640 OAKRIDGE RD
-
~'onj<:\,)', peb. 2.sth, 19<35,
640 Oakruge ru., ,
Ho;->bns, /'1.lUl. :55343
tel. II 935-1857,
Cit;r Of Ho :-klns,
~~ John Strogen, City Engllleer,
City Rall,
Hopk_ns, l'lnnesota 5534::1
:')c:::,r Sir:
.
On ~rarch 28th,Jt984, I purchaSe.:! the hone aa.:! property at 305-2lst Ave. N.,
HOpkIns, l~. 55343 - tel # 935 l2~9 (there), from the previous illYners, Ur. an.:!
lrlni. Lee 8wygman. The legal .:!escrlpt:!.on is ~> .follows:.
Lots 116,17,JB,19, an.:! 20, Block # 4, ',',est lIpls., ~rj jlvislon
The owners, at one time, '.'ere The Brubache~ - he 1'/aJS. city mnnager at one time.
There are two problems there, that neej l.m.I!le.:!ic- ~e att o!ltion, before damage
or an acci~ent occur.
51~ I'll discuss the lesser problem first. Across the back of t.~ns property, is n
WLre fence, that is in very baj shape _ it is torn, ragge.:!, haS open spaces, etc.
MrS.Bry8B't, I'/ho lives nGXt joor ----...~ at 3ll, 21st Ave. No.. (~!r. 2nd. Urs. NeI/ell
D. Bryant) 1;el. # 938-5508, haS:> tol.:! me that the city of HOpklll3. put in the en-
tire length of fence - that is, behlllj both of the above 1~,etltionej properties, l,tr.
D.mSllore, IIho is very nice to talk to, G2~r:::, ~t::-t the city of HopkinS put in "he
fence behind 1!~. BryClOt, but not t1":e rest.There is a Swimm:L'lg pool or. our proper-
ty, Vlhich haS a ~h wooden .fence arourd it, but ns I peroonally lmo.', from paSt ex-
perience, children can md do climb over wooden fences. l'ihen I livej in Hlt;!lland
Par~ in St, Ipul, actually thlS ji.i occur at a home one block to the '"est o.f us,
when a 4 year Ol.:l chil.i waP .:lrmme.i - a very tragic acci.ient.. the mother never .:ll.i
recover from thiS. With the HILIlI'OP CITY PARK right behind our property, it is
tmPeri~ve c~at there be the .ioub~e precautIOn of the two fences, to try to pro-
CIii.ie any such acci.ient happening here. Mr. nn.i ,r.rs. S ceve Robervs (my dnug'1ter),
who are bUYlllg the home from me on a ca.'1tru~t.for .ie e.i, are Just keep:wg thelr
healS above water, so to say, .fiJ16lllcially, are in no posi, "n to replace this fence
I am sure the City of Hop~, 1'/i:2. hB ,'eSirous of pre..entinG4l1Y tlagic acciJent,
alSo, as <:s1.1e from. the trage~ o.f los:wg a Ilfe, there coul.:l be horrc1Jous 1[1,1-
suits lnvolved.In my opin~on, with the PARK there, It becomes the responslOlllty
of the City of HOpkms, to keep ch~l__1reil'1"rom trtl~paSs~~ll.cross,our pir~perty,If
the park were not locate.i there, there l'Ioul.l be no prohlem..','lhen I Sal.i thlS \'/as the
lesser proble~. I mean~ lt woul.i probably Lost 1ess to take care of.
t.b !faw r I'llll .i1ac~s the other prOblem, which also,ls' !'.."r7.J. Ser~ous, an.l necjS
me.iiate attentiott. \'{ e have the problem of VI ater jra,illing j"IID from the hill and
area behin.i, eS1,?ecially in the sprinl? or IIhenever there lS a thall.. :e hoj tlJ.is occ-
ur laSt spring (1984) e.n.i again now (1985). In 1984, I .iiscus~e.i this lIitlJ. r:r. DmS-
more" ho, III turn .iiscuss ed lt with 1ft'. JOhP Strogen, tlJ.e c~ty :.i:1ginecr _ !;hey
Vlere both over to look at the \'later situatlon.The \later jralOs from the P!,BZ area,
.iown to the low area in your easement property (access to tlJ.e park). ',,'e hve in
terror of the water floojir>.g the garage and the pool area, etc. Als 0 there lS l,lJ.is
factor - as the water eventually .irai.nS off, it is .irallllllG into the groun.l un.ier-
neath the la:-ge , new, ({vuble bar~e arId tl-Je pool - it is mn.lc~~ gro@.i un.ier-
lleatiLall sOf!j,y - ~act. the P09J lSjeve~QP.J:n!Lc:racks, ani \'/iU_ only get worse..
