Royal council addresses property numbering issue

A Royal resident owning a property with different classifications asked the city council on April 13 to designate one of the parcels with a new street address.

William Werts explained that his entire property has been designated as 309 4th Avenue, with a shop building on one side for his business and a residence on the other. The shop is classified as commercial while the house is designated as residential. The classifications determine property taxes and do not indicate the parcels’ zoning status.

Werts said the differing classifications create various issues with the Internal Revenue Service, Clay County and the mortgage company. County officials contacted by Werts recommend dividing the property into A and B parcels, and identifying each with a different address.

According to City Clerk Barb Fletcher, the Assessor’s Office agrees with the change but requires the city to designate a different address for each parcel.

“This is an existing commercial property. I don’t have a problem with it,” said Council Member Jeff Van Westen.

“I feel this is a unique situation and would not be applicable to any other property,” added Mayor Josh Toft.

The council agreed to designate the shop portion of Van Wert’s property as 307 4th Avenue with no change to the residence address.

• Nuisance survey

A survey was conducted to determine which properties could be considered in violation of the nuisance ordinance. According to Council Member Mitch Fahnlander, over 50 were identified and the owners have been notified by letter.

“That’s over 25 percent of the town,” he noted.

Another survey will be conducted after clean-up day on April 25. Those still considered not in compliance will receive another letter and be given two weeks to address the issues.

Following that, Northwest Iowa Planning and Development will be given addresses of any properties still in violation. They will document the infractions and forward the information to the city attorney for enforcement.

• Water-related issues, stump chipping

In other business, Maintenance Superintendent Sherman Nielsen was authorized to spend up to $200 for compression tools to be used in the event of a leak during water meter replacement.

Fletcher reported that Iowa Lakes Regional Water will increase the rate for each gallon of water the city purchases. The rate will increase from $6.40 to $6.50 on July 1.

“For right now I would not see we need to do anything. We do fairly well in water,” Fletcher observed.

Council Member Matt Goyette responded that the city’s other costs are increasing and water meter replacement is still ongoing.

“If we’re getting charged more we need to pass it on,” he said.

Utility rates will be further discussed next month.

Also discussed were water loss issues. Council Member Jim Virelli said Royal’s water system has a combined unbilled total of 700,000 gallons in recent months.

“That’s a lot of water,” he noted. “If it is a water leak, we’re not getting the sewer part of it either.”

Nielsen has not been able to identify where major leaks might be occurring.

“I’m not sure where it’s at,” he admitted. “It’s multiple little dribbles that all add up.”

Another discussion item was the purchase of a stump chipper. Twelve ash trees have been cut down in the park and an estimated 60 remain on city property. With an ash borer infestation identified in Clay County, ash trees will likely have to be removed.

“I don’t want to cut them unless they get really bad,” Nielsen said.

Having a contractor chip out a stump will cost between $50 and $75. With over 70 stumps to eventually remove, council members feel it is worth looking into the purchase of a chipper at a future date.