(Spirit Lake)– Meeting in special session Friday, the spirit Lake city council voted three-to-two to approve a developer’s agreement with Neil Slater who’s proposing a 50-lot development on Hill Avenue North on what is currently a sheep farm. The council voted down a similar agreement at it’s regular meeting Tuesday.
Friday’s action to approve it followed a review of financial projections that weren’t available at Tuesday’s meeting. Public Works Director Todd Dolphin told the council the numbers show how the additional property valuation wound benefit the city’s finances.
Councilman Steve Balm was skeptical. He says the numbers are purely speculative. Siting it’s maxed-out debt load, Balm said the city can no longer afford to pay up front to extend infrastructure for developers.
Slater, meanwhile, maintained he should be treated no differently than other developers.
Councilmen Balm and Clyde Ihrke voted against a motion by Jeff Thee to approve the agreement with the city’s cost not to exceed the cost of materials. Thee, Jerry Harbst and Kevin Bice voted in favor.
The proposed development faces another major hurdle. A public hearing on a proposal to sell a city-owned public access to Slater that’s on the lakefront across the street from the proposed development was continued from last Tuesday’s meeting to the council’s next regular meeting May 9th. Opposition to the proposed sale of that land is mounting among those who say the city shouldn’t be selling it to benefit a developer. They say the lakes area has lost enough public accesses the way it is. Slater says the lakeshore property is vital to his project in order to give residents of the proposed development lake access, thusly increasing the value of the lots…something he says the entire city would benefit from.
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