Coldwater buys corner of Clay and Division after two-week delay

COLDWATER — Four weeks after a protest vote stalled the sale of the small lot at the conjunction of Clay and Division streets, the Coldwater City Council approved purchasing the property for $75,000 on Monday night.

First Ward Councilwoman Emily Rissman again voted no, but with eight members voting yes, there was the super majority to pass the purchase resolution. The council was short a vote on March 25.

Now, the city must decide what to do with the land and the former gas station.

City Manager Keith Baker said a small portion of the land was needed to realign the intersection where the two streets merge at Industrial Avenue.

Prior storyProtest vote delays Coldwater property purchase to realign Division and Clay streets

Fishbeck, the city’s engineering firm, created a design to ease traffic flow and eliminate confusion about turning vehicles.

Baker said there is no firm cost estimate for reconfiguring the intersection.

Baker said the problems are with truck traffic turning on and off Industrial Avenue.

Steve Olmstead purchased the property last October for $95,000 to renovate it for commercial use before he discovered there was no sewer connection.

Owners put sewage into a tank and pumped it out. There is insufficient land for a legal septic tank system next to the Sauk River on the northern property line.

Baker said the minimum cost to connect the building to city sewers was $50,000. Because the land is lower than surrounding a lift station for the business, this could add more cost.

Councilman Randall Hazelbaker asked if the building could house city vehicles. Baker said he could explore that.

Councilman Jim Knaack said, “To put a storage garage there kind of defeats the purposes of buying it in the first place to clean the entrance up.”

The city did a Phase 1 environmental study. “All indications are that all the tanks had been removed,” but Baker said ground-penetrating radar will check again.

Baker said the initial concept was to tear the building down and remove the asphalt, allowing the land to become a small park with access to the Sauk River.

Baker will present options and costs to the council in the future.

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Baker said the city has funds in its budget for the purchase and work.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com