Abby asked to extend recently installed fence
The family of a woman living on Pine Street in Abbotsford is asking the city council to extend a recently installed fence to keep kids from cutting through her yard.
Barb Stuttgen, daughter of Pearl Olson, spoke to the council at its monthly meeting on Monday about the issues at her mother’s house at 302 W. Pine St. She said a fence recently erected by the city does not reach the end of her mother’s property line.
“What’s happening is kids are cutting through her property,” she said. “All we want is the fence extended and the grass that’s on the end of the fence to be taken care of.”
Stuttgen said she realizes that a walking path is being put in, but she thinks kids will just naturally go through her mother’s yard because it’s right off the road.
“Kids are kids, let’s face it,” she said. “The road is right there.”
The stretch of fence is currently about 15 feet long.
“We just want it continued to the end of the property,” she said. “We’re not asking for much.”
Mayor Jim Weix volunteered to go out and look at the fence so he could bring more information back to the council before its next committee of the whole meeting on July 21.
DPW Craig Stuttgen noted that the fence was approved as a barrier between the nearby soccer field and the residences along Pine Street.
“It’s not really designed to keep people out,” he said. “It’s designed to keep balls from rolling into the neighbors’ yards.”
Craig Stuttgen said the fence was deliberately kept shorter in that spot so that the city’s lawnmower can get around it and to allow enough space for the property owners to mow their side.
The city is in the process of crushing asphalt material for the base of a walking trail that will lead to the playground and soccer field in the Schilling Meadows subdivision.
“Hopefully, once we get that trail in there, it will look like the correct path to access,” Craig Stuttgen said.
Zeiset appointed to the council
For the first time in awhile, the city council has a full eight members.
Jeremiah Zeiset was appointed Monday to fill a Ward 2 seat vacated by Brent Faber, who resigned earlier this year due to health problems.
Zeiset is owner of Aneko Press, an Abbotsford- based company that publishes Christian books.
Raze order issued
The council approved a raze order for an outbuilding at Lot 7 in the mobile home park at 605 N. Second St. Council members had previously reviewed pictures of the two-part building, which was built without a permit and is currently filled with junk.
Mayor Weix asked the council to consider giving the owner a couple more weeks to take down the building on his own, but council members decided that he had been given plenty of opportunity to address the situation before this.
Under the terms of the raze order, the property owner will have five days from the time he receives a warning letter from the police department to tear down the structure, or he will start being fined $250 per day.
The council recently issued a similar raze order to the owner of an unsafe house on Second Street, and within days, the house was totally torn down.
Ald. Lori Huther said the raze order shouldn’t come as a shock to the property owner, and she disagreed with giving him another two weeks or a month.
“If we can give five days for a house, we should be able to give five days for a shed,” she said.
Other business
_ The council approved a motion authorizing the public works department to spend no more than $80,000 on a bucket truck. Stuttgen said he thinks they should be able to find a slightly used truck for around $75,000, and the department also plans on selling its old bucket truck. The public works equipment fund currently has $106,000 in it.
_ City administrator Dan Grady told the council that the city has received its first payment of $116,862 from the American Recovery Act, which can be used to pay for water and sewer improvements, among other things. The city will receive a second payment of the same amount next year, Grady noted.
Grady also told the council that the city is without a main tornado siren after someone ran into the pole with their vehicle. He said the cost of replacing the siren will be covered by the driver’s insurance.
_ Library director Jenny Jochimsen said the library is “slowly but steadily” returning to normal activity after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. She said both circulation and patron count numbers are up from one month to the next.
Jochimsen also pointed out that four youths were banned from the library for a six-month period after they caused several problems while the carnival was being set up for Abby Festival this year. Police were contacted after they were reported throwing rocks and harassing people outside the library.
Ald. Dennis Kramer told Jochimsen that some out-of-state guests of his visited the library and were very impressed with how it was run.
_ The council approved a $194,879 pay request for Switlick and Sons for all of the work done so far on North Fourth Avenue. The council approved an $893 change order on the project, which was needed to cover the unexpected cost of excavating a fire hydrant.
_ Utility operator Josh Soyk told the council that some additional lead joints need to be replaced on water mains in the 400 block of Butternut Street. Similar joints were previously found on Fourth Avenue during construction. He said they do not present an immediate health hazard, but they do need to be replaced.
“To the best of my knowledge, that’s all that’s left (in the city),” he said.
_ The council renewed three alcohol operator’s permits, for Brenda Gomez at Kwik Trip, Ricky Lamp at Dollar General and Michelle Albrecht at the Abby-Colby Crossings Chamber of Commerce.
