Council hears development news
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At their regular meeting Monday, November 2, the Mount Ayr city council heard preliminary plans for development of a five-acre parcel of land along Cleveland Street directly south of Caseys and west of the airport.
Kelly Main informed the council he had been awarded the contract to building a new USDA/FSA/NRCS office building at that site and shared with council members two potential layouts for the building and surrounding land.
Main said plans include the development of the five-acre parcel to include other retail and office space.
Main estimated the new 6,000-square-foot building will add approximately $15,000 to $20,000 to the property tax base.
He also offered August 1, 2021 as a target completion date.
New ordinances
The council approved the first reading of a number amended city ordinances at Monday’s meeting.
The amendments came as recommendations from Paul Greufe and Associates, a firm the city has contracted to review policies and procedures dealing with human resources.
Ordinance Number 43 added the title and job description of “City Administrator” to supervise public works, municipal pool, park and recreation board and other duties. The title will be assigned to Brent Wise, who already serves to some degree in each of those capacities.
Ordinance Number 44 amended the city’s “Form of Government” to include addition of a City Administrator position.
Ordinance Number 45 amended the current ordinance pertaining to “Appointments.”
Ordinance Number 45 amended the city ordinance pertaining to the “Parks and Recreation Board.”
In addition, the council approved a resolution to adopt a new city organizational chart of supervisory duties, job descriptions, performance evaluations, and a Judge Lewis Park and Pool Handbook.
Amending an ordinance separate from human resources, the council approved Ordinance Number 42 that changes the city’s dangerous/vicious animal ordinance to remove references to specific breeds. All other existing language in the ordinance remains intact.
Other business
In other business the council:
• approved the appointment of Amanda Cannon as city clerk effective at the end of the year, at which time long-time clerk Pam Poore will retire.
• discussed options to a large water bill from an undetected water leak. The property owner at 503 East Monroe recently received a bill for over $6,100 due to a leak that consumed 378,000 gallons of water. The council plans to research how similar situations have been handled in the past before making a decision in this instance.
• agreed to purchase a sander/salter unit for the city’s dump truck at a cost of $16,890.
• heard an update on improvements at Liberty Lake from Ringgold County Conservation Director Kate Zimmerman. Zimmerman informed the council about a $100,000 matching grant for which RCCB is eligible. Deadline to match the $100,000 is sometime in March, and Zimmerman asked the council for the city’s support toward that goal. While the council took no action at Monday’s meeting, they expressed their support for the project and asked Zimmerman to return to the council closer to the grant deadline.
• briefly discussed the future of the city’s recycling program. City administrator Brent Wise will contact Waste Management to judge their interest/cost to accept the city’s collected recyclables.
The city’s current contractor, Midwest Sanitation, is proposing a $10,000 hike in the fee it charges the city to continue its service.
