The city of St. Cloud is one step closer to raising the city's residential development design standards.
The proposal, which passed unanimously in its first reading at Thursday's City Council meeting, outlines requirements for things such as landscaping, trees, roofs, and window designs, and disallows the same home colors and elevation side by side or across the street from each other.
“I’ve been hollering about this for six years,” Deputy Mayor Linette Matheny said in making a motion to approve the changes, She asked city staff to coordinate with the county on the proposed changes to help coordinate the requirements for developments in the city limits and outside city limits.
The proposal It will come back to Council at a future meeting for a final reading and public hearing. Council members also voted to issue a 90-day moratorium on applications or permits for communications to give staff time to update existing standards for them, and urged the City to expedite efforts to update all the City’s Land Development Codes to keep up with the growth.
ELECTION NEWS: By state statute, the Council had to pass an ordinance setting the dates for the city's 2022 elections. Two Council seats are up for election this year: Seats 4 and 5 held now by Dave Askew and Keith Trace. Askew cannot run as he has served two terms and is term limited.
The nomination period for candidates is June 13-17. If more than two candidates qualify to run for a seat, the Primary Election will be held on Aug. 23. The General Election will be held on Nov. 8 if a runoff is needed in those races. Currently, two people (Ken Gilbert, Tom Lord) have filed to run for Seat 4 and three (Stephanie Chmielewski, Shawn Fletcher, Jeffrey Rivera) have filed for Seat 5.
CITY HONORS AND APPOINTMENTS: The city issued a proclamation honoring the St. Cloud Elementary Robotics team for qualifying to compete in the Vex Robotics World Competition in Dallas this May. The city also gave the team $5,000 to help cover their expenses to travel to the competition.
The city also recognized nationally-ranked go-kart racer Jeremy Fletcher, a 15-year-old St. Cloud High School student.
Educational Program Supervisor, Christina Saint-Louis was named Employee of the Month. In February, she noticed an elderly woman who had been reported missing a few hours earlier wandering in a city park. She spoke to the woman, offered her water and shelter, and contacted law enforcement to help reunite her with her family.
“Had Christina not stepped in to assist, it’s hard to imagine what may have happened to this woman,” her supervisor said.
The Council also appointed Dawn Streeter to the Finance Committee; Patrice Campbell to the Historic Preservation Board; Rosa Cruz to the Tree Advisory Committee; and Matthew Boggs and George Mathis to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING: The City of St. Cloud has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the city’s annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020.
The report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
“We value transparency and full disclosure, and I’m proud of Finance Director Wendy Collazo and her team of professionals who work diligently to ensure we are meeting the highest standards for financial reporting,” said City Manager Bill Sturgeon.
