While the city of Jefferson and Greene County officials are taking months to draft an agreement for operating a joint animal shelter, coming to agreement on a joint vehicle impound lot was easy.
The Jefferson city council at its Nov. 22 meeting approved the construction of a new impound lot on city-owned property in the 900 block of N. Locust St, southwest of the city maintenance shop. Cost and usage will be shared with the county.
The new impound lot will address the question of what to do with vehicles after they’re towed.
Currently, the city and county use a commercial towing service when vehicles have to be removed from a street or road. Jefferson police chief Mark Clouse explained that per the Code of Iowa, if a vehicle is towed by a commercial business, if it’s not reclaimed by an owner it cannot be re-sold, but must be sold as scrap metal. Towing companies could recoup the cost of towing from the scrap metal price. However, scrap prices are so low now that companies lose money. Clouse said it costs about $120 to tow a vehicle, but the scrap value is only about $50. He’s been notified by local towing services they will no longer tow for the police department.
The Code of Iowa allows a governmental agency to re-sell vehicles being held. So, a new impound lot will allow vehicles to be towed there and held for an auction once or twice a year. The auction price will cover the cost of the commercial tow and the rest will go into the city’s or county’s general fund.
Sheriff-elect Jack Williams said the sheriff’s budget will cover the cost of up to 600 feet of chain link fence and gates. The county will also provide and haul white rock. The city’s share is the property and the cost of trenching a power line from the nearby city-owned cold storage building so security lighting can be installed.
Council member Gary Von Ahsen asked about the appearance of the impound lot in consideration of two residences on N. Locust that will face it. The 8-foot fence will have three strands of barbed wire across the top, Williams said. When Von Ahsen asked about putting privacy slats in the fence, Williams answered that slats would decrease the security, but said slats on the west side could be considered.
The city of Jefferson orders towing of about a dozen vehicles a year and the county has 14 to 16 vehicles towed, Clouse said.
He said that if an officer puts a parking ticket on a vehicle and it goes unnoticed for 48 hours, the officer starts knocking on doors and trying to locate the owner of the vehicle. Officers handle those violators on a case-by-case basis and work with owners who have extenuating circumstances.
According to Clouse, towing is used only for “real problem vehicles.” Repeat offenders of the snow emergency parking ordinance around the courthouse square fit that category, he said.
Once a vehicle is towed, a 10-day notice is sent by certified mail. The owner can pay the towing bill and a $50 impound fee, and then with proof of insurance and someone with a valid driver’s license, the car can be reclaimed. If the 10-day notice goes unanswered, the city considers the vehicle abandoned.
In other business, newly elected council member Dan Benitz was sworn in. He will serve until 2019.
The council approved a contract for $30,350 with Bolton and Menk for engineering for two projects – replacing the alley in the block bordered by Lincoln Way, S. Chestnut St, E. Harrison St and S Locust St; and replacing 350 feet of pavement on Deer Run Road in Lincoln Ridge Estates.
After council discussion, engineering was approved for both projects, but Deer Run Road paving was named as the priority should there not be funds for construction of both.
The council approved keeping Wellmark as the health insurer on the city’s benefit plan. The city’s insurance broker obtained quotes from Wellmark, Coventry, United Health Care and Health Alliance and the Wellmark quote was the most favorable. That shows a 6.87 percent increase for next year, with 6.4 percent of that a mandatory base increase for employee pools in the 2 to 50-member range. City clerk Diane Kennedy said city employees paying for family coverage will see an increase of about $9 per month.
Jefferson Matters: Main Street – The quarterly report was presented by Jamie Daubendiek and Amy Milligan, with much of it being a recap of 2016 activities. Priorities for 2017 were to continue momentum through positive collaboration; to create opportunities for volunteer leadership; and to lay the groundwork for business transition (succession) and entrepreneurial development.
