E. Repair. Lessee shall fully
repair all damage to the street, other than ordinary wear and tear,
and will provide routine maintenance, such as snowplowing, during the
term hereof.
Temporary Use Agreement from the City
of Chetek to The Mill, Properties Chetek LLC
Back in early September the Street
Committee met at The Mill to discuss the use of Dixon Street, the
street outside their front door, and address right-of-way issues. The
Temporary Use Agreement with Buddy and Nancy Helms, the owners of The
Mill, was nearing its renewal and some questions had been raised by
both council members and the public about the use of the street by
non-Mill customers.
Technically speaking, Dixon is not a
street at all. It's a lien that sometime along the way was paved. But
according to City Attorney Randi Osberg if it's paved like a road and
maintained like a road whatever else it may be it's a road. When The
Mill officially hung up their shingle this past spring I understood
our agreement to be essentially that when they had an event going on
they had the right to close off the street. Otherwise, Dixon was free
to travel for any who needed to get from here to there. But that's
not what is in the lease. In Section 5 (RESPONSIBILITIES – LESSEE),
Letter E (Repair) it clearly states what is printed above – that
for however long the lease continues The Mill is responsible for the
maintenance of the road (including snow plowing) and therefore for
all intents and purposes it is a private road.
That made any further discussion about who gets to use it and when
mute.
 |
| Unless you are attending an event at The Mill best not go down this road |
I have
lived in the neighborhood where The Mill stands all but ten months of
our twenty-six years of residence in Chetek. For most of that time I
always thought that what is now referred to as “Dixon” was
actually Eighth Street but I drove it multiple times a day EVERY DAY
to and from Refuge or to and from school. The guys at ABC used it as
a quick egress to and from work. School buses as well as parents who have kids
at Roselawn and at the HS/MS traveled it daily being the artery that
it is. But when the concrete barriers at Center and at Stout went in
this past May all of that changed. Now traffic is rerouted onto Sixth
Street which everyone knows can be a pretty tight squeeze for trucks
and buses. But, as we are wont to say these days, now “it is what it
is.”
Speaking
only about the road, the immediate neighbors who live just east of
The Mill on Banks Street are satisfied with the change. It was not
uncommon for traffic to zip along Dixon at a high rate of speed and
as parents of small children, like many of them are, they were very
concerned for the safety of their kids. Now that the road is
essentially closed to thru traffic their concerns have been
alleviated. (The Mill, of course, generates other neighborhood issues but they are an entirely different matter.)
For my
part, I apologize for unintentionally adding to the confusion by
suggesting that Dixon could be traversed when The Mill was not in
operation. My signature is at the bottom of that document which
presumes that I am fully aware of what's contained within. Obviously,
I didn't read the lease thoroughly enough. It wasn't even in the "fine" print.
Change
is difficult for everyone regardless of our age or disposition. I
used to be able to get home from Refuge in about a minute. Now that
same trip via Center and Sixth probably takes me a minute and a half.
I know, how inconvenient, right? Things could be worse. I could live
in a city that actually has a stop-and-go light. Now that would be
something, wouldn't it?
