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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-05-1984 Letter, Review of IssuesJune 5, 1984 Post Office [lox Vii•Crystal Bay, Minnesota 5532.1 a Municipal Offices On the North Shore of Lake Minnetonka Mr. Jack Collins Midwest Federal 801 Nicollet Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 Re: 1340 Baldur Park Road - Sewer Connection Required Dear Mr. Collins: Per your request, this letter is to brief you on the matter of the required ewer connection for 1340 Baldur Park Road. As part of Orono Sewer Project G5 -LS -1, the City of Orono provided the capability for connection to municipal sewer to the Fred Olson property at 1340 Baldur Park Road, and assessed for the project in 1967. Connection to the system was made mandatory by December 31, 1969. A 1970 letter to Olson confirmed that the sewer was provided to the property and that he was already past the deadline for connect- ion. Through 1973, Olson owned all of Lots 21 through 33, owning all the property between his house and the sewer stub, which enters the property at Lot 21. In 1974, Lots 21 through 29 and Lot 33 were sold to a Can - Am Holdings, c/o a John Miller. In 1978, Mrs. Olson no longer was listed as the owner of Lots 31 and 32, and retained only Lot 30 contain- ing the residence. She was listed as owner of Lots 30, 31, and 32 during 1979 through 1981. As a result of property transfers, litigation, and other transactions of which I am not fully aware, our current records show that Midwest Federal owns Lot 30, Tonka Lake Properties owns Lots 31 and 32, and a William Franklin owns Lots 21 through 29 and Lot 33. The City has actively pursued forcing the property owner to complete the sewer connection since 1979, as a result of a City file search, which showed that nearly 5% of the houses where sewer was available had never connected. Notices requiring connection were sent to Mrs. Olson on May 7, 1979, August 20, 1979, May 2, 1980, and August 12, 1980 during which period an application for subdivision of the entire property (Lots 21 through 33) had been in progress. Deadlines for connection II1'I1-UIN6 & L11\I`G 473.7357 • AlAUNISIRA110%& I INANCL - 473.7358 • K BLIC NU[(K% 4717 )59 .1SSLSSING Mr. Jack Collins June 5 Page 2 were set by the City and were not met by the owner. On August 25, 1980, the City Council approved a final extension of the deadline for connection to June 1, 1981, regardless of the outcome of the sub- division application. (Previous deadlines had been set based on allowing a reasonable period for completion of the subdivision and installing a sewer line with capacity to serve all building sites created). Mrs. Olson was required to sign an agreement that she would make the connection before June 1, 1981. A $5,000 bond or letter of credit was required by the City. Prior to October 31, 1980, the septic tanks were to be deactivated and used as holding tanks until the sewer was connected. Mrs. Olson and her agents failed to agree, and failed to provide the letter of credit. On October 17, 1980, a citation was issued to Gladys Olson for failure to connect to available sanitary sewer. A complaint was further filed with the Hennepin County Municipal Court on January 14, 1981. Because of the ongoing subdivision application and acts of apparent good faith by Gladys' agent, Mr. Kaye Westerlund, the charges were eventually dismissed in fall of 1981, although Mr. Westerlund was notified that the property was still in violation. The subdivision application was never completed. A second subdivision application was filed by Gene Earnst and Associates on January 7, 1982. A $5,000 letter of credit for sewer construction was filed on April 19, 1982, to be drawn upon by the City in the event the sewer connection wis not completed on a timely basis. Earnst found that the City Council would not be willing to approve a total of four units on the peninsula and on September 13, 1982, Tonka Lake Properties, as the owner, withdrew the four -unit PRD application and sought preliminary approval of a three -lot plat as had been proposed in the original 1980 application. On September 27, 1982, preliminary approval was granted per Resolution No. 1415. The letter of credit (in the name of Dennis Killian) was extended to May 1, 1983, and later extended to June 1, 1984 as a result of private litigations holding up the developers. The subdivision has never been completed and has expired. No work has been done on the property. The ownership of the properties has changed a number of times. The City allowed the letter of credit to expire on June 1, 1984 without drawing upon it, based on the advice of the City Attorney who noted because of the wording it would be nearly impossible to draw on without having already completed the work. We intend to proceed with a hazardous building action on the basis that this is a lakeshore property with septic systems not meeting code requirements and City sewer available. Our intent is to prohibit occupancy of the house at 1340 Baldur Park Road until the residence is connected to the municipal sewer. I expect the hazardous building action will commence early this summer. Mr. Jack Collins June 5, 1984 Page 3 As far as the technical aspects of connection, be advised that under current ownerships, easements for construction of the sewer connection lines would need to be obtained from two different property owners. Also, our City Engineer has estimated the construction cost at about $15,000. Because of high water tables, part of the connection might include sections of forcemain. A gravity sewer to serve three or four units was designed during the Earnst Subdivision but has not been thoroughly reviewed by the City Engineer as it is not proposed at this time. Any proposal for connection that you submit will be reviewed by City staff to ensure it is feasible. I hope this has been helpful to you. Please contact me if you have further questions. Sincerely, ,l VA.// Michael P. Gaffron Assistant Zoning Administrator cc: Gary Peterson (Tonka Lake Properties) William Franklin, Broadway Sales Bruce Malkerson, City Attorney Glenn Cook, City Engineer Walter R. Benson, City Administrator vJohn R. Gerhardson, Public Works Coordinator Jeanne A. Mabusth, Zoning Administrator File - 1340 Baldur Park Road Gladys Olson