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Councilmember Woestehoff noted that he does see these services if he drives on the streets and <br /> sees street lights. He stated that when it comes to public safety, the City cannot just bill the people <br /> who drive on the roads and use the lights at night and it is more fair to just spread this across every <br /> resident. He added that Mr. Hemp utilizes these services even if he doesn't realize it. <br /> Mr. Hemp stated that he does his own recycling; however, he has never once seen someone come <br /> out to his property for recycling. <br /> Councilmember Woestehoff noted that it is his choice to do his own recycling. <br /> Councilmember Howell empathized with Mr. Hemp as she had asked the same questions when <br /> she had received these bills. She noted that for those who do not have lights or sewer drains on <br /> their streets,they do not see the same value as those who do have these things. She stated that even <br /> though she understands these concerns firsthand, she still pays her bills as it is part of being in the <br /> City. She stated that she does not like this either as she also does not see the benefit of it. She noted <br /> that the contract for the recycling is a five year contract that is up in 2025. She added that this <br /> contract was decided by a previous Council. She stated that this may be able to be revisited when <br /> the contract is up with a possibility of letting all residents figure out their own recycling. <br /> City Attorney Knaak explained that the State has authorized cities to treat lights as a common <br /> utility and to assess residents equally. He noted that it is the same with drainage and they have <br /> their own statutory authorization for this. He shared that the thought process behind this is that <br /> everyone is getting `taxed' for the purpose of taking care of drainage in high traffic areas. He <br /> reiterated that this is just part of the cost of living in a city. <br /> Mr. Hemp stated that the Council also just heard from another resident who is not seeing the <br /> services that he pays taxes for. <br /> City Attorney Knaak stated that Mr. Hemp could suggest to the Council that they look at a different <br /> way of doing this assessment. He noted that there are things that can be done to modify this. <br /> Mr. Hemp shared that the citizens would appreciate that. He added that he was assessed a fine a <br /> few years ago due to not having enough gravel on his driveway which resulted in him having to <br /> hire an attorney and ended up spending over $5,000 on a fine that was dropped because the City <br /> then verified that there was no violation. He asked how he can go about being reimbursed for a <br /> fine that should have never been sent to him. <br /> City Attorney Knaak stated that Mr. Hemp has every right to challenge the City; however, usually <br /> cities that operate using their discretion have a lot of discretion. He noted that challenging the City <br /> may not be very successful. He acknowledged the frustration; however, it is a little late to be <br /> dealing with the issue of the fine from a few years ago. He stated that he can contact his <br /> Councilmember to ask them to have a discussion surrounding this. <br /> Mr. Hemp asked who he should talk to about getting reimbursed for the fine for his driveway. <br /> City Attorney Knaak stated that he can always petition the Council. <br /> City Council/ September 26, 2023 <br /> Page 7 of 16 <br />