SPRING VALLEY — After approving the purchase of land across County Road CC from the school for the construction of a bus garage, the Spring Valley School District petitioned for annexation from the Town of Gilman to the Village of Spring Valley, which the school board approved at the Feb. 2 school board meeting. At the Feb. 4 village meeting, the board first heard the petition, discussing it with no action taken.

The district purchased 34.3 acres, with much of the land not going to be used for the bus garage. The reason for purchasing more acreage than necessary for the project was because of a relatively stagnant price from the seller regardless of how much land was purchased.

Village Administrator Luann Emerson said the primary intent for annexation is to save on hookup fees for the sewer system, which would save the district about $40,000.

“Whether they’re in or out of the village limits, they will be on our utility system, the same as Team Oil,” Emerson said. “If they are annexed in, the Village of Spring Valley will owe the Town of Gilman their lost tax revenue, I believe for five years.”

That number reported to the village was about $280 last tax season.

The school is within village limits, but across the highway falls outside of the village.

Trustee Matt Huepfel said the village should bring in an expert to determine the cost to annex the land into the village and to come up with pros and cons for annexation. Another question members of the board had was whether or not the village would need a lift station at the site and how that would affect the village.

Trustee Andrea Wallin mentioned asking school representatives what the plan for the excess land was, but was told there is currently no plan for it.

“It would be a great spot for expanding the village, but if it’s developable,” Wallin said. “The response I got was anything is [developable] with enough money.”

Multiple trustees asked what value the rest of the land outside of the portion including the bus garage would be, citing that it is a wet piece of land. They agreed to gather more information about the land and bring the item back to the agenda down the line.

Grant update

Emerson updated the board on the Revolving Loan Fund, saying money given to Cedar Corporation to do repairs and maintenance on homes in the village is going away, with the state requiring municipalities to turn in all remaining funds, which is $86,000 in Spring Valley’s case.

The state is using the returned funds for their low-income housing program across the state. Emerson said the village does not have a choice in returning the funds, and will look into how the state’s low-income housing fund and whether or not the village could apply for a chunk of the funds.

Money still owed to the village from individuals will be returned to the state as it comes in.

Other business

• A Street Use Street Permit was tabled for Gun Bingo with The Spillway from the business to Second Street on June 13. The board was assured there would be no guns on site, with winners receiving gun vouchers. The item was tabled to solidify exact times for the event.
• Approved a heating repair and freezer replacement for the Spring Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center.