Colfax Village Board approves 18 Mile Creek flood elevation easement for snowmobile trail bridge
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has approved a flood elevation easement for a snowmobile trail bridge on 18 Mile Creek.
The bridge, which will be near Colfax Evergreen Cemetery, will be in the floodplain, and there could be an increase in the depth of flood water because of the bridge, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, at the Colfax Village Board’s November 8 meeting.
Other property owners in the area also will have to sign easements, she said.`
Flood experts say that bridges increase the likelihood of flooding because a bridge can catch and hold debris that will cause excess water to back up or to divert elsewhere.
According to the easement agreement, “in consideration of One Dollar ($1) and other valuable consideration, the undersigned [Village of Colfax] hereby grants to Dunn County Land and Water Conservation flowage rights to permit surface water from Eighteen Mile Creek to go upon the land herein described should the same become necessary to accommodate any backwater resulting from the construction of the snowmobile bridge on the tributary herein referred to. This flowage easement is granted as a covenant running with the land and shall be binding upon the grantor’s heirs, successors and assigns. Said increase in backwater shall be included on the official floodplain maps for Dunn County as a part of the regional floodplain when the existing floodplain zoning ordinance is amended or if the stream in question is not mapped, when mapping is prepared for the stream.”
This is the fourth year of working on the snowmobile bridge, Niggemann told the village board.
The Colfax Board of Education approved a request from the Colfax Sno-drifters for an easement on school property near Evergreen Cemetery for a snowmobile bridge in March of 2017.
The school board approved a ten-year agreement for the snowmobile bridge.
A grant was available from the state Department of Natural Resources for the snowmobile bridge, and the Sno-drifters needed an agreement with the property owner for a minimum of three years for the application for a bridge grant.
Dave Buchner, representing the Colfax Sno-drifters, spoke to the school board about the easement for a snowmobile trail during the public comments portion of the February 20, 2017, meeting.
The intersection of state Highway 40 and county Highway M represents a safety issue if snowmobiles are routed that way. After the bridges are built, they become the property of the county, and the school district has no liability for the the bridge or for the snowmobile trail, Buchner said in 2017.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the flood elevation easement for a snowmobile bridge on Eighteen Mile Creek.
Snowmobile routes
The village board also reviewed the resolution designating snowmobile routes and trails that was adopted in February of 2019.
There have been some issues going across the Colfax Fairgrounds but nothing major, said Colfax Police Chief William Anderson.
Niggemann said she was not proposing any changes to the resolution.
Police Chief Anderson also noted that he has not heard any complaints about the snowmobiles in town.
“It seems to be working,” he said.
Since there were no changes made to the resolution, there was nothing for the village board to act upon.
The resolution sets the following as snowmobile routes in Colfax:
• East side of Dunn Street to Railroad Avenue, east to County Road M, north to state Highway 40.
• East side of Dunn Street to Railroad Avenue, east toward the east driveway of the fairgrounds, to the footbridge, across Highway 40 to Johnson-Olson Road, west on High Street to Colfax High School.
• East side of Dunn Street to Railroad Avenue, west to Synergy Cooperative.
• Synergy Cooperative parking lot to Express Mart via the alley east of Synergy.
• Synergy Cooperative parking lot is the designated parking lot for snowmobilers planning to visit any business on Highway 40/Main Street.
Health insurance
The Colfax Village Board tabled the agenda item related to health insurance until the next meeting.
Niggemann said she had received the information about health insurance on the Friday just prior to the village board meeting and was proposing that the agenda item “be put on hold” to allow her to do more analysis and to gather additional information.
All together, Niggemann had gathered information from 10 different health insurance companies, and the village’s current policy with Health Traditions still seemed to be the best option with a 7.2 percent increase in the premium.
The village also has a “gap” policy with Morgan White Group to reduce the $7,000 deductible for employees to $2,500, Niggemann said.
There are multiple options for the village board in selecting different deductibles and different gap deductibles, she said.
Niggemann said she had not yet decided on a recommendation because the different gap policies have different exclusions, and she wanted to be sure she was comparing “apples to apples.”
Some of the exclusions are “pretty big,” she said.
