Frank Marzario says the residential unit development on the two floors above his Central Avenue store involves a garbage disposal system that will attract rodents and will cause problems for his business.
However, the developer and owner of the Marzario-rented land, Todd Nelson, and at least one member of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority say these concerns are unfounded and are not the responsibility of the city.
Marzario’s concerns, expressed during an HRA meeting Monday, relate to Nelson’s ongoing project, the top two floors of the former Masonic Lodge building at 230 Central Ave. convert into eight units. Marzario, operator of Pawn Minnesota, is renting space on the first floor of the building. After completion, sometime in early 2022, eight apartments of different sizes will be accommodated on the upper floors.
“You have production problems”
The collection point, separated from existing commercial tenants by walls and accessible through doors along Third St. NW, would attract pests and, according to Marzario, be detrimental to his business and a nearby cafe. Instead, he would like a dumpster with a wooden enclosure to be set up in the parking lot on the west side of the building and away from his rented property.
“The dumpster will be a breeding ground for beetles, cockroaches, mice and rats,” wrote Marzario in an email to Kim Clausen, the development coordinator of the Faribault community. “It will be placed next to a pedestrian walkway (Third Street NE) that creates bad smells and unsanitary conditions. This proposed recessed dumpster will be a landfill for (the cafe), eight residential units of around 40-50 residents, and Pawn Minnesota. This will ruin many companies. The cockroaches, bugs, foul smells and the unsanitary conditions will prove to be hardship for many. “
Nelson claims that the sealed enclosure prevents rodents from accessing the garbage collection point. The city required him to set the garbage disposal format before the council would approve the project.
Faribault building official John Rued said Monday that most of Marzario’s complaints are between him and Nelson, not the city. The city’s building code expressly stipulates that recycling and garbage disposal be provided on site. Rued noted that placing the recycle and garbage collection where Marzario had suggested would move them away from the property. Rued noted that no final payments will be made to Nelson until either of these issues is resolved.
HRA member Jonathan Wood, who is also a council member, told Marzario that contractors like Nelson struggled to get needed materials on time during the pandemic. He also noted that as a Freemason he knows that the organization held fundraisers and pancake breakfasts in the same location, using only two trash cans and one recycling bin. He sees Nelson’s plans as an improvement on this earlier layout.
“They create problems that don’t exist,” Wood told Marzario.
Marzario also asked Nelson to repair and set up a new ceiling. Marzario said he was promised in April 2020 when Nelson removed layers from his ceiling and changed his lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Nelson said the several previous layers of ceiling were a fire hazard and noted that the HVAC system was being repaired.
You can reach city reporter Sam Wilmes at 507-645-1115. © Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.
