WESTPHALIA —At their meeting on July 24, Westphalia aldermen approved a conditional-use permit for Cassie Luebbert to operate a business making and selling granola from her home at 215 W. Main Street. The board took the recommendation made by the Westphalia Planning and Zoning Committee to approve the conditional use of a business in an area of the city zoned as residential. Aldermen approved the permit with the recommendations made by the committee that included retail sales be by porch pick-up only, that retail sales of the granola not be allowed at other retail outlets (farmer’s markets and craft shows would be allowed), that the business applies for a city business license with the appropriate documentation as needed for her home-based business, and that the conditional-use permit would only be extended to Luebbert and would not be transferred if the property was sold.

Luebbert addressed aldermen to plead her case for the conditional use before the board voted. 

“I understand that it is something small and simple, but like a grain of oats, it nourishes my family and energizes my soul,” said Luebbert, thanking aldermen for taking the time to consider her request.

She explained that she feels lucky to be a stay-at-home mom who can homeschool her children.

“This small business venture really made the daunting grocery bills a little less,” Luebbert added. “I could lift a little of the load off my husband. I felt like I could splurge on the cool, fast shoes my son wants and books for homeschooling.”

Luebbert explained that the pause on the business had taken away the feeling of accomplishment she had felt contributing financially to her family.

“It has been a horrible feeling realizing you’ve found a beautiful balance as a wife and mom and how to contribute financially with your craft, and it felt like it was swept away,” she said.

Luebbert told aldermen that her property has an extra parking lot for customers and that routine sales were not constant as she takes several weeks off between batches to prepare.

Several of Luebbert’s neighbors attended the meeting and voiced support for her business.

Mayor Tammy Massman noted that all the neighbors within 185 feet of the home-based business had received a flyer explaining that an application for conditional use was being considered. Massman also noted that Luebbert completed everything necessary for the city’s business license.

Later in the meeting, Erin Plassmeyer, whose business, Main Street Blooms, was granted a conditional-use permit at the June meeting, reminded aldermen that they had discussed making the process easier at the last meeting.

“We talked about that things need to be easier,” Plassmeyer said, “that we can fine-tune things and make them more modern.”

She added that the turnaround time for getting the conditional-use permit should be shorter.

“These businesses were in place and would have continued to be in place with no regard to even inquire if there needed to be a license,” Massman replied. “You had no state license, no county license, and no city license. You were all participating in sales for months.”

Massman said that questions regarding ordinances and planning and zoning were easily accessible by calling, texting, or emailing her as the City Clerk. Massman noted a new website will be online soon that will list the ordinances.

“How many ordinances does the city have?” Jim Roark, with the Westphalia Fire Protection District, asked.

“I have no idea,” Massman admitted. “They are in a box in the back (of City Hall).”

“Technically, I could make a Sunshine (Law) request asking for all of the ordinances of Westphalia,” Roark said. “I’m not putting it on the city, but I know this is a hot topic. Maybe you need to hire someone to put these things online.”

Massman explained that she had been working with Derek Schwartze Website Design to set up a new website for the city of Westphalia that was more user-friendly.

“If there is a question about how to establish a business, it’s kinda trifle to continue pleading that you don’t know who the aldermen are, or that you don’t know where City Hall is, or that you don’t have personal contact information,” Massman said. “It becomes very frustrating for those of us who sit here. You know where we live; you know how to get a hold of us, and yet that doesn’t generate a question. Or coming to a meeting or sending an email.”

Massman noted that she typically follows up on emails and phone calls within 24 to 36 hours.

“As (City Attorney) Dougg (Stultz) has said a dozen times, the zoning codes are there to protect us,” Massman said. “They are not there to penalize us or cause extra hurdles. If these businesses had been attended to in the appropriate order, accordingly, it would have gone a lot quicker.”

“These businesses go to the website, and they can’t find the information on the website,” Westphalia Fire Protection District President Chris Luebbert said. “It’s the 21st century.”

“I don’t disagree with you,” Massman said. “I just can’t physically get it done, and that’s what has led to Schwartze assisting, but that information, that data must get to him. It’s a process we’ve been working through for two months.”

Alderman Lori Asel asked why she wasn’t qualified to help add the ordinances to the website, but Massman went to an outside website designer when she had offered to help.

Massman replied that Asel had not reached out to her or followed through on the request.

“It is the same thing as how we talked for two to three meetings about looking at the city’s buildings, and I have never been contacted to go down and look at the building,” Massman said. “It’s a two-way street. I can’t have all the responsibility.”

“Is the city looking for a clerk to take some of the burden off your shoulders?” Chris Luebbert asked.

“I would resign as mayor before I would resign as city clerk,” Massman said.

