Building owners no longer to pay fee for lots

The Albert Lea City Council unanimously approved repealing the downtown parking maintenance district Monday.

Business owners in the district were charged a fee — about $350 a year, according to Assistant City Manager Jerry Gabrielatos — for parking lot and some street work, including street sweeping, garbage pickup, lighting and other work.

The measure repeals all future assessments, boundaries and procedures for property owners in the district. More than 100 parcels are included in the district.

“The city’s general fund is expected to support ongoing maintenance to downtown streets and parking lots with some likely future revenue sources being created in the next year or two,” Albert Lea City Manager Chad Adams said in a report.

The measure was tabled at the Aug. 8 council meeting to allow sufficient opportunity for downtown property owners and the general public to respond to the measure.

Third Ward Councilor George Marin noted he has advocated for repealing the district and thanked Gabrielatos for his work in the process.

“It is very pleasing to see that we are making this step,” Marin said. “I think it is an historic step to benefit the downtown property owners there of the buildings.”

Marin called the downtown parking lot maintenance district an “extreme inequity” at the Aug. 8 meeting, noting the district almost penalized downtown building owners.

The council established the goal following its annual retreat and goal-setting session.

The district’s budget is about $35,000 to $40,000 each year.

Albert Lea Mayor Vern Rasmussen Jr. said he supported the repealing of the district.

“We’re the only city in the state of Minnesota that we could find that really did this,” Rasmussen said. “So I thought it was kind of antiquated in its process right now, so i think moving forward, it will be a much better way.”

Gabrielatos said the city will work with downtown property owners in the next year to “devise a way to make parking work better for visitors and employees, and also trying to generate some of the lost revenue.”

In other action, the council:

• Accepted the 2017 Toward Zero Deaths enforcement grant award for $20,650 to pay overtime to officers working designated enforcement waves in the fall and into 2017. The money will be shared with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office.

• Approved an administrative lot survey as part of a purchase of land by Minnesota Energy Resources Co. from Greater Jobs Inc.

Minnesota Energy Resources hopes to build a new facility southeast of Crossroads Boulevard and Betha Larson Lane by the end of this year, and is currently leasing office space in the old Sun Room Concepts building and has warehouse space in the Albert Lea Business Development Center.

• Rescinded the sale of real estate at 1761 Pride Lane from the city of Albert Lea to Glacier Properties LLC. Freeborn County requested the council pass a resolution stating it would not purchase the property so the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners can list it for sale in September.

• Approved a $2,186 donation from Albert Lea Rotary Club for dog park expenses.

• Approved an administrative lot survey to combine the lots at 1711 and 1709 Keystone Drive into one parcel.

• Approved opting out of a state requirement that requires municipalities to permit temporary health care dwellings, unless the municipality passed an ordinance to opt out of the ordinance.

• Scheduled a budget work session for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1.

• Entered closed session for discussion and negotiation of labor union contracts.