T""'iia:'t water h13l3 to be .iralOed to the street an.l .lown to the North.Nvne of the water
accumul2.t:wg 1n the low arEfa on your easement property is .from our lan.l _ it is 1'111
coming .iown t:'0:1 the high hlll, etc. QIl your city park. "0::'0:- _, -:ave ,,'Ill> taken
care of, before t!:ere :Ls serlOUS dumage done to our property, and lawSUltS ~lop
etc. I shoul.i have pursued t"Us more strOlllgly a year ago, I ]1';al~ze now, as tile
prob4em is not gOlllg to eVaporate lOto thin air _ lt is there to stay, until ao 'Ute
.iraatic meaSure o.f .irainage l.S ~alle.io
~J
~<>- -t.:...-tt. -r;.,~{;., ~ M ~)
,--,--( "'"J ~-.., I ~"'i<>r:*!
Thank you for lis.tening. pleaSe try to come up v/~th solut~ons to our
!lroblema. \'[e will be ver;j apprec1at1vo and eoeperativl:1~ as we \'IiZg to avoid an:y
0PEl!?- confhct. I:e pai.i a good price for the. property, an.i are paying ~h taxes,
tOO.I! you have m:e.:l .for any furth::.r lll..formatlcn, pleaS e 4lall re 935-7057. I l'Iill
be happy to meet you or whatever~I will bold of:E calling my attorney, until we See
what solutlons can. be resolvej~Thank you Ior being so nic..e to talk to _ I .:'J:l 71}
years ol.i~ an.i .10 Seem inclinej to \'lorry a great j eal, ar.i get upSet. I 1'1111 be So
rel.1eve.i when these two problems are solve.i and taken care of. i'/1Il trust tl}e Lord.
I have kept a zerox copy of this letter ~
tor proof the city haS been alerte.i. YOurs .ruly,
t-~~~ Jr, ~
{, '/0 CJa.1( ~(;"- Ifd? - rl/03,
7/ \~'
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f 'I 7' .1..::,-- "74'...)-7
or ,
,//
City of Hop':ins,
% Mr. John Strogen. City Sngllleer,
City Hall,
Hopkins, l'inl1esota 5j343
I'orl :lo,)l. Feb. 25 t h, :J.90 ~,
G40 Oo.l:njge RJ.,
!'"op!.::ms, n..rm. 55343
935 7857
.
Dear Sir:
Contllluat~on of ls t lett er lei't
off fcr .ou Monjay, Feb. 2jth,1935.
ThiS is an aj3.1t~on to the letter:IT 3.ellverej t" City Hall tus !>.,,'. for
you. I have juS"t'~alke.i to my som-in-law,Steven Roberts, 505 2lst Ave. No.!,!opbns,
M:1nn. 55343 tel. # 935 1299, an3. he tells fle that I Shoul3. have. given fOU tr.is In-
.to:rm.ation too.. Call him if you wish to ,Us cuss l1is further existing 3.unf,er.