“If the Board of Aldermen gave you that choice,” Chris Luebbert added.

“The only reason I filed for mayor this previous election is because we had no other applications,” Massman said. “We had hoped to have more active participation in the election, and it didn’t happen, so we’ve been muddling through. It was never the responsibility of the city clerk to make, build, create, or maintain the city’s website.”

Massman added that the new website would be online within the next couple of months.

Cassie Luebbert said that she simply didn’t know what was required.

“We just wanted to start a little business, and we knew so many other people who did this with no problems,” she said. “It’s just the fact that we live in city limits, or we wouldn’t have had to deal with this sort of thing.”

“I do this for a number of cities,” Stultz said. “The ordinances for other cities aren’t dissimilar to these. They are very similar. If you start a business in Jefferson City, you are going to get a letter.”

“These rules have been in place for a long time,” Massman added.

“But if you don’t like something, you can change it,” Roark said.

“But it is a process,” Massman said. “This is a standard practice.”

“But you have the ability to change things,” Roark insisted.

“But they shouldn’t have been playing dumb,” Massman said. “The rules were available if they wanted to look.”

“You have to take into consideration that this is a small town without a full-time staff,” Stultz said. “I think everyone is doing the best they can.”

In other business, resident Joyce Weber requested that the aldermen take over the upkeep of an area in front of her property at 164 Main Street.

“There is a very steep slope that is technically not my property; it is the city’s property,” Weber said. “Over the last two years I’ve lived there, I’ve tried to use Round-Up, landscaping paper, and weed-eating. At this point, I’ve done everything I want to do, and I would like the city to take over.”

Mayor Massman noted that this area is essentially off-street parking. Massman had encouraged Weber to bring this issue up to aldermen.

The question was raised as to why there is no one that sprays weeds for Westphalia within city limits.

Massman explained that it has been done on a volunteer basis for the last several years.

She added that for the last five years, the area in front of Weber’s house has not been sprayed or maintained by the city.

“I don’t disagree with you that it is the responsibility of the city if it is city property,” Massman said.

She explained that weeds in front of City Hall have recently been sprayed, but she has done it on a voluntary basis.

“Most people attend to these things as an extension of their own property,” Massman said. “When they don’t, we’ve hired people in the past. Usually, soliciting that person falls on a family member, a neighbor, or a prior employee. It’s not that it hasn’t been done in the past. It’s not that it can’t be done; there has to be approval to do it.”

Massman explained that she would have hired someone to take care of the weeds in the past.

“I have drawn back on taking a lot of action or soliciting bids for off-street parking and paving projects, which previously were brought to the aldermen for approval because of legwork that I have been doing,” Massman said. “But because of the questioning that has been drawn into play in the last year and a half as to what I have been able to do or what I’ve been doing, I’ve taken a step back.”

Massman added that the scrutiny and questioning have been taxing on her.

Asel pointed out that Massman was referring to her when she discussed criticisms of the past year and a half.

“I am only one person,” Massman said. “I don’t approve these things. I don’t make these motions. I can’t solicit a company to do anything without a motion being made. That is just the way it is. That is the way it works. We can make a lot of improvements, but we have to have the (Board of Aldermen’s) support and assistance to keep moving forward and make positive progress.”

Wieberg said that he thought aldermen should look into getting bids for streets and off-street parking.

“The mayor doesn’t have to do everything,” Wieberg added.

Asel questioned why the work that the city needs to be done does not seem to get advertised.

“There is a circle that you work with, and it’s not advertised to everyone through social media, the website, going to the local school district,” Asel explained.

“You are an alderman; you have been for (a year and a half); you can do that,” Stultz said.

“In years past, it has been put out there in all those avenues,” Massman said. “We’ve solicited and tried that in the past with no response. It may seem like one or two people because the council that was sitting here didn’t participate other than coming to meetings. If it got done, it was because one or two people were invested in moving forward, but when that becomes questioned, I’m putting the responsibility back on the people it really falls on, and that’s where it stops.”

Wieberg suggested the city hire Big Timber to spray the weeds, clean out ditches, and cut brush back where needed.

Asel questioned if the owner of Big Timber was related to anyone on the board.

“Lane Brandow owns that, and he is kinda like my son,” Wieberg said, noting he was not actually related to him.

Asel questioned if the city should hire Big Timber because of his association with Wieberg.

“Everyone in a small town is related,” Doug said.

“We’re going to bend the rules and laws to get things done, but we’re going to hold everyone else to the letter of the law?” Asel asked.

Doug asked Asel if she was going to object if Wieberg made a motion to hire Big Timber for the work.

Asel said she would not because she trusts Wieberg, whose motion to hire Big Timber passed unanimously.