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Animal law on hold
The Pipestone City Council decided Monday evening to table a proposed amendment to its animal ordinance and to appoint a subcommittee to review the language before bringing it back to the council.
The amendment on the table sought to limit to three the number of animals Pipestone residents could keep on their properties.
Mayor Laurie Ness said she thought the language was “somewhat limited” and introduced the idea of a subcommittee to study the city’s entire code that addresses “Unlawful Acts Relating to Animals,” not just the amendment, so, “it’s better purposed and proposed.”
Councilors Barbara Heyl and Fred Portz were appointed as the subcommittee; the meetings will be open to the public. The council agreed to bring the issue back within 90 days after Heyl and Portz have reported their findings.
Prior to the council’s decision, five people commented on the ordinance: two said they thought it penalized responsible pet owners and two said that enforcement would be difficult. One woman, singling out her neighbor who has eight dogs, said something had to be done about people who had large numbers of dogs.
In other business, the council:
•Awarded the sale of $380,000 in general obligation improvement bonds to low-bidder First Farmers & Merchants National Bank in Pipestone. The cost to issue the bonds was $14,000, for a net proceed of $366,000. The true interest rate over the 10-year term will be 3.0036 percent, for a net interest cost of $67,465.89.
The council directed city staff back on Oct. 5 to pursue the bonds.
The money will be used for the street improvements within the Skyway Industrial Park. The $353,622.35 project included the improvement of Forman Road with concrete and the excavation of the entire length of South Street and Industrial Road. Improvements included concrete paving on South Street and the entrances to Industrial Road and the improvement of Industrial road with gravel, with curb and gutter installed along the entire project.
Property owners will be assessed to repay a portion of the bonds.
•Asked by formal resolution for the Minnesota Department of Transportation to further study the possibility of a Little Crow Transit Way passenger rail line from Willmar to Minneapolis using the existing freight rail infrastructure. MnDOT held a meeting on the passenger rail and a couple of towns along Hwy. 23 expressed interest in extending the route from Willmar to Sioux Falls. The city of Pipestone is situated along the Little Crow Transit Way corridor and, “a significant population of commuters reside in Pipestone who could benefit from decreased congestion and enhanced transportation choices that come with passenger rail service,” according to the city’s resolution of support for further study.
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