Albertville mother at odds with city over basketball hoop

Albertville basketball hoop causing headaches

An Albertville mother is fighting to keep a basketball hoop that she said was installed before she bought the home, but her kids have since grown to love. One problem: City officials have instructed she take it down.

ALBERTVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - An Albertville mother is fighting the city over a basketball hoop on her property that faces the street, something the city said violates code.

Albertville woman fights city over basketball hoop

The backstory:

The hoop was already there when Bibeau and her husband bought the house in 2020.

She said she did not have a problem until November, when the city sent the first of two letters. 

he first letter asked her to remove the hoop, citing a code violation because the hoop was in a right-of-way. The second letter, which was sent weeks later, warned her that the city planned to remove the hoop and bill her for the cost.

Although the city abandoned those plans because the ground was frozen, she said it plans to remove the hoop soon.

What they're saying:

Bibeau said the city administrator told her the city received complaints about the hoop. But she said she "can’t think of one reason" why anyone would lodge a complaint.

"Why is this all of a sudden becoming a problem?" she wondered. "They were going to come take it down on Dec. 23, the day before Christmas Eve, and I kind of laughed at them and said, ‘Okay, would you like to take my Christmas tree, too, Grinch?’"

City says hoop is in right-of-way, violates city code.

The other side:

In an email to FOX 9 on Tuesday afternoon, Adam Nafstad, the city administrator, said: "The city has requested that the property owners... remove the basketball hoop from the street right-of-way."

He did not say when the city plans to remove the hoop.

What's next:

Bibeau said she plans to speak at the next city council meeting on Monday.

She hopes to convince the city to change its mind.