Silver Lake Council tables decision to vacate alley
By Alyssa Schauer
Staff Writer
The Silver Lake City Council tabled the decision to vacate an alley due to opposing ideas and lack of councilors present at Monday night’s public hearing.
Mayor Bruce Bebo and councilors Greg Gillett and Eric Nelson were the only members of Council present, (councilors Nolan Johnson and Pat Fogarty were absent) and in discussing the benefits to either vacate or keep the alley, Nelson and Gillett were in disagreement.
The city received a petition from Ryan and Kari Kaczmarek to vacate the alley between Olive and Nome avenues and Center and Frank streets.
Ryan Kaczmarek said his idea was to build an addition to his house to accommodate his growing family, which was a more financially sound idea for him and his wife than buying a lot and building a new house.
He said building an addition would also allow him to remain living in Silver Lake, near the fire hall and ambulance shed, as he is a member of both departments.
“Living in town is a convenience for us and we never had a better opportunity until now to build on,” Kaczmarek said. “I’m willing to work with whatever and whoever to make this a possibility.”
Kaczmarek and his wife, who co-own their property, petitioned to vacate the alley and acquired the support of George Jones, who is one of the five owners of land adjacent to the alley.
Kaczmarek’s neighbors, brothers Bryan Urban and Todd Urban, are the other two who own land adjacent to the alley, but are opposed to the petition.
City Clerk Kerry Venier also noted an objection to the petition was received from CenterPoint Energy due to the location of a gas main line in the alley, but said CenterPoint would withdraw their objection if the parties involved would cover the costs to relocate the line.
Venier said the Kaczmareks are currently working with CenterPoint to determine costs and will go from there.
The Urbans are concerned the addition would add to existing water problems in the alley and Bryan Urban presented photos to councilors to show the current issues of standing water in the alley and in his yard.
The Urbans want to know the construction plans and see a watershed study before any decision is made.
Venier said the construction aspects, including the watershed study, are all regulated at the point the Kaczmareks begin designing and planning.
He said the big question that the Council needs to answer is, “Is there a benefit to the public having this alley here?” Venier said.
Bebo asked about the water issues the Urbans proposed and said, “Is any of this to do with the collapsed storm sewer we’re currently working on ?”
“Yes,” Venier said. “The storm sewer completely collapsed on Oliver Avenue and Dale (Kosek, public works supervisor) will be talking about that later in the meeting.”
“I just want to say we lived there over 50 years and it’s (the water) always been like that...I find it hard to believe that one drain is going to handle that,” Bryan Urban said.
Find the complete story in the Oct. 22 edition of The Chronicle.
