Council sets garage limits, fills park vacancy
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The passage of two new city ordinances, filling a vacancy on the city’s park board, and finalizing two revolving loan applications were among action items at the Monday, October 18 Mount Ayr city council meeting.
Ordinances
Two new city ordinances passed on their first reading with the second and third readings waived.
The first ordinance set parameters for new construction of private garages.
The ordinance sets the height of a garage at no more than one story or 20 feet.
In addition, a new garage may not cover more than 30 percent of the yard area on which it is located or 1,200 square feet. A stand alone secondary building must sit a minimum of 10 feet from the principal building on the property.
The second ordinance adopted amended the official zoning map of the city.
The new map changes specific properties from residential to commercial, agricultural to residential, and residential to agricultural.
Land owners affected by the zoning changes have been informed of the changes in writing.
Park board
The council approved the application from Ann Iannotta to fill a vacancy on the city’s park board.
In her letter to the council, Iannotta said she held a doctorate in Physical Therapy from SUNY (New York) Upstate Medical University and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a concentration in Wellness and Health Promotion from SUNY Cortland.
Her experience includes leading a variety of health, wellness, and exercise classes and trainings.
Iannotta, her husband, and three young children recently moved to Mount Ayr from Syracuse, NY.
Loans
The council approved revolving loan applications for two local businesses.
The first went to Ryann Martin for renovations at Ryann’s Dance Academy located in the former Mitchell Drug building at the corner of Taylor and Adams streets.
The zero percent loan of $14,500 will be repaid over five years at $242 per month.
The second loan went to Katie Turner for renovations on the building at 102 N. Fillmore, the new branch location of Turner’s American Family Insurance agency.
The zero percent loan of $15,000 will be repaid over five years at $250 per month.
Downtown revitalization
The council reviewed a second proposal for engineering services for a potential downtown revitalization project.
The proposal from Veenstra and Kimm, Inc. joins one from Bolton and Menk presented to the council at their October 4 meeting.
City administrator Brent Wise explained if the council wants to move ahead with repair of curb and gutter around the square, the costs of that project could be folded into a more ambitious revitalization project for which grant funding is available. Applicants for such grants must have engineering service agreements in place.
Quotes for engineering services were similar for both firms – $22,900 from Bolton and $23,300 from Veenstra.
The council took no action on either proposal pending receiving further details from both firms.
Other business
In other business the council:
• approved a resolution for the installation of stop signs at the corner of Elm and Taylor streets.
• approved a resolution for the installation of a street light in the area of 708 S. Cleveland Street.
• citing dissatisfaction with progress on the current website, considered alternative contractors to build the city website.
