The Devils Lake City Commission held a regular meeting on Monday, June 19 at 5:30 p.m. After approving the previous meeting’s minutes, the city recognized water treatment employee Paul Arends for 25 years of service to the City of Devils Lake. The commission then approved conditional use permits for the building of a church by Church of God Seventh Day at 607 5th St SE, as well as to allow outbuildings at 1315 Hwy 2 E to be used as cold storage by Alken Glass Unlimited, LLC. Maddie Cummings from the Lake Region Public Library presented 2022’s annual report to the commission, highlighting statistics from the past year and prefacing some budget requests that will be made next month. Commissioner portfolios did not need any action taken, but recognized that the 4th of July parade will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4, and that homestead tax credit applications are available at the city engineer’s office. Recognition was also held for the citizen members of the Domestic Fowl Committee, who were not in attendance at the meeting.
Short updates from City Administrator Spencer Halvorson and City Attorney Jack Yunker included budget meetings to be held in July, a nuisance ordinance to be reviewed by the commissioners, and waiting to hear back from the Law Enforcement Center’s attorney regarding pending facility agreements. Under new business, Rodger Haugen was unanimously approved to be reappointed to the Planning Commission, and Angry Beaver Tree Service was awarded a bid for tree trimming not to exceed $26,000. The post office in town submitted documentation to request the waiving of special assessments to the building since it is a federal entity and therefore exempt from city- and county-level assessments. City Attorney Yunker and City Administrator Halvorson stated that there is essentially no choice but to comply with this decision. The commission voted unanimously with a roll call vote to waive USPS’s $14,375.22 in principal payments and over $6,000 in interest. The commission then unanimously approved a special liquor license for Ed’s Bait Shop to serve alcohol at a wedding at the Memorial Building.
Administrator Halvorson then gave a settlement offer submitted by Corporate Technologies relating to the data loss incident earlier this year that resulted in the loss of property information of hundreds of residential parcels. Corporate Technologies has offered to pay $45,000 towards the process to recover this information. Acceptance of this payment would result in the dropping of all claims against them. Commissioners expressed dissatisfaction with this figure, as more could potentially be recouped in a lawsuit scenario. After some discussion, Attorney Yunker stated that the conversation was veering into information that did not belong in a public meeting but rather an executive session; if the commission wanted to approve the $45,000 payment, they could, but if not, it needed to be tabled for a closed session. Following this, a motion was made and seconded to accept the $45,000 settlement from Corporate Technologies. The motion carried 3-2 with a roll call vote, with Commissioners Pierce and Hamre voting against.
A representative of Unpopped Colonels, LLC was present to request a public investment of $200,000 from the City of Devils Lake towards the renovation and reopening of the movie theater in town. They have decided to name it Encore 301, and pending supply chain issues, a potential opening date can be expected around Labor Day. The city commission voted unanimously to approve a $200,000 forgiven loan to the theater, with no interest or payments due and to be forgiven in 10 years. The commission then approved a pay estimate of $90,428.13 for water main replacements to be submitted to the state for reimbursement, and an agreement with a developer to put in a fire hydrant by Northstar Bank and Walmart at the same time a new construction site is installing a building sprinkler system.
Following some discussion on Facebook, downtown business owners were present for the citizen comment portion of the commission meeting to express concern regarding loitering and panhandling in downtown Devils Lake. Some strategies were discussed, such as having law enforcement walk the downtown area, installing signage and/or security cameras, or other reasonable action. Business owners are encouraged to call the police department if actions are specifically happening in their store or in entryways, but the streets and sidewalks are public spaces and there is no way to enforce or ticket any type of loitering in these areas. Attorney Yunker detailed appropriate times to contact law enforcement when loitering or panhandling becomes an issue but noted that this can very quickly become a discriminatory issue against indigent people. A local business owner claimed that this could actually be reverse discrimination against business owners, which elicited some heated discussion from Yunker and commissioners. Police Chief Joe Knowski stated that some action is able to be taken by law enforcement, specifically doing some walking of downtown areas, but Devils Lake is more than just downtown and there simply are not enough officers to be stationed there 24/7. The citizens present asked about the process if they are reported to law enforcement; Chief Knowski detailed what happens depending on the charge. The citizens present were thanked for their comments.
Finally, the commission voted unanimously to approve May’s financial report and to pay the bills.
Future meeting agendas and past meeting minutes can be found at dvlnd.com.