The c~storm sewer which lS lllstalle.i there, in the 101V area of
your easement area;~srnvery saJ conj,ition - lt is collapsing, the metal grate,
etc. I suppose from all the water staajing on top of it. please inspect this c~ty
1nBtalle.i s~orm sewer to 6ee what he means. JEain if you wish, Steve w~ll make an
appointment to see or meet you, to show ybu t~lS con.iition. It is potentially a
very .iangeroUS spot for a bMJ.d , as it coulil ver:; likely fall lll, an3. s ome ch~l.i
be killej, :>tc.My €>ran3.-chilj, N~e~olaS. son of Steve anj Jana Robe:-ts, is 4 years
olj, anj now, after :1."'v ~ hp;3 :,olj me t~is conJ~ tlon, I am truly worrlej about,not
only hjJn, but "ther c!1iljren. as well.Hc.M tills ai tUation coulj have been left to
exist anj continue, 1B beyonj us, aa. the Janger eX1Sting anj t~e ~)oss~b~hty of
.iamage is horrenjoUS. That water is going nowherel! 1 Except l1lto ine ~rounJ, mD~:lllg
anyth~g possible. Please help US to get this situat~on correcteJ as soon as poss-
ible, as further .ielay can or:l~- ,e8X1 \':'lIluble. If th~s has to go on for weel:s or
even mont _~, :,-cu are risking very .iangerous consequences. It lS too b2.i, that
when t'r1i6 1'2P .i~cuGse.i an.i looke.i at by you people last year, tha.t f{)llleth~g VIaS
not .ione lmme.:llately. T .iij not have the will anj strenth to contest t hls a year
ago, but I .10 now - I w~ll perSist , an.i as fast ~ possible. Ai'ter these let<;ers,
which I have cop~es Of, l.f anyt~lng bappeoS there, the CITY IS LIABLE, cS you have
twice now, heen maje aware of the circu.u.";;ances'.But let's all pray "hat nothing joes
happen, ani that you will have workere there as soon as possible. I wlll ne a
wreck until thiS is ac compl1she.i..W ill :pu please evaluate the situation, anJ 10-
form us of ;our j,eo;1$lon. \'Ilthin a short tlme - jon't let's let thlS Jrag on anJ en;
af3 a whole year haS gpne. by Slllce we broUbht th~s 1;0 your attentlon. Nlj also please
tell me. if we Shoulj consult my attorney at the present tlme. I Jcn't Ilant to, as
it will, then.,aSsume great expense, etc.If nee.i be, both steve ani I wlll go be-
fore the city council, if you so a.iviSe. Please help US immejiately, to avold fu-
ture l1.t~.ation. eta; A year ago, I jij not bet all thlS to you, in wri tlDg bbck
on v/hite, but Mr'~ DunSmore an.i tIT. Strogen both recall talklllg to 1OO~an.:l-1.o{,ra.n.g'
Thank Y OUt <>
fours truly,
P.S. pleaSe staple t~is to the lst letter I left off [-t the Clty H211 tOday, rbnday
Feb. 2S th, 1985. in IIhioh I iiscussej the I"'ater sHuatlOn n.l1j the fence too a All ~
tbes€ circumstances arc for ~!';.e benefit o.f safety of chlljren basically, nnJ. of
course, ,jestruotlon of property alsoo
~ Tt ~ 4-~ -;;:.(.(..~ re c~ --;c- rd ~ - J c,__,-~
1...f:...N'-~' ,""-' '-----"-~ 6......LJ< ~~ .
t
,- //
City of HOp~ins,
% Mr. John strogen,
City Hall,
HOpkinS, !~:Umesota
:
/~
l,~Ofl;i81l. Feb. 25th,:}.985,
640 Oalcr~jge R.i.,
ffopklOS, ~inn. 55343
935, 7857
City :Engineer,
5.5343
continuation o.f 1st letter left
off for :ou Monjay, Feb. 25th,1985.
Dear Sir:
-
T~ is an ajjitl.on to the letter :n: jeliverej to city Hall thlS A.M. for
you; I have juS't.~alkej to ~ sOD-in-law,Steven Roberts, 505 21st Ave. No. Hoplnns,
!l1lln. 55343 tel. # 935 1299, anj he tel1s rle that I Shoul.i have given y~u this J.n-
'zo:rmation too':' Call him if you wish to jiscuss "his further existlOg janger.
