By Jill Fennema –

The Edgerton City Council and Economic Development Association (EDA) have been discussing options for houses in the Northwest Addition for the past couple of months. They have looked at building plans for smaller twin homes with single car garages.

The city has also been working on purchasing the former Harold and Carol Brands property west of town. There has been talk about that house being for sale to be moved and one option presented was to remodel the home and move it to the Northwest Addition.

Both of those things – moving a house into the addition and building smaller twin homes there – were met with opposition by those people who have already built homes in that addition.

The Northwest Addition has protective covenants in place that say that homes there must be new construction and must be larger than 1,200 square feet and must have a two stall garage. There are other requirements as well.

Regarding the possibility of moving an older home into the addition, Jason and Brianna Brands, who just finished construction on their home on the west end of the development, had nothing positive to say.

“You are setting a new precedent. If you let an old house be moved in, you are allowing virtually any house to be moved in. We just finished our house and we are concerned about our property value,” Jason Brands said.

Ron and Kim Menning asked the council to look at all the work that they and other homeowners have done to meet the requirements of the protective covenants.

“We were told very clearly how things were supposed to be up in that neighborhood. That’s why we paid the prices that we did for those lots. If you are going to go and put something up there that is not new, it’s a disgrace.”

Brad Bruxvoort, vice president with First State Bank Southwest in Edgerton, also came to talk to the council about the covenants. “The covenants are designed to protect the houses that are already there,” he said. “I want to caution the council about changing the rules midstream.”

He explained that even though the Harold Brands house might be the right size, the value of the house is determined by size and condition. “Anytime it is an old structure, the appraisal will reflect that. You can totally redo your house, but it will not be a new house. The appraiser will note depreciation,” he said.

As for smaller, one-story twin homes, Bruxvoort suggested that the council look for other lots in town to place such homes.

“If we want to make more affordable housing available, we have to understand where we want that affordable housing to be,” he said. “There are $150,000 houses that might be available in town, but the current owners are the ones that need to be (selling their homes) and building in that new development.”

After more comments and discussion, the council decided that they would keep the plans for smaller twin homes from the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, but look for a lot in another part of town where that could be built. They did not entertain a vote to change the covenants and Deputy Clerk Mary Kreun noted that a public hearing would have to be held in order for that to happen anyway.

Mayor Kirk Bleyenburg assured the homeowners present that the council would not be voting to change the covenants in the near future.

The two new councilmembers were brought up to speed on the city’s Capital Improvement Plan. Trent Bruce with DGR Engineering gave them a rundown of where things are at with the five Continued from front page

year plan to update the city’s infrastructure.

“When we build, we are building a system that will outlast all of us,” Trent Bruce said. “It will be here for the next generation.”

The next step in the process will be to start applying for funding and grants. Possible funding sources include the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority, USDA Rural Development, MnDOT Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP), and the MN Department of Natural Resources.

One of the first funds that will be applied for are LRIP funds. In order to apply for this funding, the city needs Pipestone County to sponsor them. The county has done this for the City of Pipestone as well. The council passed a resolution to move forward with this and the county board will look at the measure in their February 23 meeting.

The LRIP funding can be used on the section of Main Street from Howard Street south to Mill Street. That area is part of Phase One of the CIP and would qualify for LRIP funding because it is “a route of regional significance.”

The Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) that DGR has made will also be submitted to Rural Development by March 1.