Old hotel is officially condemned

Cloquet city councilors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the condemnation of the building that once housed Mexico Lindo, a three-story building at 915 Cloquet Ave. originally constructed as the Hotel Solem in 1921.

The vote came after two years of attempts by the city to get the property owners to make repairs, after building official Matt Munter found numerous issues including a leaky roof and bulging brick walls. The city got no response from the owners to multiple orders to repair until earlier this year, after the council declared the historic building a "vacant and hazardous substandard building."

The goal is not to tear down the building, officials say.

The council declaration was a first step toward the city acquiring the deteriorating building, so city officials can find a developer willing to buy cheap and do the work to renovate the building.

That was also what finally got the attention of at least one property owner, Felipe Mata. He refused the city's initial offer of $8,000 for the property, which is the appraised value now that it is vacant and its certificate of occupancy revoked until repairs are made.

According to the staff report at Tuesday's meeting, when the city requested a counteroffer from Mata, he asked for $192,800, the most recent appraised value for the property from the Carlton County assessor's office.

"That is not the value of the property," city attorney Bill Helwig said. "As building inspectors indicated, in the condition it's in, it's a hazard to the downtown and cannot be occupied as a business in that condition. But it still could have historic value if it's renovated."

The county appraisal was made without looking at the building's interior above the ground floor and when there was a tenant in the building, Pedro's Restaurant, explained Helwig.

Helwig said Mata responded, "Don't insult me" to the first offer, before also rejecting a second offer of $50,000 and a third offer of $75,000 from the Cloquet Economic Development Authority, which was authorized to negotiate by the council. Mata's former partner, Carlos Villareal, is deceased and his estate has yet to respond.

By passing the condemnation order, the city will go to court to acquire the property via eminent domain at the original offer of $8,000. Helwig estimated the city could have the order approved within three or four months.

Helwig said the current owners can't stop the process, but they can fight the valuation of the property.

"If he comes back with an appraisal that's significantly higher, then a set of condemnation commissioners appointed by the court will decide what the actual value of the building is," Helwig said.

If a court determined the actual value the city had to pay was more than 40 percent above the EDA's last best offer, then the city would be obligated to pay Mata's attorney fees as well as the higher price, Helwig said, stressing that he considers that scenario very unlikely "considering all the work that's going to have to be put into it to make it a serviceable property."

Ward 3 Councilor Chris Swanson asked if the owners had indicated any willingness to make repairs.

Helwig said no, adding that Mata wanted $192,000 or he would request a demolition permit and tear down the building.

"Just leave a hole in the middle of the block," Helwig said. "To me that feels like he's not interested in repair. He's trying to threaten the city."

The condemnation petition was to be filed this week.

Police cameras proposed

The council work session Tuesday was devoted to a presentation by Cloquet police chief Derek Randall on a plan to outfit the police department with body-worn cameras - which they don't have - and new stun guns. The department has used the stun guns since 2004 and they have been discontinued by the manufacturer. The police department has been awarded a federal grant of up to $38,000 to purchase body-worn cameras and accessory equipment, which requires matching funds from the city.

Almost all other area law enforcement agencies already have body-worn cameras, he said. The move is also supported by the Carlton County attorney, her office, and the city prosecutors, Randall said.

In his report, Randall said "the 'If it's not recorded, it didn't happen' mentality limits prosecutions. Case studies have shown with BWCs, guilty pleas are up 20 percent, and officer court time is reduced by 70 percent."

In studies, he wrote, body-worn cameras have led to decreased litigation and increased cost savings. Case studies show complaints were down by 88 percent and use of force down by 75 percent.

The council didn't vote on the cameras or stun guns Tuesday; a vote is set for May 5 to accept the grant with purchase approval coming later after the department has explored all its options.

Also Tuesday, the council approved the appointment of five people to the new landfill host committee, including city planning and zoning administrator Al Cottingham and former planning commission chair John Sanders as city reps, Kyle Backstrom and Geoff Strack as landfill reps and Ward 1 councilor Bun Carlson. The job of the host fee committee is to determine how the landfill host funds paid to the city should be used, starting about 10 years before the end of the life of the landfill, which is now.