The CiiY stOnlt sewer which 'is installea there, in the low area o.f
your eaSement area, s J:ii'"Very saJ con.iition ,- it is collapSing, the metal grate,
etc. I suppose from. all the water stanaing on top of it. pleaSe inSpect this cit;y
iDatalle.i SSOnlt s,ewer to See what he means'': ,Again if you wish, Steve will make an
appointment to see or meet you, to show ybu this conaitiono It is potentially a
very aangeroWS spot .for a bMM., aI3 it could ver.li likely fall m, an.i some chilj
be kille.i, etc.My €',ran.i-chiM., NlcholaS, son of Steve an.i Jana Roberts, is 4 years
ola, ana now, afte:r ~"te"a h:#l :,01;1 me this conjitlon, I am. truly worried about,not
only him, but ~ther chiljrcn, aI3 well.Row thls situation. coul..i have b€en left to
exist anj continue, :ra beyon.i w;I, afl> the janger existing an.i the ,osslblh ty of
damage ia horrenjoWS~ That water is going nowherel1! Except mto 11e grounj, malclllg
enything possib.le.. Pleal3e help uS to get this situatlon correcte.i aI3 soon as poss-
ible, as further .ielay can only .1ean \'rdluble. If thiS ha13 to go on for weelts or
even mont';J3, ;you are riSking very .iangeroUS conS equences. It loS too b aj, that
when this VIaS jY3cuAS ej anj lookej at by you people laS");, year, that &Jmething waS
not jone J.lllJIle.llatel1. T ji..i not have the will anJ strenth to conteSt t his a year
ago, but. I .10 now _ I will persist, an.i as faSt aPJ possible~ After these letters,
which I have copies o.f, if anything happen$ there, the CITY IS LIABI.:&, as you have
twice now, been maje aIVare o.f the circUll.::ll;ances'.But let's all pray "hat nothing joes
happen, anj that you will have workers there as soon as possible. I wlll De a
wreck until this is accompJ,iShe.i..Will;)Ou pleaSe evaluate the Situation, an.i in-
fODn ~ of ;our j~an. within a Short time - .ion't let's- let thlS .irag on an.:l cn;
ail a whole year haS g,one.. by Slllce we brought thiS to your attention~ Nlj also, pleal3e
tell me.. if we Shoul..i consult my attome~ at the present tlme~ I .ion't want to, ~
it will, then,aSsume great expense, etc.If nee.i be, both steve anj I wlll go be-
.tore the city coun911, if you so a.iv1.Se:. PleaSe help ~ immeJiately, to avoij fu-
ture l:1.t1gj.tion, .ete': A year ago, I .i1.i not get all this t,o you, in writlOg, bluck
on white, but M:t". DunSmore an.i Mr. Strogen both recall talking to _~ad.d-lookizlg"
Thank you, ..
Jou~ truly,
, P.S. pleaSe staple thiS to the JJ3t letter I left off at t he City Hall tojay, !'6!n.i~
Feb. 2~th, 1985. in which I jiSc~sej the water situatlon an.i the fence tooo All ~
tlJese circumstances are for the benefit of safety of chiljren b~icalJ,y, anJ, of
course, jestruotion o.f property a1soo
~ Tt ~ 4-~ ~ re.. C~ -;e-~ ~ - .j 0~
/~ C~ ~ 6~ ....., !
~
'( .
~'... "\
City Ot Ho ;;kln5 ,
% Jo~~ Strogen, City Engineer,
City Hall,
HopkLns, n:lnnesota 55343
Monjuy, Feb. 26th, 1985,
640 Oakrljge Rj.,
Hopklns, Hinn. 55343
tel. # 935-7857/
!le2.r Sir:
On nrarch 28th,1984. I purchaPej the hom.e aa.i property at 305-2lst Ave. N.,
HOpklOS. Minn. 55343 - tel # 935 1299 (there). trom the previous GWners, Mr. anj
MIS. Lee Bwygm.~ The legal .:lescrlptlon is 8P .follows:.
Lots $16,17,18,19, an.i 20. Block # 4. '/,'est NPls.' Jr.i .ilvision
The owners, at one time, \'Iere The Brubachere - he wa,a oity manager at one time.
There are two problems there, that neej immejinte attention, before .:lamage
or an acci~ent occur.
(~~ r'll diScuss the lesser problem first~ Across the back o.f this property, is a
w:nre .tence, that is in very baj Shape _ it is tom, raggej, haS open spaces, etc.
MrS.Br:f8:11'S; who lives next .iOOl)' --~-~ at 3ll, 21st Ave. No.. (Mr. and Mrs. Nevlell
D~ Bryant) tel. # 938-5508, haS> tolj me that the city o.t ROplans. put in the en-
tire length of fence - that is, behin.:l both of the above l"'.etltionej properties, Mro
Ilm$ll.ore, who is very nice to talk to, sa~rs t1":2t the city of HopkinS put in tle
fence behi:aJ. Mrs. Bryant, but not the rest.There is a swimm:L'lg pool on our proper-
ty, which haS a ~h woo.ien fence arounJ. it, but as I :personally ]mow from PaSt ex-
perience. chil.iren can an.i .10 climb over woojen fences. When I livej in Hlghlanj
Par~ in St, Ipul, actually this .:lij Occur at a home one block to the \'/est of us,
when a 4 year dll,i chil,i WaS. .:lrownej - a very tragic acci.ientf. the mother never di.:l
. recover from thiS.. With the HILIlI'OP CITY PARK right behin.i our property, it is
~erit1ve -~hat there be the .iouble precautfOn o.t the two fences, to try to prG-.
