It’s been five years since City Council last took up the issue of dilapidated and hazardous buildings in Grand Marais, but that doesn’t mean the problem has gone away.
On May 26, City Administrator Mike Roth and City Attorney Chris Hood laid out the options for the latest effort to allay the problem. Hood was asked by council last month to research the matter, take a look at the city’s ordinance, and report back with his findings.
Roth said there is a section in the City Code defining nuisances and allowing prosecution as a potential criminal offense. “We do have that tool,” Roth said.
However, if council chooses to go that route, he said, it would be difficult to build a case and prove it in court.
For one thing, the city has no designated sanitarian or health inspector, Roth said. For another thing, city officials cannot go onto property without the consent of the owner to look around and decide if a health or safety hazard exists. To do that, the city would have to procure an administrative search warrant. “Who among us is qualified or trained to make a ‘hazardous’ determination?” asked Roth. “Saying it’s hazardous is one thing, but saying it’s hazardous because it meets these six conditions is more powerful.”
Furthermore, said Roth, there’s very little middle ground: either the city talks nicely to the property owners in an effort to gain cooperation, or it prepares to sue them.
Attorney Hood said the city could order a hazard to be repaired, and recover the costs through assessment or property tax bills, much like what was being considered earlier this year with the Shoreline Motel sign. Roth said the city has never done that before, and such an action would likely be challenged. “Yes, all costs are recoverable in court,” he said. “But it’s still a risk, and probably an expensive one.”
Councilor Tim Kennedy observed that the city needs “some very clear evidence of a hazard—a piece falling off a roof isn’t going to do it.”
Kennedy was referring to an incident about two years ago in which a cement-coated panel fell off the old theater building on Wisconsin Street and damaged a parked car. In fact, it was that incident which sparked the latest discussions on the topic.
Roth said there are “all kinds of bad buildings around town that are in rough shape,” and Kennedy questioned if it was a high enough priority to pursue. After all, he said, no one knows how the theater building was repaired, if there’s any danger of a heavy chunk falling off again, or what condition the interior of the building is in.
Councilors agreed that the theater building was their main concern—in addition to the crumbling exterior, there have been rumors of animals living inside—and thus decided to forego a citywide crackdown on dilapidated structures and instead try to remedy the situation at the theater.
Mayor Sue Hakes said she would contact the building’s owner to gauge his interest in allowing an inspection and doing any repairs deemed necessary. Hakes said she’d rather talk to the owner first, before an official “cold” letter is sent from the city threatening legal action. But, she said, “We can’t ignore a safety issue, either.”
In other news:
• During a budget work session prior to the regular meeting, councilors decided to eliminate the $9,600 Cable Fund (which has been inactive) and reduce by $20,000 the amount earmarked for site upgrades at the Rec Park campground this year. The cuts were necessary to cover a state-ordered $33,352 reduction in the city’s market value homestead credit. Roth said it is the fourth Local Government Aid cut the city has had to deal with in the past two years. State aid payments this year are
expected to total $111,600; by comparison, the city received $365,199 from the state
in 2001.
• Approval was given to the Chamber of Commerce to hold the annual Classic Car Show June 12 in the Artist Point parking lot. Chamber Director Bev Wolke said there are some changes planned for this year such as allowing the Girl Scouts to sell
hot dogs, blocking off some streets to allow parade participants to stay together,
and posting more signs along the highway to alert passersby of the event.
• Council approved, by a 3-1 vote, a conditional use permit allowing Greg Nichols to build a fitness studio on his West First Street property. Councilor Kay Costello voted no, saying she doesn’t think the studio belongs in a residential neighborhood. “But I’d love to see it where it belongs. It would be better for the community and the
business if it were in a commercial zone,” she said. Mayor Hakes recused herself from
the vote, citing a conflict of interest.
• A $1,000 request from the Playhouse to help fund the summer internship program was not acted on, because the city’s donations funds have been
exhausted. The Playhouse board will be sent a letter asking them to make their
request for next year during city budget talks in the fall.
• Hakes asked council to consider placing baskets of hand-held orange flags at crosswalks along the highway to enhance pedestrian safety. Hakes, who got the suggestion from Jan Horak, said she looked into it and found that other cities have instituted similar programs. It would be an inexpensive way to increase visibility and slow down traffic, said the mayor. Pedestrians would be instructed to pick up a flag and wave it as they cross the highway, and then deposit it in the basket on the opposite side of the street.
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