Cadott Village Board; Options aired for changing duplexes to twin homes

By Julia Wolf

Twin homes are growing in popularity in the area and could come to Cadott in the near future. Casey Fenner was on hand during a regular meeting of the Cadott Village Board Nov. 15, to discuss options for him to convert some South Main Street duplexes he owns into twin homes.

“You’re buying your half of the building and then also the lot it’s on,” said Patrick Beilfuss, Cedar Corp., explaining what a twin home set-up is. “It’s not a shared lot when you buy your unit.”

Beilfuss says the set-up is appealing to some, because they can own their own place, but it is a smaller unit and yard. He says others find it more affordable as a starter house.

“A lot of people like to downsize,” said Beilfuss. The duplexes are currently on one lot, so Fenner told the board he would have the properties re-surveyed.

“So, they’ll fit?” asked board president Anson Albarado. Fenner says they will fit and are similar to the ones he builds in Eau Claire.

Fenner says one goal of the conversion, is to make the spaces a little bit nicer. He says the real estate attorney is also planning to write a document where whoever buys the twin homes, cannot rent out the properties.

“So, once somebody buys one side, the other side can’t be a rental,” said Fenner.

Clerk Sandy Buetow asked who makes and maintains the legal document concerning shared concerns with the building, such as the roof or siding. Fenner says the attorney also writes that document, which concerns what happens if there are problems with the roof, siding, water main or driveway.

“It’s all going to be in the contract,” said Fenner, who added potential buyers will see the contract before the purchase.

Beilfuss says a written agreement that goes with the property is common for twin homes.

“A twin home is not a permitted use anywhere,” said Beilfuss of the village’s code.

Beilfuss says it would be simple to add a section on twin homes to the ordinances, since they already have a two-family residential district for duplexes.

“That may be something that you want, regardless of what happens,” said Beilfuss.

Fred Hankel, who was on-hand to talk about Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC) options for the village through Chippewa County, says there have been issues in the past, with people wanting to convert duplexes to twin homes, because they are constructed differently. He explained some common issues people making the conversion have had and discussed potential solutions with Fenner.

Board member Bart Chapek asked if Fenner is still interested in converting the structures, if he is able to make the necessary changes. Fenner says he would consider it, depending on the cost.

The issue was tabled until the board gets more information. The board also heard options for a UDC contract with Chippewa County, as the current UDC inspector, Al Balsiger, is retiring in December.

Doug Clary, Chippewa County planning and zoning, says there are two ways to structure the agreement between the village and the county.

One way, would be to keep the village’s UDC provisions in their ordinances, and do an intergovernmental agreement between the county and the village for enforcement. The other option is to rescind that portion of the village’s ordinances dealing with UDCs and pass a resolution to have the county enforce the county’s building code, within the village limits.

“I think what we need to know, is what are the pros and cons of both,” said board member Les Liptak.

Clary says the village does have some things in their codes that the county does not. He also says there is a difference in who would move issues through the courts, if a situation ever got to that level of non-compliance.

Albarado asked what the cost of the options would be. “Our fees are paid directly by the property owner,” said Clary, before going through the costs for different sizes of buildings.

Board members agreed to discuss the options further and get back to Chippewa County later.

There was also a public hearing, during the meeting, on the 2022 proposed budget. Buetow reported she has not received the first dollar and lottery credits to report, yet, so there may be a special meeting once those numbers come in.

The proposed levy is $618,035. “So, we are at that levy limit,” said Buetow. Following the public hearing, board members approved the state required levy limit of $618,035.

Members also approved a confirmation for a client request of services between Cedar Corp. and the village for 2021 Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) Phosphorus Optimization Plan.

The Cadott Lions Club also requested placing a dumpster for deer carcasses in the east side park, from Nov. 15 through Dec. 15. Lions club member and board member Terry Licht said they thought the dumpster would be a nice courtesy, since they already have a box for hides and a box for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing.

“The Lions club is taking care of the cost,” said Licht, who added they will also take care of any mess.

Board members approved the request for the dumpster. Members also approved an ordinance establishing wards in the Village of Cadott, which Buetow explained is standard and based on population size.

Rolly Tichy, public works, also reported he has not heard back from other companies on costs associated with sludge removal, so the matter was tabled until the next meeting.

The board did approve Payment No. 1 to Montana & Son Grading, for the lead service project work, for $55,000, which the village will be reimbursed for through a grant.

“He, basically, did everything very well, cleaned up everything very well,” said Len Schreiber, Cedar Corp.

Schreiber says, if any depressions happen or the seeds don’t come, Montana & Son will come back to fix it.

Eric Weiland, board member, also asked if curb and gutter is needed if Brown Street is paved. Buetow said she will look to see if curb and gutter are required by ordinance.

Following a closed session, members addressed an additional vacation day and quarter percent of retirement given back to two employees, as well as approved a one-time payout from the COVID-19 recovery funds to each full-time employee.