Grafton council upholds Street Improvement District No. 8-24 assessments after resident appeals, 5-1

The Grafton City Council on June 22 denied appeals to the special assessments for Street Improvement District No. 8-24 and confirmed the assessments by a 5-1 roll-call vote after a reopened public hearing.

City Attorney Rob Fleming opened the hearing by telling the council that a prior August 21, 2025 action made by Mr. Brian Sieben must be redone because his seat was vacated in November 2024; therefore the prior public hearing needed to be repeated. Fleming said all written and public appeals filed on August 21, 2025 remained accepted and that the council would also hear a new appeal submitted that day by Dean and Tami Mecham.

Resident J.R. Steele told the council that Resolution No. 1793 and the affidavit of publication'which include a map'indicate the improvement district covers all properties within the corporate limits. He asked the council to reconsider how assessments were spread, saying proper notice should have told Lessard Avenue residents they could be assessed for the whole project and citing North Dakota Century Code 40-22-09 and the Senske case. "The Improvement District includes all properties located within the corporate limits of the city," Steele said, and asked the council to return the matter to the Special Assessment Committee to spread assessments citywide.

Dean Mecham, who owns a corner lot, asked the council to eliminate one of his assessments, saying he was assessed on two sides of his property. Fleming responded with the historic assessment figures for the Mecham lot, saying that in 2023 Mr. Mecham received a 75-foot assessment of $7,088.58 and in 2024 was assessed for 140 feet totaling $24,301.17. Fleming said the Special Assessment Commission (July 2025) adopted a memorandum determining a benefit of $516 per linear foot using gravel-road dollar amounts and that, under the Senske standard, the benefit per parcel exceeded the project cost.

Other residents raised notice and fairness concerns. Amy Geiger asked why the judge's order had not been circulated to council members; Doug Piekarski said he purchased 1034 Lavergne Avenue without being told of pending assessments and later received a bill for $5,800; Kelly Desautel asked how councilmembers could make an informed decision without receiving the court order; and Vonda Collette said she had been told an approximate assessment of $1,300 to $2,000 by phone and was surprised when the project scope and costs changed.

Fleming said there was no evidence the Special Assessment Commission's numbers were inaccurate and warned that if the council granted the Lessard Avenue protests the unpaid balance of the project would be spread across all taxable property in Grafton under North Dakota Century Code 40-26-08. Fleming also said the Mecham corner-lot calculations followed longstanding city policy and questioned how a benefit could be set on properties across town for paving Lessard Avenue.

Councilmember Brad Burianek moved to accept the Special Assessment Commission's determinations and deny the appeals; Phil Ray seconded. Donavon McMillian said the hearing had given him a better perspective and acknowledged the difficulty of the decision. On roll call, Burianek, Kylen Kostrzewski, McMillian, Loree Osowski and Phil Ray voted to deny the appeals; Darrin Wollitz voted no. Mayor Chris West declared the motion carried and closed the public hearing. The meeting adjourned at 6:38 p.m.

The court order cited by multiple residents remains part of the record; council members indicated they had not received a copy at the meeting and residents asked the council to improve notice and communication about special-assessment procedures.