Potential changes to city ordinance to allow chickens discussed by Planning Commission

By Robert Williams

Editor

The Lake Runners snowmobile club requested a new route through Vergas after losing access to former trails north of Lawrence Lake. The trail was closed on the north side of the lake when a landowner pulled the permit.

The new route circumvents Vergas south of Lawrence Lake from County Road 4/South Pelican Avenue and would turn at East Looney Lane to County Road 36 and a lengthy straightaway north on South Townline Road to East Scharf.

The issue was not addressed last year due to the lack of snow. Having not found a solution to appease the landowner during that time, the club decided on the reroute.

The club provided a map with its proposal. 

“We have looked at it, and the only issue we saw was along E. Scharf Ave. with yards,” the letter stated. “We would keep the trail on the north side of the road as much as possible to keep sleds off of private property. The trail would then intersect with the existing trail on N. Railway Ave. From there, we would follow the street that runs north of Billy’s and head west to the county road (17) to meet up with our existing trail. Most of that trail in town already has signs in place. If you could present this to the city and explain our situation, we would be very grateful.”

A public hearing will be scheduled to address the issue in the near future.

Glenn Street

Heavy rainfall this year has produced a flooding issue on Glenn Street due to construction in the area. A solution has been sought between the homeowner, builder and developer. A bid for $1,850 to install a culvert will head to the streets committee and the interested parties before being returned to council as a potential solution.

Glenn Street will be turned over to the city in the near future and that will also be discussed in committee.

Crosswalks

During Citizens’ Concerns, Marcia Huddleston, owner of Vergas Hardware, Inc., petitioned the city council to contract with Otter Tail County to install painted crosswalks on the county road in the Vergas business district.

According to Bruce Albright, who is the council liaison on the Streets Committee, the county is scheduled to install crosswalks in 2026. Vergas will be responsible for future painting.

Munibilling

Multiple discussions were had on registering utility billing with the city in regards to landlords and renters in the new Munibilling system. Other residents have had issues with automatic withdrawals from Vergas State Bank. Autopay can be signed up for on Munibilling. There are 26 residents who have not signed up for autopay in Munibilling and utilize auto withdrawal from Vergas State Bank. The bank is no longer taking new accounts to do that. Residents were advised to bring other individual issues with Munibilling to the city office to determine a potential solution.

Ambulance service

City and township leaders were contacted by Ringdahl Ambulance Service regarding Advanced Life Support (ALS) services in the area.

The letter stated that the ambulance service has decided to change their ambulance service licensure from full-time advanced life support to part-time advanced life support. 

“This was not an easy decision as we feel strongly that community members should continue to receive the services they are used to,” General Manager Ken Krupich said in the letter. “At this time, we have decided to leave the ambulance license in the Pelican Rapids area at Advanced Life Support as your community has recognized this value and continues to provide financial support. Because our EMS systems rely heavily on mutual aid, this may still have an impact on surrounding areas that we serve.”

The main point is that staffing will allow for support at the Basic Life Support (BLS) level, and ALS will be maintained whenever possible.

“Our goal is to communicate openly and transparently with all stakeholders and are always willing to continue to educate leaders on this complicated problem,” Krupich said.

The City of Vergas donated $5,000 to maintain services at an ALS level.

Chickens

The Planning Commission recommended an update to the city’s chicken ordinance. Currently, chickens are not allowed in town unless there is at least 10 acres of land. A property owner requested chickens be allowed in town citing ordinances from Park Rapids and Frazee. 

Planning Commission recommended that the ordinance be changed to allow chickens under the following conditions: 

• No more than four chickens on the premises

• Chickens shall be kept in an enclosed coop at all times

• No roosters allowed on the premises

• The premises must be located in a single or two-family residential R1, or limited multi-family residential (R2) zoning district

• The premises must have at least 5,000-square feet

A public hearing will be held to discuss the ordinance changes after one more pass through the Planning Commission.

Bookmobile

The parking area for the Bookmobile will move from the alleyway between the Mercantile and Liquor Store to the parking lot behind the city offices after the move was discussed at the EDA/HRA.