Mayor Beyer called the Special
Workshop Meeting of the Rockford City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers
of City Hall 6031 Main Street, Rockford, MN.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss annexation options.
ROLL CALL
Roll call was taken, the
following members were present: Beyer, Altringer, Graner, Nichols and
Seymour. Also in attendance was:
Attorney Couri and
ANNEXATION OPTIONS
The city council reviewed the
three options allowed by Minnesota Statutes for annexation of property. Two of them have been used in the past by the
city for annexation of property. The
city has annexed property by MS 414.0325 orderly annexation where the city and
township agree that the property be annexed.
The other option used is MS 414.033 annexation by ordinance where the
property must abut the city and be less than 120 acres in size and the city
holds a hearing after a 30 day notice and adopts the ordinance that annexes the
property. The state then gets copies of
the ordinance or agreement and they approve it and the annexation is legal.
The third option MS 414.031
allows the city after giving the township a 30 day notice of intent to annex,
to send a resolution requesting an annexation be approved by the Director
(state office of boundary adjustments).
The city and township have
been meeting for many years to discuss orderly annexation or some form of
agreement when it comes to annexation with no success.
Attorney Couri stated his
views on these processes. It was noted
that Annexing by Directors Order per MS 414.031can be costly, but both the city
and township will have to split the costs.
The state will require information such as: population, quantity of land
within the subject area, natural terrain, general topography, natural wetlands,
transportation network and potential transportation issues, land use controls,
comprehensive plans for development in the area, fire rating and protection,
law enforcement, environmental problems, plans for enhanced municipal services,
analysis of fiscal impact on annexing municipality, etc.
Attorney Couri also stated
that the annexation by hearing takes approximately one year to complete the
process.
The council discussed that
possible action should be to move forward with annexation by a contested case
hearing and should be postponed until after the election since three council
seats will expire at the end of this year.
Some council members do not want to wait until the elections and
requested more information be provided regarding this option.
Mayor Beyer adjourned the
meeting at 6:50 p.m.
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Michael
Beyer, Mayor
ATTEST:
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