A good portion of the Tuesday, May 3, Clarion City Council meeting was taken up by a nuisance hearing about a couple of properties owned by Larry Maasdam. The properties in question are the 1520 Central Ave E and 305 4th St NW lots, the two properties on the east and west edges of Clarion that have farm equipment on them. The purpose of the hearing was for the council to decide if the properties should indeed be declared as nuisances and what timeframe to give the owner to rectify the violations.
First, Lisa Kist, the city’s code enforcement officer, presented photos of the properties in question and pointed out violations such as dilapidated buildings, junk, and broken-down equipment. She discussed code pertaining to junkyards. Mayor Rod Heiden voiced that a fence on certain areas of the property would alleviate the problem. “When you’re driving down Highway 3, the people who don’t want to see the equipment don’t have to [if a fence is erected], and the people who do want to see the equipment can still drive through it,” said Heiden.
Maasdam spoke about the properties and the equipment in them. “I don’t think you folks realize how many people go through that lot [on the east side of town],” he said. “If you put a fence up, people won’t see it.” Maasdam talked about his contributions to Heartland Museum and to the city. “It seems like every four years, this comes up with a new council.” He added that if the city pursues action, he may consider auctioning off all the equipment, including what’s in the museum and rescinding permission for the city to use his property for a sign.
Art Cady, Maasdam’s lawyer, asked the council to reconsider their position and give him time to come up with a plan. Multiple council members expressed willingness to work with Maasdam to come up with a solution. In the end, the group tabled the matter and planned to visit Maasdam’s properties. They plan to revisit the matter in late June.
In other council matters, a public hearing was held to approve the plans, specifications, form of contract and cost estimate (about $1 million) for a new road in White Fox Landing. The road will allow more lots to be opened up. No public comments were made. An ISG engineer noted that the project will go to bid but that still won’t obligate the council to move forward on the plan. He added though that the project would likely get more costly the longer they wait. The council approved the plans.
A new housing utility rebate program was tabled so more specifics could be addressed regarding multi-family dwellings. Several pay requests for the early learning center were approved. The city attorney noted that the deed transferring ownership of the Mosaic building to the city has been recorded.
The council also approved a resolution officially changing the meeting times to 5:00 p.m. starting for the next meeting on June 7. Meetings will still be the first and third Tuesday of the month.
