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SQUEEZED AT VICTORIA CITY OFFICE
EXPANDING INTO A CORNER OF THE HALL
Victoria City Offices are crowded and, with the hiring of an assistant city planner and assistant building inspector, they are getting more crowded.
On August 11th Victoria councilmem-bers accepted the recommendation of staff to construct office space in a corner of the large Village Hall, just to the north of the entrance door. The 13-foot by 13-foot room will consist of ten-foot walls but no ceiling.
Said City Administrator Steve Sarvi, "We would like to keep everybody to-gether in one building. It's more efficient for us and more efficient for people coming in with questions."
Steve said he contacted the Victoria Lions about this proposal and "they didn't think it would interfere with their activi-ties." The Lions hold their twice-monthly full membership dinner meetings at the Hall, as well as larger holiday and special occasion gatherings that include spouses. Kitchen and restroom facilities at the Hall remain unaffected by putting an office space in the opposite corner.
According to the city administrator, the room will provide space for two em-ployees, including Bill Schwanke, the building inspector. Cost for setting up the computers in that room will not exceed $500. Total move cost is $1,250. The city administrator pointed out, "This is a small price to pay for us to maintain our ability to better meet our residents' needs."
Although the motion received unani-mous approval, Councilmember Mary Thun said she was hoping for greater use of the Acorn House at Diethelm Park. The Acorn House is currently and regu-larly used by the Victoria Senior Citizens, the Scouts, and also as a Pre-school.
If some city offices were to be located on the second level of the Acorn House, Steve pointed out there would be handicapped accessibility issues
VICTORIA AT "TREMENDOUS FIRE"
15 FIRE DEPARTMENTS REPRESENTED
Said Victoria Fire Chief Tim Walsh, "We're looking at charging for false alarms and chemical hazardous material spills, to get reimbursed." He said he is also hoping to charge for expenses related to non-permitted burns and some traffic accidents.
In other words, the Fire Department would like to recoup some of its costs through the entities creating those costs.
Tim gave a brief commentary at this August 25th city council meeting on a large fire at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Shakopee, which suffered much damage on Wednesday, August 24th.
More than $1 million had recently been spent on exterior renovation of the large church, which was built in 1865.
Chief Walsh called it "a tremendous fire" in which Victoria firefighters spent "tremendous hours helping out." He said that six members of the Victoria Fire Department left that morning at 6 o'clock and most of them didn't get home until 7 or 7:30 p.m.
He said 15 different departments were represented and 150 to 200 firefighters were involved at the church. "We shifted a lot of resources around to keep everybody covered," said Tim. "It's the biggest thing I've ever seen."
He praised the employers of the fire-fighters who provided the opportunity for them to stay on duty for the duration.
NEXT ON VICTORIA SCENE: KREY LAKES
PROPOSED BY HARTMAN AND PEMTOM
Councilmembers approved the pre-liminary plat, rezoning, and conditional use permit for a PUD subdivision to be known as Krey Lakes and Krey Lakes East, as proposed by Hartman Communi-ties and Pemtom Land Company.
City Planner Eric Zweber reported on August 25th that the development will consist of 187 single family lots on 184 acres just west of the Victoria business district, south of, adjacent to, and on both sides of the Maple Drive residents along Highway 5.
Eric said the developer is proposing three phases to include, first 86 lots, then 56 lots, and finally 45 lots adjacent to Krey Lake.
He pointed, among other things, to a neighborhood park, ball fields, a new lift station, and a state aid street that traverses the development from one end to the next. A state aid street requires a posted speed of 35 mph.
Ken Essig, chair of the Laketown Township Board, spoke that evening of August 24th. "The developer had an Open House. We're satisfied with what's been done. It does create a new situation for the Kargs. We appreciate the work of the Planning Commission, Council, and City Planner. The residents do want to know if they're going to have the same level of maintenance on that gravel road."
As the acreage is annexed into the City of Victoria, the city rather than the township becomes responsible for road maintenance and other municipal services.
Don and Elaine Karg's home will remain on a large lot within the Kreys Lake development scheme, but ingress and egress off their property must be com-pletely changed.
Stated Mr. Karg, "We've owned that property since 1964. We have no ease-ments whatsoever on our land. We own it to the middle of the road. It's going to stay gravel out to the middle of the road."
City Planner Eric Zweber said to Vic-toria councilmembers, "The developer and I have pledged to work with him."
A resolution approving the subdivi-sion passed unanimously. Developer Terry Hartman was in attendance to an-swer questions. Stated Mayor Bohn, "Congratulations, Terry."
GROWTH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
TO HELP GUIDE GROWTH IN VICTORIA
Councilmembers reviewed and dis-cussed Growth Management Guidelines as presented in the past by City Planner Eric Zweber at a council workshop. The guidelines, which award points for pursuing various city goals, are already used in some respects as developers con-tinue to develop in Victoria, which is ex-panding with the addition of annexation property.
The guidelines were fornally tabled, however, for further refinement. Council-member Mary Thun said she couldn't see why the city should reward developers for doing what is required of them by city ordinance. She said she would like more points awarded for other things like pro-viding more erosion control or tree pres-ervation or downtown parking, for exam-ple.
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