DETROIT LAKES — Good news for property owners impacted by street improvements on Willow Street, Holmes Street and Frazee Street: The Detroit Lakes City council on Tuesday voted to use $450,000 to “buy down” special assessments costs on those streets.
That means that special assessments on a 100-foot lot will be $19,000 instead of $31,000, and assessments on a 75-foot lot will be $15,500 instead of $25,000, said City Council Member Madalyn Sukke.
Assessments can be paid off over 20 years at 4.75%.
The city is using about half of its one-time $1 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to lower the assessments.
The city’s cost on the project is about $5.3 million and just over $1 million more will be assessed to property owners. The total project cost is more than $6.3 million.
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There have been some concerns about how long it took to finish the Willow Street project, and some residents have concerns about the smoothness of the pavement, Alderman Matt Boeke said at the Detroit Lakes City Council meeting on Tuesday, adding that the city is looking into those questions.
The council on Tuesday also approved the assessment roll for unpaid city utility bills on 18 properties in Detroit Lakes, that have unpaid utility bills ranging from under $10 to over $8,200.
The city received a complaint from a property owner who was left on the hook for a utility bill at a rental property.
“Landlords should check with us before releasing the deposit to make sure there are no unpaid utility bills,” advised City Administrator Kelcey Klemm.
The next regular Detroit Lakes City Council meeting is 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7 — a day earlier than normal because the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
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