Apr. 5—- The
on Monday will again be discussing whether or not to approve the purchase agreement for land on which
seeks to build its new facilities.
The Municipal Utilities Commission in February approved the agreement for 27 acres east of the Highway 71/23 Bypass and north of Willmar Avenue Southeast, a location outside but adjacent to the city limits.
The purchase price for the land is $600,000. Sewer and water utilities will have to be extended to the site, or private sewer and water utilities could be installed.
The Willmar City Council has the authority to override the Utilities Commission and not approve the purchase agreement, which
At that time the council deferred action to gather more information.
Among the concerns shared by some of the council members are the costs of the land and of extending city sewer and water services. One of the arguments is that available land in the
already has access to city sewer and water services, and Willmar Municipal Utilities could purchase it for minimal or no cost.
Council members are also concerned about the perception of the city’s utilities provider using private services.
The Municipal Utilities Commission is not interested in the parcels of land the city is urging it to use — located south of Hawk Creek Animal Shelter in the industrial park — due to the need to navigate railroad traffic in three different directions and the constraints of the parcels for building and design purposes.
Over the last few years, Willmar Municipal Utilities has investigated other sites within city limits for its new facilities, including five properties located near the bypass along Civic Center Drive. Some of those top five properties on the list were at the point of drafting a purchase agreement, but all fell through for one reason or another.
At its March 24 meeting, the
and that if the council does not approve the purchase agreement, it will continue to search for another parcel that is not within the Willmar Industrial Park.
It was also noted during that meeting that each of the other five properties investigated thus far would also have needed sewer and water services extended.
The city’s contracted engineering firm Bolton & Menk provided an estimate of $2.7 million to extend city sewer and water utilities to the site currently proposed, but those utilities would be able to service 450 acres there and not only the 27 acres that Willmar Municipal Utilities wants to purchase.
It would be drastically less expensive to extend sewer and water utilities to service only the new Municipal Utilities facility or to construct private sewer and water service until such a time that the city finds it financially feasible to extend the services to serve more properties.
City Attorney Robert Scott has explained that, according to city ordinance, the 27 acres would automatically be annexed to the city if purchased by a city entity. Council members wanted more information from
regarding plans for future annexations.
The Planning Commission on March 19 discussed how the proposed land purchase fits into the new
which was released recently for public comment.
Willmar Planning and Development Director Christopher Corbett explained that annexation can be done in three ways — orderly annexation per state statute, by election or by city ordinance.
Orderly annexation is working with the township or other municipalities that a city borders to develop a strategic plan, making sure that both parties are on the same page, Corbett explained at the March 19 meeting.
“Basically, that is the nicest way to do it,” Corbett said.
Annexation by election, although it does happen, is very rare, according to Corbett.
Annexation by city ordinance is when cities decide to annex property that borders the city or annexation is requested by property owners, residents or townships, according to Corbett.
Corbett shared the urban growth boundary map that was established in 2009 and is incorporated into the new comprehensive plan, noting that cities typically do not begin to extend into the urban growth boundary until development within the city boundaries has been maxed out.
The map is contained within the “With Willmar Comprehensive Plan” and can be viewed on the city website at
under the Planning and Development Department on the Comprehensive Plan page.
Corbett pointed out that, although the property proposed to be purchased is within the urban growth boundary, it is not a priority.
According to the comprehensive plan, data show that Willmar should be growing to the north and west and partially south, Corbett explained, noting the need for expansion into the urban growth boundary is not expected in the near term.
“We’re looking at five to 10 years out, 10 to 15 years out, just to plan it,” Corbett commented. “The future land use plan does not extend into the urban growth boundary to prioritize development, and we prioritize development within the city limits.”
He added that the city may support annexation of areas within the urban growth boundary for development if certain considerations are met.
One consideration is that if a developer wants to become part of the city, but is developing outside city boundaries, the developer is responsible for the cost of building out the infrastructure to become part of the city.
Other considerations to be taken into account, according to Corbett, include financial feasibility, that annexation attracts economic development for the city and that it does not have negative environmental impacts.
Addressing the land that Willmar Municipal Utilities is proposing to purchase, Corbett noted that there is currently a newer housing development located north and east of the site that could be annexed for the extension of city sewer and water services, as well.
However, City Planner Chris Frank pointed out that many of those homes have been recently built and have private sewer and water installed. It is unlikely they would want to have city sewer and water services until their private services begin to fail, which will likely not be for another 20 or 30 years.