June 3 – JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council on Monday, June 3, unanimously approved a special use permit for property located at 1512 Business Loop East.
The special use permit applies to plots five and six of Lübeck’s First Addition.
The request for a special use permit would allow the property to be a temporary storage location for vehicles that have been vandalized or vehicles where Jamestown Police or the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office are awaiting paperwork.
Councilor David Steele said the terms of the special use permit include:
* Installing a 2.5 meter high opaque fence around the stored vehicle area.
* No vehicles may be visible above the fencing.
* Fencing must be installed no later than one year after the issuance of a special use permit or WITHIN one year after approval of a floodplain permit.
*All impounded or damaged vehicles must be stored within the gated area.
*All vehicle storage must be located outside the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s preliminary 100-year floodplain.
* Vehicle recovery activities, including crushing or dismantling of vehicles and stripping and selling of car parts, are prohibited on site.
*Stacking vehicles is prohibited.
Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said the special use permit could be revoked if the owner doesn’t comply with the terms.
In December 2021, Brian Hanson, owner of Budget Auto Sales & Service, applied for a special use permit to use the property as outdoor storage for motor vehicles. Some city council members at the time said the area resembled a junkyard.
At the May meeting of the Jamestown Building, Planning and Zoning Committee, city council members said the site has been improved and there is a need for a temporary storage location for impounded and towed vehicles.
The City Council unanimously approved awarding a bid to Swanberg Construction Inc. of Valley City, North Dakota, for the McElroy Park sanitary sewer main relocation project.
The bid is $382,000. The existing main lift station at McElroy Park would be relocated. About 800 to 1,000 feet of main pipeline would be rerouted.
The new construction to renovate the McElroy Park field would impact the main line, The Jamestown Sun reported in April. The relocation of the power line is necessary in case future repairs are needed. If repairs are needed at the current location, the grass field in the new baseball facility would have to be dug up.
City Engineer Travis Dillman said he expects the project to start in late summer or early fall.
The City Council unanimously approved a cost reimbursement agreement with the North Dakota State Water Commission for the second phase of the 96-inch stormwater replacement project.
The agreement states that the State Water Commission will provide the City of Jamestown with a cost share not to exceed $363,552 to reimburse 5.6% of the actual eligible costs incurred in the 96-inch stormwater replacement project.
“This was the original agreement and I was told that we have to sign the original agreement even though they (State Water Commission) will hopefully approve a new agreement on June 13,” Heinrich said. “The original agreement was that we would have a 5.6% cost share and with the new agreement… the cost share will be 28%.”
The first phase included repairing a 96-inch stormwater pipe near Applebee’s last year. Stormwater runoff and flooding resulted in the failure of the pipe south of 25th Street Southwest and east of 8th Avenue Southwest. The sinkhole at the site was estimated at a depth of 40 to 15 feet.
The second phase of the project consists of replacing the storm sewer with a 96-inch pipe running north from 25th Street Southwest, east of U.S. Highway 281 and toward Interstate 94.
The city council unanimously approved a renewed street closure policy.
The updated street closure policy now includes a $300 fee for community-based events. The fee is less than half of what it costs in labor and equipment to set up a street closure.
Community-based events are events that adults and children can attend and are not just open to one group of people.
Public Works Director Tyler Michel said organizers of the Community Block Party and Rods & Hogs & Things who created VROOM! were fine with paying the fee.
“They realized that the service we were providing for the price we were doing it for was very low, so they didn’t have a problem with it,” he said.
He said the Arts Center has its own equipment for street closures. He said the Arts Center staff sets up and takes down the equipment.
“They wouldn’t actually be part of that public-friendly part,” he said.
Michel said city staff would continue to set up additional dumpsters and roll-offs for the Runnin O’ the Green.
He suggested the council could waive the $300 fee for the Runnin O’ the Green.
“This is the right thing to do for the community,” he said.
In other areas, the city council unanimously approved:
* the appointment of Pamela Perleberg to the Jamestown Planning Commission. Perleberg will serve an unexpired five-year term that expires in August 2028.
* Ordinance No. 1578 to amend and reinstate Ordinance 1556 of the City Code by amending the District Map to change the zoning of Block One, Lots 1-8 of Ratunil Acres. The property, which has no street address, will be zoned as a general commercial district rather than a residential and duplex or two-family district. The property is located south of 33rd Street Southeast and between the Stutsman County Fairgrounds and the Anchor Bar.
