×
×
homepage logo

County sides with Weber, against attorney’s advice

By Staff | Jan 22, 2017

After a long wait, Mike Weber, of Wells, got his wish.

Seeking action from the Faribault County Board of Commissioners on a requested rezoning of his property for the third time in three months, Weber got the green light of approval via a 3-1 vote, enabling him to proceed with residential construction on what was deemed agricultural land.

The approval, with only commissioner Tom Loveall casting a vote of opposition, came despite the county’s legal counsel, attorney Troy Timmerman, suggesting otherwise.

“(Attorney) Jay (Squires) is standing by his letter, which advised to deny the request,” Timmerman informed the board. “And I defer to Jay’s opinion.”

The letter Timmerman referenced was at the center of a December discussion between Squires, the board, Weber and Weber’s own legal counsel. Both then and at a prior November meeting, the entire matter was tabled because of an admitted lack of clarity regarding whether the county or the city of Wells was in charge of rezoning Weber’s land, which was detached in 2010 but according to Squires defectively so.

“From what I understand, we have three options,” commissioner Bill Groskreutz said as the board once again weighed Weber’s request. “We can approve it, deny it or let it expire the legal agreement between Wells and Mr. Weber.”

Citing the shared recommendation of Squires and Timmerman, Loveall insisted the board turn down the request since the Weber property had been incorrectly detached by the city of Wells years ago.

“Why would we get into this?” Loveall asked. “The city could’ve reversed their mistake and they should be the ones challenging it, but they’re sitting in the back, not doing anything.”

By ruling on a requested rezoning of the property at hand, Loveall said, the County Board would be acting under jurisdiction it may or may not have.

Weber’s attorney countered by noting that the state Minnesota’s Office of Administrative Hearings still views the detachment of Weber’s property as having occurred legally and correctly. He argued that even if Loveall or the board wanted to deny the request because of a mishandled detachment years ago, they would be fighting against the perspective of the state.

“We didn’t make the problem,” Loveall fired back. “This is a mess that was made in Wells with a Wells constituent that needs to be fixed. We don’t have to get into this, and I don’t think we should get into this.”

David Frundt, Wells’ city attorney, chimed in by saying that Wells continues to honor its 2010 agreement with Weber and therefore does not agree with Squires’ recommendation. Whether or not the years-old detachment was correctly processed, Frundt emphasized that Wells would continue to view the property as it has since then.

Despite more pleas from Loveall to deny the rezoning request and perhaps let the courts determine whether or not the county even has jurisdiction to rule on the matter, Groskreutz motioned to approve the request and drew a second from commissioner Tom Warmka.

“He’s a businessman,” Warmka said, of Weber. “If our action causes a hiccup in his business, we can’t sit around. And if we don’t take action today, it’s approved anyway.”

Asking his fellow commissioners why they would not take the advice of their own attorney in Timmerman, Loveall voted against the motion but a 3-1 tally, boosted by support from commissioner Greg Young, overruled him.

Weber, meanwhile, got what he came for, a rezoning of his Clark Township property, putting at least a temporary end to months of discussion on the matter.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the County Board also:

Welcomed Loria Rebuffoni to her position as the county’s new planning and zoning administrator.

Rebuffoni was approved as the planning and zoning department’s hire earlier in the month, and she was introduced by Central Services director Dawn Fellow.

Heard updates on plans for a sheriff’s auction of personal property inside the “Three Sisters” buildings in downtown Blue Earth.

Tim Clawson, of the Faribault County Development Corporation, accompanied Blue Earth city administrator Tim Ibisch to the meeting to address the board.

“The county is now the proud owner of the property inside the buildings,” Clawson said. “We’re thinking April for an auction date.”

Noting that the city has spent $17,000 to repair the Three Sisters roof and ultimately hopes to get the much-discussed properties into private hands, Clawson sought authorization from the board to pursue an April auction of property inside the buildings, namely around 40 left-behind pianos.

Ibisch said the county would truly be the one governing an auction, but the board approved Clawson’s authorization request by encouraging the city to move forward in both planning and setting a date for the proposed sale.

“We’re going to spend some money advertising it, too,” Clawson said. “Probably at a national level.”

Before asking Clawson about other projects outside of Blue Earth, the commissioners approved the city’s auction plans and ruled that proceeds from a sale would be redirected to the city to offset costs put into the Three Sisters buildings.

Approved a resolution brought forth by county engineer Mark Daly to finalize a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) from the county’s collaboration with the city of Blue Earth for Main Street construction last summer.

Commissioner Greg Young, who represents part of the city, thanked his counterparts for their cooperation with the JPA and the Main Street project in general.

“I appreciate the board working with Blue?Earth,” he said. “It was well designed and a good-looking project.”

Approved a request by county sheriff Mike Gormley to purchase three new vehicles for his department.