“I want a good deal for the village, and I want the employees to be happy. I am an employee, too,” Niggemann said.
The village board unanimously approved tabling the health insurance agenda item until the next meeting.
The Colfax Village Board was scheduled for a budget meeting on November 15.
EMS software
To make billing easier and more efficient for services provided by the Colfax Rescue Squad, Niggemann recommended contracting with a company called AIM EMS Software and Services.
Niggemann said if she had watched the AIM sales video initially, she would have recommended AIM rather than the current software company.
AIM is easier to use and has a more streamlined process, she said.
With the current software, if there is an overpayment, for example, there is a 12-step process to correct the overpayment, requiring the claim to be resubmitted in what ends up being an exceptionally complicated process, Niggemann said.
The AIM software makes it easy to correct an overpayment, she said.
In addition, the AIM software is half the cost. The current software costs $549 per month to use. The AIM software would cost $250 per month to use, Niggemann said.
According to information included in the village board packet, there is a one-time fee of $1,000, which covers 10 hours of implementation and training on how to use the software.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved contracting with AIM EMS Software and Services.
Fifth Avenue
The Colfax Village Board spent a considerable amount of time at the November 8 meeting discussing letters from “a concerned citizen.”
Neither the October 28 nor the April 21 letter was signed with a name but only “concerned citizen.”
According to the April letter, “I would like to bring your attention to the intersection of 5th Ave. and Roosevelt Street in the City. There are numerous vehicles parked on these streets that appear to be inoperable. Some have flat tires and most have had the catalytic converters cut off with the muffler wired up in place. If this practice is allowed, over a period of time, our city streets will become a salvage yard.”
The letter writer stated that he or she believed the owner of the vehicles was a resident at City View Villa Court and cited village ordinance 10-1-33.
Village ordinance 10-1-33 deals with “inoperable, wrecked or discarded vehicles.”
According to the ordinance, “no person owning or having custody of any partially dismantled, non-operable, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle shall allow such vehicle to remain on any pubic street or highway, parking lot or ramp longer than forty-eight (48) hours after notification thereof by the police department. Any such vehicle not removed within forty-eight (48) hours is declared to be a public nuisance and may be moved as provided in Section 10-1-32.
Section 10-1-32 refers to the removal of illegally parked vehicles.
Pleasant Valley Properties called to have the vehicles towed the morning of the village board meeting, said Carey Davis, village trustee.
Various vehicles have been towed from that location in the past months, Police Chief Anderson said.
The vehicle owner knows how to “work the system,” so the village board must “break the system or change it,” Davis said.
After a vehicle is towed, the person who owns the vehicle pays to get it out of storage, and if they do not pay, then eventually the tow operator becomes the owner of the vehicle, Niggemann said.
The vehicles must be registered, Police Chief Anderson said.
Alternate street parking has now started for the winter season, so the vehicles would have to be moved from one side of the street to the other every other day, said Anne Jenson, village trustee.
Fifth Avenue is a semi-truck route, so maybe there should only be parking on one side of the street or maybe no parking, Niggemann said.
Pleasant Valley Properties has a rule that any vehicle that is not licensed will be towed, and the vehicle owner has been warned, Davis said.
The vehicle owner was moving the vehicles every 24 hours and has been warned that if the vehicles come onto Pleasant Valley Properties property, the vehicles are to be towed immediately, he said.
Some mobile home parks have restrictions on how many vehicles can be parked, Niggemann said.
Pleasant Valley Properties does have a restriction, but there are families with children at home yet who have vehicles as well, so the property owner requires the vehicles to be licensed and to be used regularly, Davis said.
The vehicle owner should be given a date by when the vehicles must be moved, Niggemann said, adding that she would rather see a firm date than “as soon as possible.”
If the village board must change the ordinance, then the village board should do that, Davis said.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved the professional services contract for 2022 with Weber Inspections/Fred Weber. Davis asked about George Entzminger, who also is a building inspector in Colfax. Entzminger does inspections for activities such as replacement windows, fences or siding, and Weber inspects new construction that falls under the Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC), Niggemann said.
• Approved appointing Anne Jenson to the village trustee position vacated by the death of Mark Halpin.