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Residents urge Todd County to address derelict lakeshore house on Long Lake
Summary
Two Bertram residents told commissioners that a long-vacant house on Long Lake is an eyesore and possible hazard. They said prior fines and court actions have not remedied the property and asked for commissioner intervention; the board said staff would review and call back.
BERTRAM, Minn. — During the public-comment period of the May 20 Todd County Board of Commissioners meeting, two residents from the Long Lake area asked the county to act on a derelict house they described as an eyesore and a potential hazard.
Nancy Garlack and Terry O’Brien identified the property as 30957 County Road 104, Bertram (on Long Lake). They said the house has been in poor condition for years: missing windows after a roof fire, patched sheet-metal coverings in place of a roof, no functioning septic or utilities and repeated overnight occupancy that exposes children and others to unsafe conditions. Garlack said the property owner pays far less in taxes than other lake residents and that the house had been the subject of prior zoning and court action that resulted in a modest fine but no compliance.
“We want somebody to take some action and get it either out of there or get it brought up to what everybody else’s homes has to have,” Garlack said. She told the board that the county attorney and zoning staff had been contacted over several years without a lasting remedy.
Commissioners thanked the speakers and asked staff to review the complaints and to contact the residents with a follow-up. The board chair said he would make it a personal mission to return a callback after staff and the county attorney review the matter.
What the speakers asked for: enforcement action up to condemnation was discussed by the residents; they asked what the county can do, noting that a previous court case had resulted in a $1,000 fine and no further improvements. They also provided a phone number for follow-up and asked for additional outreach given the property is adjacent to occupied residences.
What’s next: Commissioners said staff would review prior correspondence and enforcement history with the county attorney and zoning and then follow up with the residents with specific next steps.
