St. Cloud Committees Get Fresh Faces as Mayor Anderson Makes First Appointments

(KNSI) – Nearly 20 St. Cloud committees are getting some fresh blood, and the city will hold a pair of public meetings next month.

During Monday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Jake Anderson made his first appointments since taking office. He explained to KNSI how he made his choices. “A number of them, were city council folks. So those are people that wanted to be on those committees. So we sat through a process during a retreat where folks picked what they wanted to be in. So that’s how the council members were selected. Members of the public were selected based on applications they submitted, and then unique experiences or different perspectives they may bring.”

For instance, he appointed Charlie Hobbs to the planning commission in part because he is legally blind and could bring a different perspective than most. The other spot went to Councilmember Hudda Ibriham. The Economic Development Authority will have Councilmembers Mike Conway and Dave Masters join them. Newly elected Councilman Scott Brodeen will sit on the Park and Recreation Board and councilman Mike Conway to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The council will also set a February 10th public hearing on a planned unit development to allow an adult daycare facility to expand. If approved, Love of Christ Lutheran Church’s facility, 1971 Pine Cone Road, could go from serving a dozen people to 20. The plot is currently zoned as R1, and any facility serving more than 12 needs to be in an R2 development area.

The public will also have a chance to chime in on February 10th on eliminating some streets to make way for the redevelopment of a catalyst site at the corner of Cooper Avenue and Division Street. Anderson says the site was identified as a prime location in a 2015 study. “It’s a gateway site. You drive into town, you see that no matter where you’re at, so it’s important to develop those spots. It’s important to develop all areas. So we’re going to continue to move forward and figure out ways to spur development, encourage development, and sometimes you have to vacate some streets for that.”

Sanvik Development will ask the board to approve vacating a small portion of 19th Avenue South, West Division Street and alley rights-of-way between Cooper Avenue South and 19 1/2 Avenue South and Division Street and West St. Germain Street. The area once housed an Xcel Energy substation and other buildings, which were removed in 2017 to make way for redevelopment.

The city’s plans call for the area to be used as commercial and multi-family residential space. Any project there must utilize tax increment financing based on prior statutes as a blighted property.

The city council also approved the Islamic Center of St. Cloud’s request to build more housing. The development will be at 1850 Clearwater Road next to Schmidt Park. It’s the final development phase that’s been in the works since 2007. Nine duplexes and 18 lots for single-family homes will be built, for a total of 36 units.

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