Minutes - Council - 07/11/2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

them. Mr. Kempf explained that this is not the first time they have been inconvenienced by major construction all in the name of progress. Back in 1996, when the Brandseth Addition needed to have access to sewer and water the original plan was to run it through this very same piece of property. The City contracted with Champagne Realty Company of Bloomington to get an appraisal. After the City Engineer received their appraisal he came to them and explained that there was no way the City would pay that kind of money to run sewer and water through their frontage. The City Engineer made a statement at that time that he would let the Highway Department procure the frontage in the event the highway was eventually to be widened. The sewer and water lines instead went through their back yard. Mr. Kempf questioned who is going to generate the offer now that everything is gone. The flowerbed is gone, the flagpole is gone, the trees are gone, the fence is gone, and the lawn is gone. Their noise buffer is gone, their traffic buffer is gone, and his privacy is gone. Also gone is any interest he might have received from an investment he could have made with a timely settlement. Right from the beginning, he made it clear that he wanted an early settlement. The only legitimate appraisal, in his mind, is the one that was completed with the property in its original state. Mr. Kempf contracted with a well-qualified Anoka Appraiser who completed an appraisal on September 25, 1999. His figure for this property was $24,384 and from that figure, the value of five trees can be removed. Currently there is an attempt being made to save five of the trees originally included in that appraisal. Some of their roots have been exposed for quite some time now so he did not know if that will be successful. He stated that it seems that although the City prides itself in being a "Tree City" they don't appreciate the value of large trees on a piece of property. He considers a grown tree "priceless". The reduction of those five trees rounds the number to $20,000. This then would cover the loss of 3,601.53 square feet of lawn and 333.9 square feet of temporary easement. Also included would be the loss of eight trees, the replacement of a fence, loss of privacy, loss of sound buffer, and traffic buffer. It includes loss of interest for the delay and also cost of a conditional use permit and building permit required to redo the fence. Mr. Kempf explained that he has made all the initial contacts with the City since the start of this project as he detailed in the letter to the Mayor dated April 28, 2000. That seemed to generate some action so again he initiated the process by making the above offer to the City with hopes that this issue can be closed shortly. Mayor Gamec replied that the Director of Public Works will be following up with Mr. Kempf on the issue and advised Mr. Kempf to contact the Council again if he has not been contacted by staffwithin 10 days. APPROVE AGENDA Mayor Gamec moved Case #3 to Case A. City Administrator Norman added Finance Case #2. Motion by Councilmember Connolly, seconded by Councilmember Zimmerman, to approve the agenda as amended. City Council/July 11, 2000 Page 3 of 15