NEW ULM — The City of New Ulm will see a 4.68% increase on the property tax levy in 2021, but with an increase to the city’s tax capacity, some residents could see a slight decrease.

The New Ulm City Council unanimously approved the final 2021 budget on Tuesday. The final budget is $21,729,970, with a property tax levy of $8,266,209.

During the Dec. 1 truth in taxation meeting, the council had $15,000 removed from the training budget in the preliminary levy and $5,500 was added to the Concord Singers.

With the changes in place, the gross property tax levy is $8,266,209, representing an increase of $369,484 or 4.68% from the 2020 gross property tax levy.

New Ulm’s tax capacity increased by roughly 6.33% from 2020 to 2021. Due to this increase, the actual impact of the levy increase is an approximate 0.98% decrease in the City tax rate.

New Ulm taxpayers with no change in their estimated market value would see a slight decrease in the city portion of their property taxes.

City Denys Permit to Auto Repair Business

The council voted to deny an Interim Use Permit (IUP) by a 4-1 vote for Scott Apitz to operate a part-time auto repair business in a detached garage at 1314 S. Washington Street.

The Planning Commission had previously made a unanimous motion to deny the permit, but city staff had recommended approval of the permit.

The business was located in a residential area not zoned for an auto repair business. For this reason, the city could not approve a permit for a new business at this site. However, Apitz had operated the auto business at this location since 1988. For this reason, the city staff was willing to permit the business to continue with an IUP for another three years.

The planning commission recommended denying the permit for nine reasons, including the application did not comply with the review criteria found in City Code; safety concerns for children in the area; a larger amount of traffic using the alley at higher than normal speeds; the alley being blocked for periods of time that adversely impacted the use of the alley; approval of the request would set a precedent for allowing other car repair businesses in residential areas; approval of this request would take work away from other mechanics who legally operating businesses; noise problems; area neighbors expressing opposition identifying problems associated with the business and blight with equipment in the back yard.

Scott Apitz’s son Dave Apitz spoke during the meeting and explained this business was not his father’s main source of income. It was a side job and made very little money from it. He believed the issue was only brought to the city because the neighbors were upset about snow removal in the alley.

Kristen LeGare also spoke during the meeting. She said the main concern with business is the traffic and the danger to the children’s neighborhood. She said the business traffic has increased in the last five years. There have also been issues with the alley being blocked by vehicles.

Schmitz commented that the council could not control the amount of traffic in an alley. Even if the business permit was denied, traffic might not change.

Council President Charlie Schmitz was reluctant to deny the permit because the business was in the neighborhood for over 30 years. Even if this permit is denied, Apitz could still work on cars at this location as a hobby, which includes race cars.

“You are still going to have the exact same thing going on except there is no longer a business,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz said he had a hard time believing this part-time business caused a significant increase in traffic.

Councilor David Christian said he was torn between staff recommendations. The staff did recommend approval of the permit, but also acknowledged that new business would not be recommended at this location. In addition, the planning commission was unanimously against it.

Councilor Larry Mack did not want to start a precedent by approving this permit. He was concerned other properties illegally operating could seek a permit.

Schmitz said this would not necessarily set a precedent. He said, “just because we make an exception for one doesn’t mean we are setting a precedent that we have to do it for everyone in the future.”

Mack made the motion to deny the permit with a second from councilor Les Schultz, and it passed 4 to 1 with Schmitz voting against.

Haala Gravel Pit Licenses Approved with Conditions

Three gravel pit licenses for M.R. Paving & Excavating and Haala Real Estate were approved. The licenses for the Wallner Pit and Reinhart Pit were approved for 2021, but the Haala Pit was approved with a mandatory 60-day review to ensure new conditions were met.

The city had received a written complaint on the Haala gravel pit from Brad Castleman. Castleman lives on the 1200 block of North Garden next to the pit. In the letter he stated that in the last year sand from the pit has blown onto his property creating major issues. The sand fills up his air conditioning unit and fills up gutters. In addition, he had a concern that the slope going into the pit was too steep and represented a safety issue.

City Councilor Les Schultz said he visited the Castleman property and said it was “unbelievable, the sand, and what is saying is absolutely true. It is over everything.”

Schultz said the neighboring property has the same problem. The gutters are full of sand. He said it rains sand some days. The mine also had steep peaks of sand. Schultz wanted assurances this would be taken care of before he would approve.

Matt Mathiowetz with M.R. Paving attended the meeting to address these concerns. Mathiowetz said it was a unique problem that came up this year. There is a plan to reduce the extreme slope cited by Castleman. Within the next few weeks M.R. Paving plans to bring the slope down to a one-to-one ratio. In an effort to control the sand they will place cover material like clay or top soil to establish vegetation.

Mathiowetz said this mine is coming close to the end of its operation and there is a focus on reducing the steep slopes and establishing vegetation.

Schultz was willing to approve the permit if conditions were added to the Haala pit to ensure M.R. Paving made changes to remedy the sand and slope issues.

A 60-day review process was added to the permit. The Haala pit permit would come back to the council after 60 days to determine if necessary changes were made.

With this new condition, all three gravel pit licenses were unanimously approved by the council.

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The council awarded the professional service contract for North Highland Avenue and North Broadway Improvement project to Bolton & Menk, Inc.

The city will receive a Small Urban Grant of $539,370 for North Highland Avenue and $406,833 for North Broadway in Federal fiscal year 2023 to fund the mill and overlay of North Highland Avenue from Oak Street to Highway 14 and North Broadway from 20th North Street to the north city limits.

The proposed project includes the mill and overlay of the existing pavement surface on both roadway segments and will utilize the existing horizontal and vertical alignments. The project will also include ADA pedestrian ramp improvements where the existing ramps are deficient.

The city received four proposals for professional services with Bolton & Menk offering the lowest bid at $84,930.

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The city approved a prorated rebate for on-sale liquor licenses for the period between Nov. 21, 2020 and an anticipated opening of Dec. 18, 2020. The rebate is intended to help businesses affected by Executive Order 20-99. There are 57 licenses eligible for the renewal discount.

The council unanimously approved the rebate as a method of assisting businesses struggling with the conditions imposed by the COVID pandemic.

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At the close of the meeting, President Charlie Schmitz thanked all the citizens of New Ulm for allowing him to serve the last 12 years as City Council President. This was Schmitz’s last council meeting.

“It has been an enjoyable journey and I had a great time doing it,” he said.

Schmitz also acknowledges his successor Andrea Boettger, who will take over the Council President role in January. He said it was a historic moment because Boettger is the first woman to serve as New Ulm’s Council president.

City Manager Chris Dalton presented Schmitz with a plaque honoring his 12 years. Dalton said Schmitz did a great job of guiding the city, including during the pandemic. He said 12 years was a long time to serve the city and represented many tough decisions.

Dalton also presented former City Councilor Lisa Fischer with a plaque for her eight years of service to the council. Fischer had to resign from the council in October. The city wanted to recognize both of their service to the city.