(A) Definition. For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CURRENT SERVICE. Shall mean one or more of the following: snow, ice, or rubbish removal from sidewalks; weed elimination from street grass plots adjacent to sidewalks or from private property; removal or elimination of public health or safety hazards from private property, excluding any hazardous building included in M.S. §§ 463.15 through 463.26 as they may be amended from time to time; installation or repair of water service lines; street sprinkling, street flushing, light street oiling, or other dust treatment of streets; repair of sidewalks and alleys; trimming and care of trees and removal of unsound and insect-infected trees from the public streets or private property; and the operation of a street lighting system.
(B) Snow, ice, dirt and rubbish.
(1) Duty of owners and occupants. The owner and the occupant of any property adjacent to a public sidewalk shall use diligence to keep the walk safe for pedestrians. No owner or occupant shall allow snow, ice, dirt or rubbish to remain on the walk longer than 24 hours after its deposit thereon. Failure to comply with this section shall constitute a violation.
(2) Removal by city. The City Clerk-Administrator or other person designated by the City Council may cause removal from all public sidewalks of snow, ice, dirt and rubbish as soon as possible beginning 24 hours after any matter has been deposited thereon or after the snow has ceased to fall. The City Clerk-Administrator or other designated person shall keep a record showing the cost of removal adjacent to each separate lot and parcel.
(C) Public health and safety hazards. When the city removes or eliminates public health or safety hazards from private property under the following provisions of this chapter, the administrative officer responsible for doing the work shall keep a record of the cost of the removal or elimination against each parcel of property affected and annually deliver that information to the City Clerk-Administrator.
(D) Installation and repair of water service lines. Whenever the city installs or repairs water service lines serving private property under Chapter 51 of this code, the City Administrator shall keep a record of the total cost of the installation or repair against the property.
(E) Repair of sidewalks and alleys.
(1) Duty of owner. The owner of any property within the city abutting a public sidewalk or alley shall keep the sidewalk or alley in repair and safe for pedestrians. Repairs shall be made in accordance with the standard specifications approved by the City Council and on file in the Office of the City Clerk-Administrator.
(2) Inspections; notice. The City Council or its designee shall make inspections as are necessary to determine that public sidewalks and alleys within the city are kept in repair and safe for pedestrians or vehicles. If it is found that any sidewalk or alley abutting on private property is unsafe and in need of repairs, the City Council shall cause a notice to be served, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, upon the record owner of the property, ordering the owner to have the sidewalk or alley repaired and made safe within 30 days and stating that if the owner fails to do so, the city will do so and that expense thereof must be paid by the owner, and if unpaid it will be made a special assessment against the property concerned.
(3) Repair by city. If the sidewalk or alley is not repaired within 30 days after receipt of the notice, the City Clerk-Administrator shall report the facts to the City Council and the City Council shall by resolution order the work done by contract in accordance with law. The City Clerk-Administrator shall keep a record of the total cost of the repair attributable to each lot or parcel of property.
(F) Personal liability. The owner of property on which or adjacent to which a current service has been performed shall be personally liable for the cost of the service. As soon as the service has been completed and the cost determined, the City Clerk-Administrator, or other designated official, shall prepare a bill and mail it to the owner and thereupon the amount shall be immediately due and payable at the Office of the City Clerk-Administrator.
(G) Damage to public property. Any person driving any vehicle, equipment, object or contrivance upon any street, road, highway or structure shall be liable for all damages which the surface or structure thereof may sustain as a result of any illegal operation, or driving or moving of the vehicle, equipment or object or contrivance; or as a result of operating, driving or moving any vehicle, equipment, object or contrivance weighing in excess of the maximum weight permitted by statute or this code. When the driver is not the owner of the vehicle, equipment, object or contrivance, but is operating, driving or moving it with the express or implied permission of the owner, then the owner and the driver shall be jointly and severally liable for any such damage. Any person who willfully acts or fails to exercise due care and by that act damages any public property shall be liable for the amount thereof, which amount shall be collectable by action or as a lien under M.S. § 514.67, as it may be amended from time to time.
(H) Assessment. On or before September 1 of each year, the City Clerk-Administrator shall list the total unpaid charges for each type of current service and charges under this section against each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable under this section. The City Council may then spread the charges against property benefited as a special assessment under the authority of M.S. § 429.101 as it may be amended from time to time and other pertinent statutes for certification to the County Auditor and collected along with current taxes the following year or in annual installments, not exceeding ten, as the City Council may determine in each case.
(Ord. 300, passed 6-7-2022)