Comforts of Home will build second facility in Hudson

Talk about it

Comforts of Home will build a second community-based residential facility just north of its existing facility on Heggen Street.

The Hudson City Council approved final development plans for the 40-unit assisted living residence when it met Nov. 7.

The council also rezoned a 1.25-acre parcel of former city property that it sold to the developer to provide additional land for the facility. The zoning was changed from public district to multi-family residential.

The city’s Comprehensive Plan was amended, too, to reflect the change in land use designation.

The facility will be built on a 2.13-acre parcel that Stephen Kinney sold to Goldridge Group of Eau Claire, a real estate development and management company.

The wooded and sloping former city parcel lies just to the west of the former Kinney property. The city sold the property with stipulations that the trees on it can’t be cut down and that slopes greater than 12 percent can’t be disturbed.

Dennis Darnold, the city’s community development director, said the additional land was needed so the Comforts of Homes facility would meet city property-line setback requirements.

The City Council rezoned the former Kinney parcel from office district to multi-family residential in early September.

The 42-unit Comforts of Home residence just south of the site of the planned residence opened in July 2005.

It provides a home and services for residents who need help with personal care and medications. The lower level of the building is for people with memory problems.

The residents are served three meals a day in a family-style atmosphere. The meals are prepared on site.

The architecture and landscaping of the new facility will complement the existing facility, Darnold reported to the City Council.

Darnold said there will be two vehicle accesses to the facility from Heggen Street. One will be directly across from the south customer access to the post office, and the other will be across from the south access to the post office employee parking lot.

Seven additional off-street parking spaces will be provided for the new facility, Darnold reported in a memo to the council. He said Comforts of Home employees will work at both residences, reducing the need for additional parking.

Comforts of Home, based in Mendota Heights, Minn., currently has 13 assisted living facilities – seven in the Wisconsin and six in Minnesota.

Stormwater utility planned

The council authorized Finance Officer Neil Soltis to work with city attorney Catherine Munkittrick on plans for a city stormwater utility.

In a memo to council members, Soltis noted that all non-personnel related stormwater maintenance costs were removed from the proposed 2012 general fund budget.

He said preliminary work has started on developing a fee structure and budget for meeting the city stormwater maintenance needs.

Soltis will work with Munkittrick to draft an ordinance establishing the utility.

The authorization to proceed with work on the proposed utility initially was on the council’s consent agenda, but Alderperson Lee Wyland asked that it be put on the regular agenda. Wyland wanted the cable Channel 15 audience watching at home to hear more about the stormwater utility.

Soltis was asked to give a brief report on the need for the utility.

He said the city has had to dip into its contingency fund in recent years to pay for emergency repairs to storm sewers.

The city needs a source of funding to make repairs and do more preemptive inspections and maintenance work, Soltis indicated.

Also, since the city now has a population greater than 10,000 (the current state estimate is 12,790), it is subject to new rules on discharging stormwater to the St. Croix River.

Wyland said the city has some settling ponds for stormwater discharged to the river, but more will be required.

Other action

In other action, the City Council: