Negotiations for city-owned property has spanned nearly four years

By Robert Williams

Editor

The ongoing delays of the sale of Eagle Lake Park by the City of Frazee to the Eagle Lake Park Association, Inc., continue, according to a report by new City Attorney Patrick A. Bakken.

A revised purchase agreement has been extended to the end of December.

“I still have to finish the title clearance and I’ve been talking with Elliot Stoll from Pemberton (Law Office) who is representing the Association. There wasn’t any sort of pushback from that. They want to get the title work done first before they close. I had suggested that we could close on the deal in escrow, basically meaning we close but we’d leave some money in the pot to finish up the closing. They weren’t interested in that. Basically, we need to get the title clearance done, which I’m in the process of getting that started and everything.”

The council approved the extension with Mayor Mike Sharp asking if December 31 is a worst case scenario or the expectation of when it should be done.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a contested matter; I’ve already sent some stuff out to the neighbors and they talked with me about it,” said Bakken. 

“He’s going to get it done!” County Commissioner Phil Hansen interrupted sarcastically, causing laughter throughout the room.

The sale has seen many delays, including new legal representatives on both sides causing further delays. The sale was agreed to in 2022 and an agreement was reached in 2023 with the sale expected to be final in 2024. It is now a race to get it completed in 2025. Proceeds from the sale were to fund city projects, one being the new Town Lake Beach House.

“I haven’t received any pushback at this point so assuming all goes well it’s a default judgement and it’s pretty simple to get that done,” Bakken finished.

Councilman Jim Rader expressed frustration at the continual delays in finalizing this sale while making the motion to approve the extension.

“We’ve got to get this thing done at some point,” said Rader.

More negotiations may be likely for the buyers as Hansen reported earlier this summer that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has inquired on the status of the sale of Eagle Lake Park.

Donations

Terry and Suzanne Goddard donated $50 to the Frazee Fire Department.

The Frazee Rescue Department received seven donations: Denise K Geritz $370, LTLC, Inc. $250, Gregory and Sharyl Ogard $100, David and Jane Moorhead $50, Thomas or K.A. Hanson $25, Robert and Rebecca Muhs $25 and Sidney and Abigael Moorhead $10.

The following persons donated the amounts set forth below to provide an aerial fireworks display: Johnson Performance $50, Baumgart Auto $250, Anderson Coach of Frazee $500, Healthy Movements Physical Therapy $300, Frazee Lions Club $750, Arvig Communications $750, Frazee Sportsman Club $250, Ketters Meats LLC $50, Dave and Cindy Sauffenecker $100, Frazee-Vergas Forum $75, Frazee Care Center $250, Mary Olson $100, Frazee Family Foods $100, American Sports Outfitters LLC $100, OK Lumber $50, Andrea Froeber $50, At Ease Dock and Lift $100, Blues valley Campground $200, Eric Crabtree $100, Daggett Truck Lines $150, Steve’s Sanitation $250, Ulteig $300, Frazee Electric $75 and Feldt Properties LLC $100

Fire

The Frazee Fire Department increased to 22 active firefighters with two applications pending.

To date, there have been 39 calls for service, six in August—two structure fires, one vehicle, oen power pole on fire, one search and rescue and a lifelight landing zone.

New firefighter testing was completed Tuesday, Aug. 26, and council approved the addition of Kristopher Morris to the department. Alfonso Macias-Pulido is on probationary status.

Jim Rorah passed his physical and is an active member as of August 18.

Rescue 

Frazee Rescue responded to 28 of 29 total calls in July. Eight days had multiple calls. There were 17 in the city, five in Burlington Township, four in Erie, two in Height of Land and one in Hobart Township.

June, July and January have been the busiest months with 29 calls. For the year, the department has responded to 170 of 175 total calls, a 97 percent response rate.

Rescue Chief Matthew Johnson introduced Amanda Feldt, the department’s new assistant chief.

“She has been working pretty hard on trying to figure out training for our new members; she’s playing a big role in that,” said Johnson.

Johnson also noted August has been a rare slow month with most of them being out of town.

Rescue was invited by the Fire Department to participate in electric vehicle response training.

Liquor

Liquor Store Manager Amanda Young reported 602 guests at Third Crossing during Turkey Days. A new hire Daniel Otto was approved by council.

Public Works

The Public Works Department reported mowing has slowed down after a busy summer.

Jetway, a company out of Harwood, N.D., washed and vacuumed the lift station wet wells of sand and grease, and other unwanted items that build up over the year.

With September here, public works will begin the annual water main flushing and hydrant operations, then move on to sewer main flushing and manhole inspections.

A change in approval procedure between public works and the city office has delayed the pressure washing of the water tower. Mayor Mike Sharp insisted the cleaning needs to be done and will confer with the admin on scheduling the next cleaning.

Public Works Supervisor Larry Stephenson reported on difficulties in locating some water leaks in the system. 

“We’re starting to get frustrated because we aren’t finding anything,” he said.

The need to find the leaks is imperative as Stephenson reported he feels the system is losing two million gallons of water per month.

“It’s a substantial leak; it’s roughly up to 50 gallons a minute,”  said Stephenson. “It’s got to be going in the water table somewhere. It’ll never surface.”

Stephenson reported the plant is pumping around double the water that is being sold. 

“It’s water that could be sold, but the biggest thing is we’re spending money treating it,” said Stephenson. “It’s probably going to waste somewhere. Enough water gets wasted with just our daily things.”

Future outsourced hydro pressure testing may be necessary if the leak cannot be located.

“I’ve gotten bound and determined that I’m going to find something but I don’t know when,” said Stephenson.

“To me, in this town we should not use more than, at the most, 150,000 to 160,000 gallons a day and we’re up over 200,000 every day,” said Stephenson.

If any residents notice large wet spots in yards, or a loss in water pressure, they are asked to contact the city office.

Rezoning

A rezoning request from Matt Weisgerber was approved by council. Weisgerber, the owner of Matt’s Mobile Diesel Service has requested a rezone of R1 residential to C2 commercial to be able to sell auto parts out of his retrofitted garage.

Wesgerber will hire one person to the new company – Willy T’s Auto Parts.

“The primary buyer would be Matt’s Mobile Diesel; they would buy most of the parts,” said Sharp. “But he would offer parts sales to folks outside of his business, as well.”

The Planning Commission recommended the rezoning request and the council passed it unanimously.

Road Closure

Main Avenue West is scheduled to be closed on Friday, Sept. 5, which is the exact 100th anniversary of Ketter’s Meats and Locker Plant being in business. Ketter’s is celebrating the milestone beginning at 4 p.m., serving Ketter’s old fashioned wieners as a thank you to their customers throughout the years. A beer garden will be provided by VFW Post 7702 and live music starts at 5 p.m.

The closure will be from the east side of Ketter’s to the west side of the VFW from 4-11 p.m.