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Hills vacates street for storage building

Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness

Hills City Council members unanimously voted May 11 to vacate a portion of West 5th Street.
No one from the public provided input or attended the Tuesday night public hearing, which was open for 50 minutes before the vote took place.
Council members Vickie Busswitz, Stacen Burgers and Alan Leenderts agreed to vacate the estimated half block of the platted, but not developed, section of West 5th Street.
The city retains ownership of the alley that runs north and south between South 2nd Street West and South Church Avenue, as public infrastructure is located in the area.
A portion of the vacated street will become the home to a new storage facility built by Hills Storage Center.
Owners Kelly Leuthold and Ross Metzger, a Hills council member, plan to build a 40-by-187-foot storage facility south of the West Fifth Street.
When setback requirements from a utility pole for the 14-foot-tall building meant moving the structure to the north, they discovered the property belonged to the city and was originally intended as a street.
Mayor Keith Elbers said no street was ever constructed to connect West 5th Street, which would curve north along the railroad tracks and South 2nd Street West.
In an April 26 special meeting, council members discussed several options with Metzger and Leuthold. They agreed vacating the street was the best option.
All legal costs associated with the vacation will be paid by Metzger and Leuthold. The city would occur none of the expense.
Metzger did not attend the May 11 public hearing and did not vote.

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