Health Care Dwelling Units

Temporary Heath Care Dwelling Units are somewhat of a new concept.  A law was passed this past legislative session to provide for these.  They are a dwelling unit of up to 300 square feet typically built somewhat like a travel trailer.  The idea for these was to provide families with a means to take care of a family member who has health issues at their home when space doesn’t exist in the home to deal with another person.  They essentially become an additional bedroom external to the home.

The person using this structure must be physically or mentally impaired.  This must be verified and involves some non-public data to be given to the city. There are also timelines for this use that need to be observed.  The structure can be used for one year and an additional year if needed.  This also requires some vigilance on the city to monitor the use and timelines.

   

The legislature passed this bill which provides for these units as an allowed use stating these must be allowed within the city unless the city opts out, by ordinance.   This approach is somewhat contrary to local control of zoning but with an “opt-out” provision the city has the ability to say no.  To say no it must pass an ordinance.  

With the statute in place the Planning Commission looked at the possibility of this and had a number of concerns.  Their concerns were mostly from a land use perspective. The structure would need to meet applicable setback requirements.  There were concerns about water and sewer connections.  They were particularly concerned about the process of removal of these structures when the time period ends. They didn’t want these to turn into spare bedrooms, student housing or vacation rentals.  They also commented that we have provisions in the code currently to provide for guest housing.   Conflicts with these and other recreational trailers or vehicles could also become a problem.  They recommended an ordinance to opt-out of the requirement at this time.  The city could remove the opt-out provision and allow these at a later date but for the time being they did not feel it in the best interest of the city to allow these.

The city council approved the ordinance opting-out of the Health Care Dwelling Units provision under state law.

  

Golf Cart Drivers

The ability to use golf carts on city streets in Breezy Point has a long history.  It has been much appreciated by the public and for the most part has gone well with few incidents or problems.  There are rules that are required under both state law as well as city ordinances that need to be observed.  Most users are respectful of these.

State law requires that owners of golf carts who drive on city streets have adequate liability insurance coverage to drive on public streets.  This is no different than state law requiring insurance on motor vehicles.  State law also requires golf carts that drive on city streets receive a permit from the city.  Insurance coverage is required before a permit can be obtained from the city.  Many insurance policies for golf carts are written to extend only for use on private property.  It becomes important that coverage is valid for use on public streets.  There has also been a concern that youth drivers may not be covered when driving a golf cart on public streets.  

When the ordinance regarding golf carts was brought up to date the provision regarding having a driver’s license was removed as we no longer can require that condition under Mn Statutes 160.045 Subd. 7.  Previously we used the requirement of a driver’s license as the threshold for the age of the driver.  Removing this requirement meant there was no minimum age for drivers of golf carts.  At the time, we didn’t think parents would allow young children to drive golf carts on their own.  We’ve come to find out differently as young children, some who can barely see over the steering wheel, are driving carts all over the city. This seemed to be a tragedy in the making.   

With concerns of safety and the possibility of insurance not covering young drivers the city took an additional step for golf cart users.  Drivers as of January 1, 2017 will be required to be at least 15 years old.  As permits are issued for 2017 the owners of golf carts will be made aware of this provision.  Enforcement activities will include, among other things, stopping youth drivers who may not be old enough to drive a golf cart on city streets.    

Lift Station 1 Maintenance

Some of you may have seen a project that occurred along Co. Rd. 4 near the Conservation Club.  Public Works, along with a contractor, were accomplishing some maintenance on Lift Station Number 1.  This lift station takes all of the wastewater in the city and pushes it through a forcemain to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The project involved the replacement of two base elbows and two check valves. 

Lift stations are built with two pumps that alternate pumping which gives us some redundancy in the system.  If one pump has problems the other pump can be used while the pump is repaired or replaced.  With the two pumps you have two sewer lines that deliver wastewater to the forcemain.  Each line required the replacement of the base elbow.  These base elbow pipes direct the flow from the pump to the forcemain. Both lift pumps had to be taken out of operation to work in a manhole that would otherwise be filled with sewage.   

The sewer system was installed in 1976.  Since that time there has been some replacement of components.  In particular, the lift station started out with smaller horsepower pumps and as they were replaced, larger pumps were installed.  The additional stress on these elbows from larger pumps eventually created wear as the elbow size had not been increased with the larger pumps.  Erosion of the pipes created leakage in the seals of these base elbows.  This not only leads to lower efficiency it also leads to eventual failure of the piping system. 

These base elbows were replaced and enlarged from a 4 inch to a 6 inch pipe.  When you have a forcemain the system needs to have check valves.  These allow for a one way flow in the pipe.  Each of the two lines has a check valve.  These were also replaced as long as the system was under repair. 

Accomplishing this took a good deal of effort.  As the lift station feeds the forcemain and all wastewater goes through this lift station a temporary bypass pipe needed to be installed.  Taking the lift station out of operation meant we needed to have an auxiliary pump of sufficient size to act as a replacement lift station.  The sewer main had to be capped at the next upstream manhole so flow was stopped before getting to this lift station, allowing for work to occur there.  The auxiliary pump was then hooked up to that manhole and connected to the bypass pipe.  The main lift station manhole was then pumped out completely so repair work could be completed.  Both pumps were removed so that the base elbows could be replaced.  With the elbows replaced and pumps reinstalled the bypass was removed and the lift station was put back in service. 

The two check valves were next.  With the lift station using one of the pumps the other sewer main saw the replacement of the check valve.  Once the replacement of that line was done the process was repeated with the other sewer main, installing a check valve there.  With that installation the project was completed. 

As stated this may not seem to be a large project.  It was however fairly complex and costly to accomplish.  The project went as well as could be expected.  Working in sewer manholes replacing parts that are 40 years old took some expertise and patience but it is now in place for hopefully another 40 years.

Pelican Lake Public Access

I had reported earlier that we had received a grant for the paving of the public landing to Pelican Lake.  This public access is off of North Drive.  The grant provides for the construction costs only.  The city has to pay other costs such as engineering.

Engineering includes, among other things, the drafting of plans and specifications, bidding process, and construction administration.  The engineering costs are somewhat higher for this project as we need to deal with prevailing wages and meeting state standards for all construction requirements. 

Bids for the project were received on August 16.  The bid for the construction work came in at $81,041.70 from Anderson Brothers Construction.  Their bid was accepted and awarded so construction will occur this fall.  Construction is proposed to start the week of September 19^th or the 26^th.  They anticipate the project will take about a week or two to accomplish. During construction the access will be closed.  

The outcome of a paved public access is something we’re all looking forward to.  Not only that, we have a more environmentally acceptable one that no longer drains gravel into the lake and drainage will be handled with a sedimentation basin.  We look forward to this being completed.