HANCOCK - The Hancock City Council decided Wednesday to take no action on a request by some residents for financial compensation for loss of property value due to construction of a house which blocks their view of the Portage Lake Shipping Canal.
At the September council meeting Justus and Kaisa Randolph, who live on Jasberg Street, presented their claim to council members that construction of a house on Birch Street violated zoning setback regulations and, when completed, it would block their view of the canal.
At the September meeting, the Randolphs were joined by neighbor Pasi Lautala, who also lives on Jasberg Street and claimed the house will block his view of the canal. Both claimed the loss of view will decrease the value of their houses.
During the meeting Wednesday, City Manager Glenn Anderson said if the council approved, he and the city attorney could meet with the property owners to discuss the issue. No council member made a motion to proceed that way, however, so no action was taken.
Councilman James Hainault said he thought about the issue quite a bit since the last council meeting, and he realized that kind of change happens often in many neighborhoods.
"I don't see where the taxpayers of the city of Hancock should pay the homeowners for what they think is a loss," he said. "I know there are dozens of property owners who could make that claim. The bottom line is if you want a view to the water, you have to have property on the water."
Mayor William Laitila said the property owners on Jasberg Street can take their claim to the next tax board of review in March. If they don't get satisfaction there, they can go to the state tax tribunal.
Hainault made a motion to have the city reject the Jasberg Street property owners' claim for damages, but there was no second so it died for lack of support.
On another subject, Hainault said he's heard from many residents who said they're disappointed in the change to SkyWest airlines, which flies from Houghton County Memorial Airport to Chicago, but not to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
People still want a way to get to the Minnesota destination, Hainault said. The council unanimously approved a motion to send a letter to Mesaba Airlines asking it to reinstate the flights to Minnesota.
In other business, council:
heard from Anderson the city transit had a record number of riders in October at 1,929.
heard from Anderson a $1 million Housing and Urban Development grant request to educate homeowners about the dangers of lead in the home was denied. No reason was given in the denial letter from HUD.
approved a $39,000 grant and $91,000 10-year loan from the U. S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development for a front-end loader-mounted snowblower.
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie @mininggazette.com.