A lengthy discussion concerning what to do with a small stretch of ditch land in Balaton resulted in no resolution at the Balaton City Council meeting Monday.
Resident Steve Torkelson, who lives at 330 Washington Avenue, adjacent to Hwy. 14, said the City has, since 2019, mowed the ditch until recently, Torkelson said. His request was for the council to mow the ditch between his property and Hwy. 14.
The ditch at other places along with highway have continued to be mowed by residents in those areas.
Public Works Supt. Josh Torgeson said the property is a State right-of-way.
“Basically, (the State) said, mow if you want; if you don’t we’ll come back after August 11th and mow it — what they can reach,” Torgeson said.
“It’s just an eyesore if it doesn’t get done,” Balaton councilmember Tracy McCloud said.
Torgeson said he would have no problem mowing the area as it doesn’t take overly long; the catch is, the ditch is actually too small and narrow for the City’s large mower.
“We were wrecking the mowers,” Torgeson said. “It takes literally five minutes to mow.”
It’s a small problem that seemingly has no solution, as the City is technically not responsible for mowing the ditch.
“I think we’re in a catch-22 here,” Balaton Mayor Lonnie Lambertus said. “It would look nice if it got mowed, but are we going to open up a can of worms with everybody else? I don’t want to see us ruining our equipment, either, because that costs (the City) dollars. I think we’re at kind of an impasse here.”
The City had taken over tending to the ditch after the death of a previous homeowner there, but ran into issues with the larger equipment.
“If we had a smaller mower, it wouldn’t be a big deal,” said Torgeson.
In another issue relating to the aesthetics of the town, members of the nuisance committee told the council they have identified about 20 residential areas in town that need improvement — five of which that need major improvement. The committee asked the council for its support in following through with some kind of enforcement of the City ordinance.
“We’d like to know that you’re standing behind us, rather than making promises that we’re not going to enforce an ordinance on a property,” said Lou Anderson. “We’re going to put a lot of time and effort in just to make Balaton look good again. I realize there’s a lot of properties and it’s going to take time, but we need to know that the city council is going to be behind us, or if this is a waste of time.”
Ground zero of the issue is the property at 121 Lake Avenue North, across the street from the fire hall that burned in May.
The charred house is not only an eyesore, but there’s a safety concern that has arisen as well.
“There’s kids going in there,” Anderson said. “That is so unsafe. I really think the City’s got to step up. Can the fire department block it off? What do you do?”
City Attorney Matthew Gross said the City can reach out to Southwest Health and Human Services for help securing the property.
“It would be helpful for the committee when you submit your reports, submit photographs as well,” Gross said.
Anderson said the committee is “begging” the council to stand behind it to clean up Balaton.
Gross reminded the committee that the City has to stay within its nuisance budget when it comes to cleaning up the town. The money that was in the budget has been spent.
Councilmember Greg Erickson said homeowners don’t have to do everything by themselves. He said there’s help out there if they ask for it.
“We’re doing this to help them,” he said. “The biggest thing is, if they need help, they just got to ask. We’re willing to help them.”
In other business Monday …
• A motion to close down the street in front of the liquor store for the July 11 Vet Run passed.
• The council approved a $1,250 donation from the Balaton American Legion Post 237 for a new screen and projector for the community center. The Balaton Area Community Foundation will also pitch in the same amount.
• A resident asked if the City was planning on spraying for insects this summer like other area towns do. After some discussion, the council said it is something they can look at doing for next year.
