11-10-1999 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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MAYOR Michael I. Fahey COUNCIL Beverly Scalze Jim LaValle Steve Morelan Bob Pedersen 515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 ADMINISTRATOR (651) 484 -2177 / FAX: (651) 484 -4538 Joel R. Hanson Email: cityhall @eLlittle- canada.mn.us MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Fahey & Members of the City Council FROM: Joel Hanson, City Administrator DATE: November 5, 1999 RE: Zoch Deferred Assessment Attached is correspondence received from Mr, and Mrs. Zoch regarding a deferred assessment totaling $1,464 that should have been paid when a portion of their lot sold in 1985, You will note that they feel they should not be responsible for this deferred assessment given their purchase agreement with Larry Lee relative to the sale of the northerly 60 feet of their property to him back in 1985. (See purchase agreement and exhibits attached.) In my discussions with Mrs. Zoch, I have pointed out that it appears these deferred assessments should have been paid at the time the property was sold to RLF Enterprises. However, that did not occur and should have been handled at the time of closing. Mrs. Zoch checked with the title company who handled the closing and discovered that no assessment search fee was paid for at that time. (See closing statement from Title Services, Inc. attached.) Therefore, I can only conclude that no assessment search was done with the City. As a result, the City does not appear culpable for the failure to pay the assessment. The Zochs are also contending that the City failed to ensure that Larry Lee installed a fence on the west side of their property in 1986. She provided me with copies of minutes from an October 26, 1986 Council meeting whereby the fence was to be installed as a condition of relocating the house before the relocation occurred. The installation did not occur. Therefore, the Zochs propose that we forgive the $1,464 assessment and they will forget about the fence that was to be installed on the property which the estimates in 1989 totaled $2,133.71. I informed Mrs, Zoch that these two issues are not directly related, but I would present this matter to the Council for your consideration. The key issue from the City's standpoint is that the assessment should be paid. I am also concerned that neither party spend significant sums on attorneys fees for a $1,464 assessment. I feel the following options exist: Page 88