(A) Current service defined. The term CURRENT SERVICE as used in this section means 1 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; public health or safety hazard removal or elimination from private property, excluding any hazardous building as defined in M.S. § 463.15, as it may be amended from time to time, or hazardous excavation as defined in M.S. § 463.25, as it 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) The owner and the occupant of any property adjacent to a public sidewalk shall use diligence to keep the walk safe for pedestrians.
(2) No owner or occupant shall allow snow, ice, dirt or rubbish to remain on the walk longer than 12 hours after its deposit thereon.
(3) A street maintenance employee or other designated official shall remove from all public sidewalks all snow, ice, dirt and rubbish as soon as possible beginning 12 hours after any matter has been deposited thereon or after the snow has ceased to fall.
(4) The official shall keep a record of the removal cost for each separate lot and parcel and shall deliver the information to the City Administrator.
(C) Weed elimination.
(1) Weeds as a nuisance. Any weeds, whether noxious as defined by law or not, growing upon any lot or parcel of land outside the traveled portion of any street or alley in the city to a height greater than 18 inches or which have gone or are about to go to seed are a nuisance on the property and on land outside the traveled portion of the street or alley abutting on the property.
(2) Notice. On or before June 1 of each year and at other times as ordered by Council resolution, the City Administrator shall publish once in the official newspaper a notice directing owners and occupants of property within the city to destroy all weeds declared by division (C)(1) above to be a nuisance and state that:
(a) If the weeds are not destroyed in 10 days of notice publication, the weeds will be destroyed by the Weed Inspector;
(b) The owner will be charged for this destruction; and
(c) If the charge is not paid, a special assessment shall be made against the property concerned.
(3) Removal by city. If the owner or occupant of any property in the city fails to comply with the notice within 10 days after its publication, the Weed Inspector shall cut and remove the weeds. The Inspector shall keep a record showing the cost of the work attributable to each separate lot and parcel and shall deliver the information to the City Administrator.
(D) Public health and safety hazards.
(1) When the city removes or eliminates public health or safety hazards from private property under the city code, the administrative officer responsible for doing the work shall keep a record of the cost of the removal or elimination for each parcel of property affected and annually deliver the information to the City Administrator.
(2) This section does not apply to hazardous buildings as defined by M.S. § 463.15, as it may be amended from time to time, or hazardous excavations as defined by M.S. § 463.25, as it may be amended from time to time.
(E) Repair of sidewalks and alleys.
(1) Duty of owner. The owner of any property within the city abutting a public sidewalk shall keep the sidewalk in repair and safe for pedestrians. Repairs shall be made in accordance with the standard specifications approved by the City Superintendent or City Administrator.
(2) Inspections; notice. The street maintenance employee or other designated official 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 the employee finds that any sidewalk-abutting on private property is unsafe and in need of repairs, the employee shall serve notice, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, upon the property's record owner or upon the property's occupant, if the owner does not reside within the city or cannot be found therein. The notice shall order the owner to have the sidewalk repaired and made safe within 60 days and state that:
(a) If the owner fails to do so, the street maintenance employee or other designated official will do so on behalf of the city;
(b) The owner will be charged for the repair; and
(c) If the charge is not paid, a special assessment will be made against the property concerned.
(3) Repair by city.
(a) If the sidewalk is not repaired within 60 days after receipt of the notice, the street maintenance employee or other designated official shall report this fact to the Council.
(b) The Council shall order by resolution the street maintenance employee or other designated official to repair the sidewalk and make it safe or order the work done by contract in accordance with law.
(c) The street maintenance employee or other designated official shall keep a record of the total repair costs attributable to each lot or parcel of property and report the information to the City Administrator.
(F) Personal liability.
(1) 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, that service to be a minimum of $25.
(2) As soon as the service has been completed and the cost determined, the Deputy Clerk or other designated official shall prepare a bill, mail it to the owner and the amount shall be due immediately and payable at the Deputy Clerk’s office.
(G) Assessment.
(1) On or before September 1 of each year, the Clerk Administrator shall list the total unpaid charges for each type of current service against each separate lot or parcel under this chapter.
(2) Upon written notice the Council may then spread the charges against property benefitted as a special assessment under M.S. § 429.101, as it may be amended from time to time, for certification to the County Auditor and collection along with current taxes the following year or in annual installments, not exceeding 10 years, as the Council may determine in each case.
(3) Failure to give notice shall not effect the above assessment if the owner has actual notice of the amount due.
(1987 Code, § 305.07)