By Sara Strong
The city of Luverne Tuesday voted to purchase property that is still technically owned by Mayor Glen Gust.
After much debate, council members voted in favor of purchasing 216 North Cedar Street for $27,000. Cragoe Realty has already signed a purchase agreement for the property, which is the blue house west of the fire hall.
Previously, Gust had wanted to sell the property directly, but found that state law prohibits elected officers from making a profit from their constituents. That's still the law even if the selling price is as low as it is.
Councilman David Hauge cast the only vote against the motion because of the appearance of impropriety, even though it is a legal sale.
"This is a nice little two=step to get around state law," he said.
Hauge was concerned that while the sale was legal, that the "spirit" of the law was being ignored.
Assistant City Attorney Jeff Haubrick said another option was to acquire the property through eminent domain, or condemnation, proceedings. In that case, a judge would determine the selling price of the property and the city would get ownership.
Councilman Tom Martius made the motion to go through with the property sale. He said the cost of eminent domain proceedings and the time involved in doing that made it simpler for the city to purchase the property from Cragoe Realty.
Gust stepped aside as mayor for the discussion and Keith Erickson chaired the meeting.
Gust said he didn't object to allowing a third party to be involved in the sale through eminent domain.
He said getting rid of the blue house helps the city complete what has been plans for more municipal parking.
As owner of Glen's Food Center, he has been sharing 39 spaces with the city for public parking on his lot since the 1993 expansion. As part of that 1993 agreement Gust has paid property taxes and has been responsible for maintenance and snow removal.
As part of the agreement to purchase Gust's property, the council also voted to return those 39 lots to the complete control of Gust once the municipal parking lot is finished. Hauge voted against that proposition also.
Gust said he doesn't mind having the spaces used by non-customers, as much as he would like the parking lot to be consistent and within his control. He said if he or his wife needed to sell the business, the lot would be a cohesive unit, not labeled for public parking like it is now.
The council agreed to continue to work on a sale agreement for the property at 203 East Lincoln Street, commonly referred to as the Krogmann house. If an agreeable sale price isn’t met, eminent domain proceedings may be sought in that case.
Second-hand smoke
Nobles-Rock Public Health Nurse Paula Anderson presented information to the Luverne City Council on second-hand smoke issues.
She was at the council for educational purposes and to ask that the city support what Public Health is doing to prevent smoking and to stop unintended exposure.
Most eating establishments have smoking sections, but don't have adequate ventilation to protect people, especially young children from exposure.
Second-hand smoke is designated in the same class of carcinogens as asbestos and is the third leading cause of preventable death in the country.
Anderson said getting people to believe the information is sometimes difficult. But, she said, "I don't think too many people would disagree that children being exposed to second-hand smoke is unhealthy. We're not asking people to quit smoking, just not to smoke in the home for the children."
Living with a smoker, a child inhales the equivalent of three cigarettes a day. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, respiratory illnesses, asthma and even slower cognitive development are increased by exposure to second-hand smoke.
Open windows in cars and homes doesn't clear the risk for exposure, Anderson said.
Information like that will be available at the Rock County Fair this summer, where the Public Health booth will include a large display on second-hand smoke.