City votes to continue supporting Ringgold County Development Corporation
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Mount Ayr City Council voted unanimously to continue its support of the Ringgold County Development Corporation at it’s regular meeting Monday night.
RCDC Development Director Nicole McGinnis made a presentation to the city council outlining the status of the ongoing development projects and the preliminary plans going forward. She touched on the new house project on Monroe Street that got under way last December that the RCDC spearheaded. The home itself is nearly complete minus some final finishes and the completion of the detached garage that goes with the home. McGinnis indicated that they have had several inquiries regarding the house even though the home has not been placed with a realtor.
Historically, the council has granted $12,000 to the development corporation and will do so again this year. City Administrator Brett Wise underscored the importance of the relationship between the city and the development corporation as cooperation is in the best interest of all involved.
The council also took time to discuss the future of a building located on the north side of the square at 112 ½ E. Madison St. This two story early 1900s structure has fallen into disrepair and now presents a fiscal challenge to the city who owns the property. The city hired TE Forensics, Inc, a professional engineering firm out of Urbandale, to do an inspection of the building. The extensive review of the structure indicated what the city already knew about the building from its own inspections — the building is in need of significant repairs or potentially needs to be demolished to clear way for a new structure. Cost estimates for repairs or demolition were included in the overview, while TE Forensics emphasized that their cost estimates did not include the viability of the building’s electrical, plumbing or HVAC systems.
The council must now determine the path forward given the cost estimates and future revenue possibilities for the city if the building were brought back up to usable condition. The council agree to table the issue until further review is complete and additional options are considered.
The council also considered an update on the Town Square Revitalization Project which has been discussed for quite some time. The project scope has been a moving target due to funding challenges that have appeared throughout the planning phases of the project.
The latest iteration was in response to the council’s request for Veenstra & Kimm, Inc., the engineering firm working on the project, to submit alternative plans given the new budget constraints that have surfaced due to budget shortfalls. The proposed changes greatly reduce the scope of the job and potentially require the city to rethink the plans going forward.
Because of the extensive changes to the previously planned project, the council felt it was important to invite the community back into the conversation and get their feedback before proceeding with revised plans. The council will work on producing a survey that can be distributed to the community which will give the council and the city time to come up with the best available plan that coincides with the realities of the budgets available. Once the surveys are returned and reviewed the city will have a better understanding as to what the communities expectations are.
In other business, the council discussed a recent waste disposal proposal previously presented by Waste Management Corporation. The council continues to be concerned with outsourcing this service even though on the surface it appears to be a more favorable cost benefit to the city. Some of the council’s concerns are the rigidity that appears in the Waste Management proposal that would restrict certain flexibility that city currently affords the residents. One sticking point is the surcharge that Waste Management would apply to residents should a resident place any refuse outside the city issued containers. Waste Management’s protocols would either ad a charge for this additional pickup, or worse, not pick up said items at all. Once again the council is considering polling the community for their feedback on this important service.
In other house keeping items, the city has scheduled a required public hearing for 6 p.m., May 5 to discuss the recently approved FY2027 city budget. This public meeting is largely focused on the proposed tax levy the city has scheduled for inclusion in 2027 and is a requirement.
Wise updated the council regarding the status of the city pool at Judge Lewis Park. The pool will require some minor repairs of which are already underway with pool filling and treatment scheduled for start this week and scheduled for completion on May 8. The Council also signed off on final approval for pool staff and wages.
There was brief discussion regarding the pending and ongoing maintenance to the city baseball fields and the concession and dugout construction projects. These projects are ongoing and expected to be completed on schedule.
