03 Consider Adopting an Order Declaring Property to be a Public Nuisance

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Dj=v--,_; FLAHERTY � HOCID P.A. MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Adams and members of the Pequot Lakes City Council From: Robert T. Scott and Christopher M. Hood, City Attorneys, City of Pequot Lakes VIA EMAIL Date: August 31,2017 Re: CITY COUNCIL HEARING TO CONSIDER ORDERING ABATEMENT of City Ordinance Violations at 31116 Ash Street,Pepuot Lakes,MN 56472 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The following memorandum briefly addresses the process we recommend the City Council of the City of Pequot Lakes(City) follow in considering whether to declare the conditions at the property owned by John R.and Barbera J.Derksen at 31116 Ash Street(Property) in the City to be a public nuisance and violations of City Ordinances at a special meeting to be held on September 5, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. You will recall that the City Council previously considered the condition of this property at a special meeting on May 2,2017, and on advice of legal counsel,approved an agreement with the property owners far the removal of code violations and nuisance conditions on the Property. T'he City Council subsequently voted at its June 6,2017 meeting to rescind its previous approval of the agreement on the grounds that the City Council was misinformed of the agreement's contents when it approved the agreement, and there was no agreement between the parties to the contract about its essential terms (i.e.the council believed it was retaining its right to charge any eventual costs it incurs in performing any of the specified corrective actions that you fail to perform after due notice as an assessment against your property,whereas the markup of the agreement presented to the City Attorney immediately prior to the meeting rernoved the language authorizing such an assessment). Since the City Council last considered this matter in June,the City Attorney has communicated informally with the property owner's attorney, and the property owner has made significant progress in correcting the previously identified code violations. However, a few corrective actions required to bring the Property into compliance remain uncompleted, as described in the most recent letter from the City's zoning specialist to the property owners, dated August 4, 2017,a copy of which is attached hereto as Appendix A(previous correspondence from City staff and the City Attorney frorn 2014,2015 and earlier in 2017 is omitted): 1. Disposal of all remaining piles of tree limbs,branches and brush etc.;and 2. Disposal of the remaining portions of the debris from the rear of the garage. Staff indicates that since the time the most recent letter was delivered to the property owner,the property owner has removed the remaining portions of the debris on the east side and front of the garage, and has disposed of the metal appliance cover serving as an animal feeder;however