Hoop houses still likely to come down

Despite renewed discussion by the Brainerd City Council, it appears most temporary buildings in Brainerd will need to be taken down.

The Brainerd City Council on Monday discussed in depth the issue of temporary structures after receiving several letters from residents who have erected such structures on their property and don't want to remove them.

In February, the council adopted a motion stating that residents who have temporary structures, commonly called hoop houses, would have to have them removed by June 1.

The council passed its February motion because such structures had been appearing without building permits or verification of compliance with zoning requirements.

In order for city residents to have such structures, they would have to apply for a building permit and the temporary structures would have to meet the state building code, which the city of Brainerd has adopted. If a structure met building code, it would be scrutinized under the city's zoning ordinance.

On Monday, the council, by a 5-2 vote, passed a motion stating that if a structure meets the state's building code, the Safety and Public Works Committee would address whether the structure would meet the city's zoning ordinance, whether a variance would be granted or whether the zoning ordinance should be amended. Voting against the motion were council members Lucy Nesheim and Bob Olson.

Within the zoning code, temporary structures need to meet criteria for homogenous design and setbacks. Within the building code, temporary structures have to meet wind and snow load criteria. City staffers said few, if any, temporary structures in the city would meet the building code requirements.

City Planner Mark Ostgarden said that although the city zoning ordinance dealing with temporary structures could be amended, the building code could not.

Several residents with temporary structures attended Monday's council meeting but were not given the chance to speak. Olson made a motion to allow them time to present their cases before the council, but his motion died without a second.

Council President Kelly Bevans told the residents to apply for a building permit to determine if their temporary structures meet the building code. If they do, he said the Safety and Public Works Committee would then address the zoning ordinance.

"If you don't meet the building criteria, that motion says you still have to take it down, so if there's a question, you might want to double check with the city engineer's office," Bevans said.

In other action, the council:

Approved the sale of $11,140,000 in electric utility revenue bonds to Citigroup by a unanimous vote and $5,590,000 in general obligation bonds to Citigroup by a 6-1 vote. Voting against issuing the general obligation bonds was Olson, who said the bond amount could have been reduced by more. The electric utility revenue bonds will be used to pay for upgrades to the city's electrical system and the general obligation bonds will be used to pay for various street and utility projects.

Directed issues regarding security at the Brainerd Public Library to the Personnel and Finance Committee's 6 p.m. Aug. 20 meeting. Kitchigami Regional Library, which manages the library, has hired a security guard through Dec. 31. Because the city owns the building, the library board and the finance committee will discuss whether a security guard should be included in the library's budget in 2008. Also, the library board and finance committee will discuss cutting back shrubs at the library, adopting a smoke-free ordinance, amending city loitering ordinances and other items in regard to safety at the library.

Passed, by a 6-1 vote, a motion to not have a $20,000 error corrected in the city's 2006 audit. The error came about after a $20,000 payment from the Brainerd School District for 2007 ice time at the Brainerd Area Civic Center was incorrectly included in the 2006 financial reports and audit because the payment was received in December. At the Personnel and Finance Committee meeting, chairman Mark O'Day questioned why the city would pay to have the information corrected on paper when the city already knew of the mistake and that it would show up in the 2007 audit. Olson, the lone vote against, said the city spent $55,000 on the audit and that it should be corrected by the auditor for free in order to achieve a clean audit.

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.