DETROIT LAKES — Permit-only parking areas in town were reestablished, an ordinance was amended to allow for ice cream truck operations, and Becker County's recent $250,000 contribution to the new Becker County Food Pantry was matched by the city during a May 10 meeting of the Detroit Lakes City Council.
Permit parking is already in effect near Detroit Lakes High School, along Oak Street near Essentia Health-Lincoln Park, and on Summit Avenue near Zorbaz, said Detroit Lakes Administrator Kelcey Klemm, during a meeting of the city's public works committee on May 9. The new resolution only "reestablishes" those restrictions and allows for vehicle permitting through the city administrator's office for the adjacent property owners.
"Those were existing areas that were approved by previous councils, so this would basically just ratify the previous actions taken by the council," said Klemm. "The ordinance allows changes to be made, either subtraction or addition, by resolution."
Near Detroit Lakes High School, no parking will be allowed, except by permit, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. while school is in session on the following streets:
- East side of Roosevelt Avenue between James Street and North Shore Drive.
- West side of Roosevelt Avenue between Langford Street and North Shore Drive.
- Both sides of James Street between Roosevelt Avenue and Madison Avenue.
- Both sides of Madison Avenue between James Street and Granger Road.
- Both sides of Langford Street between Lyndale Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue.
- Both sides of Robert Street between Lyndale Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue.
- Both sides of Parkview Street between Lyndale Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue.
Other permitted parking areas are:
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- East side of Summit Avenue between Peoples Street and Forest Street.
- South side of Oak Street between Lincoln Avenue and McKinley Avenue.
In response to criticism from Matt Boeke, alderman for Ward Three, over the "slippery slope" of the permitted parking areas, Mayor Matt Brenk said, "There really wasn't a problem because we used to have the signs (near Roosevelt Avenue) in those same areas, and then when the school went under construction for the last couple of years, all the kids and the construction workers started moving out into the neighborhoods and it just sort of carried over."
Additionally, council members approved a first reading of the city's amended transient merchant license.
Chris Hemmah, owner of The Ice Cream Truck, attended the city's public works committee meeting and voiced his concerns over the city's license that allows him to operate the Ice Cream Truck. He said the license doesn't allow him to sell ice cream on any public property, or in any public road right-of-way, only on private property with permission from the property owner.
He asked council members to amend the license stipulations to allow him to sell pre-manufactured, pre-packaged ice cream and other frozen treats that require no preparation, just as the truck has done for nearly a decade under its previous owner.
"The driving around through the neighborhoods, or wherever, and selling product from the street that is not part of a community event, would be prohibited by the terms of the ordinance, so I was tasked with coming up with some modifications to the existing ordinance, which, if the council approves, would allow...him to display, sell and distribute product from public right-of-way," said Charlie Ramstad, city attorney for Detroit Lakes, during the council meeting.
Ramstad said the changes to the ordinance would allow a person who sells edible products to sell their frozen treats on a public right-of-way only where parking is allowed.
Council members approved the first reading of the amended transient merchants license and also included a 15-minute time limit per stop, and each stop must be at least 100 feet from the previous stop. A second reading of the new licensing amendments will be made at a special meeting of the city council on June 7, after which the new exemptions will go into effect.
Members of the Becker County Food Pantry also presented their recent fundraising efforts to the city council as they prepare to secure property on Terry Street in Detroit Lakes for their new facility. The pantry has raised about $200,000 through their own fundraising thus far to contribute to the project.
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Council members approved $250,000 to go toward the new facility, matching the Becker County Board allocation in April .
Also during the meeting, Ryan Seeger, a new part-time Detroit Lakes police officer, was sworn into service by Mayor Matt Brenk.
Seeger is currently a full-time Frazee police officer, and said he is joining the Detroit Lakes Police Department for the additional opportunities to serve the community.
"I really enjoy building relationships with the community and being involved with the city," said Seeger. "Pretty much everybody we deal with in a lot of situations, we are dealing with them at their worst times, and we get to help them and find them the resources, because a lot of times they don't know what resources they have."
Also at the city council meeting, Jamie Marks-Erickson, alderman for Ward Two, announced she would not be seeking reelection to the Detroit Lakes City Council this November and her seat will become available during the election cycle. Ward Two encompasses residents south of Highway 10 and east of Washington Avenue, extending around the east side of Detroit Lake to Long Bridge. Candidate filing for city council runs from Aug. 2 to Aug. 16 .
The next regular city council meeting will be held on June 14 at 5 p.m.
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