c .ie any such acci.ient happening here.Mr. an.i Mrs. Steva Rober-uS (my .iaughter),
who are buying the home from. me on a cont1"'J~tfor ,ie e.i, are just keeplllg their
heaJ.S above water, So to say, :t.bl81llcially, are in no posL- cn to replace this fance
I alii Sure the City of Hop~, wiE bB ,'es.irous of pre.entingjpy tragic accijent,
also, as aSi,ie from. the trage~ o.f lOSing a life, there coulj be horrenJoUS lu\{-
suits involve.i.In my opinlon, with the PARle there. it becomes the responSibility
of the City o:f Hopkina. to keep chil.irei:L1"Fom tre~aS8:iJ;!g"...~OSB',owr_'pil."9per:ty,If
the park were not locate.i there, there woulj be no problem..Wh.en I Sai.i this waS the
lesser problem., I meant it woul.i probably cost ~ess to "take care of.
120 lfow I will di.sCUl3s the other prOblem, which also.is' '!~ J serious, anj nee.iS
3iiiiite.:lia,te attentio~ \'( e have the problem of water jra.J.ning .'lown from the hill an.'l
area behin.i, es:eecially in the sprin~ or whenever there ~s a thaJl.. \Ie ha.'l this occ-
ur laSt spring (1984) an.i aga:ln now (1985). In 1984, I .1 is CUSS e.i this with Mr. runs-
morel' "'ho, in tum .iiscuss e.i it with Mr. JObP Strogen, the Cit;y Engineer _ they
were both over to look at the vlater situation.The water jrains from the PARK area,
.:lown to the low area in your easement property (access to the park). l'le live in
terror o.f the water floojing the garage and the pool area. etc. ALso there is 1;his
factor - as the water eventually .ir~ o~.t, it is J.railllng into the groun.i unjer-
neath t he large , new, Qouble garage ana. the pool - it. is maklllg the ground u:a~€;!:-
neath a}], fjoggy - ~actJ j;he .p9..ol ~je.y_etopin~;r.acks, an.i_YL1.ll 9nJ.y ~.1 w_orse~
That water haS to be .irame.i to the street an.i .:lawn to the North.None of the water
accumulcting in the low area on. your easement p:eoperty is from our lan.:l _ it i..B ro~l
comi.ng jown from. the high hill, etc. on your city park. "PleC'f c, have this taken '
care o.f, be.fore there :ia serious jalllage .ione to our property, an.i lawsuits ~lop
etd~ I shoulj have pursue.i thiS more strOlllgly a year ago, I JrJalize now, as ti1e
probhm. is not going to evaporate into th1n a:1r _ it is there to stay, until s.~Ute
.irastic meal'lure o~ .irainage is ~alJ.ed..
&t3
~... ~ 7;.,~ 1n ~/
u..:.xl ~ ~ I ~ort- f
Th.ank you ~or l1s.teningo please try to come up with solutions to our
problema. We will. be ve~ appreciativo and eoe>perativG, as we wi.8S to avoid a1lY
vpen can.flJ.ct. lie paid a gao.:l price for the property, an.:l are paying high taxee
"toO~ I.t you have Soled for any further infonnaUon, pleaS e ~ all 00 935-7857. I will
be happy to meet you or whatever';;I will hold o.f:E ca1J.ing my attorney, until we See
what solutlons can. be resolve,1;'Thank yf)U for being so nlae to talk to - I 2Jll 7l~
years oH., an.i .10 Seem in cline .1 to worry a great .1 eal, anJ. get u~et. I will be so
relievej when these two problemS are solve,i an.i taken care of. V/~ll trust the Lorj~
I have kept a zerox copy of thia letter
.tor proo.f the city haS been alerte.i. Yours truly, ,
It-,~~;r, ~
{, Vo cJal(~;f- If.f? - Irf /03,
7/ \ ~
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