duane Siverling for a maintenance position, at a rate of $30 per hour. Ben Wald along with Jacob Lukes and Joe Schmitt performed the interview on the new hire. Alderperons Jason Meyer and Laurie Foster stated that they didn’t receive any information on the candidates for the position. Meyer was a backup alternate if needed. Wald said they interviewed two individuals and made an offer to Siverling, who can start Feb. 2.
“He has a pretty extensive background in maintenance,” said Wald.
“And he has a CDL,” stated Pilgrim.
Due to previous contentious issues regarding employee hiring, Meyer asked if Wald or Schmitt previously knew this individual and they said no. “First time I met him,” said Schmitt. There were 6 applicants but only 2 responded for interviews.
“He requested $30, which is right in the middle of the $28 and $32 we offered,” said Wald. He said he had a “little bit of wastewater experience as well.”
Alderperson Mark Fitzsimmons asked if the individual lives in the area and it was confirmed that he lives in Cadott.
The council approved the hiring of Duane Siverling as wastewater operator to start on Feb. 2 at $30 per hour with a raise of $.25 per hour for required certifications. Laurie Foster voted ‘no’ on hiring Silverling for maintenance.
In police matters, Stanley Police Chief Lance Weiland approached the Council with concerns for the upper level of a property located at 117 N. Broadway Street, above Cantina Margaritas.
“There’s a bunch of issues,” Weiland said. The property owner had presumably made residential living quarters of multiple apartments up there but the property was not zoned for that. Weiland mentioned that there isn’t any heat or ductwork, he doesn’t think there are smoke detectors, and the stairs are probably not up to code. Residents use a space heater for heat. The electrical doesn’t appear to be up to code either. When the residents try to use more than one space heater, it trips the breaker and access to the breaker is in another place that is locked. Each apartment should also have its own address and they do not which poses a risk during emergency calls.
Weiland answered, “I feel like there’s a lot of issues that are a safety concern for not only the residents who are living there but also the people that might be patronizing the restaurant.”
He cited ordinances that show that the city needs to be involved in this issue due to probable violations. “I definitely think there’s something the city needs to do to address it,” he said. “We need to have these minimum standards in place to protect the people that maybe otherwise can’t protect themselves in a sense.”
He did add that at this point there is nothing criminal going on but ordinance violations.
Weiland added that they need real solutions here.
Henke asked Weiland if they need to send a building inspector and fire inspector to the property. City Administrator Nicole Pilgrim informed the council that there have been fire inspections there but only in the common areas.
“Things need to be updated because that’s safety hazards,” commented Alderperson Laurie Foster expressing her concern. “We need to get that taken care of before somebody gets hurt.”
As the City building inspector on staff is not a certified building inspector, Pilgrim stated that the county would need to send someone. Weiland also told the council that inspections can only be performed if the residents give permission so if they can’t get permission then the city would need to issue an inspection warrant. The council approved contacting the county to have an inspector come and inspect the property.
Closing out the council update, Alderperson Keith Samuelson asked the council to reconsider the current winter overnight parking ordinance in the city. He is requesting alternate parking for the winter overnight parking ordinance.
Weiland mentioned that first issue with that request is that not all the house numbers in Stanley are even or odd on each side of the streets. Samuelson recommended that it would go by direction (east, west, north, etc.)
“It’s just going to screw everything up,” Joe Schmitt admitted and explained that it would double overtime for snow plowing. He said they would only be able to plow half of a street instead of the whole street. He reminded the council of the city owned parking lots that the city provides for residents in apartments that don’t have parking. He anticipated even more complaints regarding unplowed streets if this parking system gets approved.
The council decided to not change the overnight winter parking restrictions at this time.