Staff photo by Clay Schuldt A rendering of the three fourplexes planned as part of the Oak Bluffs Eighth Addition. This building project will be located on 6th North Street adjacent to the New Ulm diocese. The permit for this project was approved by the New Ulm City Council, Tuesday.

NEW ULM — Three New Ulm City councilors took the oath of office at the start of Tuesday’s council meeting.

Councilor-at-large Andrea Boettger, First Ward Councilor David Christian and Third Ward Councilor Les Schultz will start new terms on the council. Christian and Schultz were re-elected to their council seats in November. Boettger was newly elected to the council and is the first woman to serve as New Ulm City Council president.

The council also approved appointments to city committees, commissions, boards and other organizations.

Councilor Schultz will continue as council Vice-President. Roger Hippert will continue as City Attorney.

Councilor Larry Mack was reappointed to Planning Commission, and Boettger and Schultz will serve on Economic Development Authority. Christian will serve on the Park and Recreation Commission and Heritage Preservation Commission. Schultz will serve on the Cable Communication Advisory Board.

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The council approved a permit from M & D Properties to allow the development of a community unit project as part of Oak Bluffs Eighth Addition.

The project would be located at 1406-1446 North 6th Street and would involve the construction of three fourplexes on the property. City staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval of the permit as the project complies with the permit requirements. The property is already zoned to allow fourplexes and the city required this type of housing.

During previous hearings on the project, neighboring residents raised concerns about privacy screening between the backyards.

Community Development Director David Schnobrich said developers are required to create a landscaping plan. He favored evergreens as it was a year-round screen, but said this was something that could be discussed with residents in the area.

Neighbors also had concerns about traffic volumes along North Highland Avenue between North Street and State Highway 14. The proposed development would add around 24 additional vehicles to North Highland.

City Engineer Joe Stadheim believes there is significant traffic in this area during peak loading times around 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m and 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. but said the overall impact of this development on traffic would be insignificant.

Councilor Schultz said the neighbors to this project have been vocal in expressing their hurt.

“I think they are very hurt by the Dioceses that sold this property when they said they wouldn’t,” Schultz said. The owners had a view from their backyards that included wildlife and this will end with the project development. “They are just frustrated with the whole thing and the way it happened.”

Schultz commented that one concern the neighboring residents had during the first hearing was that with the sale of the land, the sidewalks would not be shoveled. This came to pass. During the first snowfall, the sidewalks were not shoveled and the city was forced to clear them.

“It is a big highly walked sidewalk on Highland,” Schultz said. He had concerns M & D Properties had missed something small like this; especially with so many frustrated neighbors.

Mike Kral from M & D Properties spoke during the meeting and gave assurances that snow removal would not be an issue in the future. He said this was a fluke and the snow removal plan was not in place at the time. It will be contracted out going forward.

“We want to be nice neighbors,” Kral said. “What we’re going to put up there is going to look nice and is going to increase the value.”

Councilor Larry Mack made the motion to approve the permit for the project. It was seconded by Christian and unanimously approved by the council.

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The owner of Skyline Terrace Apartments is planning to sell the property to M & D Properties. The council approved the transfer of ownership as the property is a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.

The apartment building is located at 2107 North Highland Avenue and has 43 units. The city established a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to assist with the project in September 2013. Using the TIF revenues, the city agreed to compensate the owner $550,000 plus 6% interest. The term for the TIF district is 25 years or $760,467 is paid to the owner. The outstanding balance is $501,761.50.

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The council authorized a commitment to submit payment to the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC). The city and Public Utilities Commission (PUC) split the cost and contributed to this fund over the last four years. The payment cost is $3,411 with each paying $1,705.50.

This payment is a voluntary assessment to fund a proactive environmental program. The program helps the CGMC participate in rulemaking and legal challenges to unscientific, unnecessary, or inappropriately applied regulations.

This an annual payment made by the city.

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Midwest Precision Tooling and Manufacturing was approved for a $50,000 loan from the city’s Revolving Loan Fund. The business is looking to make a capital investment in rehabbing the former DLC building at 1510 S. Minnesota Street.

The loan will help remodel interior infrastructure and purchase equipment for the business to become operational. The loan would before 10 years at a 1% interest rate. The business anticipates the creation of two jobs within two years of occupancy.

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Two simple lot divisions were approved by the council. The first was for a property at 2007 N. Spring Street at the request of owner Ryan Herzog. The lot will be divided into two parcels. The southern parcel would be 50 feet wide and the northern portion 100 feet wide. It was noted by city staff, this parcel has a single water and sewer service. If the second set of services is desired, it would need to be installed from the mains at the owner’s expense.

City Planner John Knisley said one of these lots was storing vehicles on the back of the lot. Staff was asked to discuss with Herzog about the plans for these vehicles. Herzog is in the process of removing these cars and plans to be done by summer 2021.

The second lot division was for the property at 1314 Westridge Road. The two parcels would include the east 90.5 feet of the outlet, containing 25,159 square feet. The other parcel would be the remaining 66,033 square feet of the lot. Two buildings are located on the property: an office building and a storage building. The division would divide the lot with a building on each parcel.