The Jefferson city council discussed priorities not only as a first step in establishing the budget for the next fiscal year, but also as a way to direct staff time in some cases. The discussion was at the end of the Oct. 11 regular council meeting.
As in previous years, council members and the mayor ranked many items on a number scale from 1 to 3, with 1 being a high priority. The scores were added to arrive at a number between 5 (all five persons rating an item as priority 1) and 15 (all five persons rating an item as priority 3).
At the outset of the discussion, mayor Craig Berry asked that department heads track and report their activities related to the council’s priorities. “We need better communication,” Berry said.
For the first year since 2010, economic development was not the highest priority. Code enforcement (dilapidated buildings, junk cars, etc.) was the only item to be ranked as a high priority by the four council members and the mayor.
Building/code enforcement officer Nick Sorensen reported that he spends only 10-15 percent of his time on code enforcement. Sorensen explained that code enforcement is a slow process, as he prefers to send notices and ask for compliance before writing a violation. He has been in building/code enforcement position for 16 months and said he spent the first year getting acclimated in the position.
City administrator Mike Palmer suggested he use a spread sheet to note progress on each violation and communicate more frequently with him and the council.
The scope of Sorensen’s job duties was seen in two other high priority areas. Housing was rated at 6, with four responders naming it as a high priority. Sorensen told the council he has recently been appointed as chair of Greene County Development Corporation’s housing committee, the group spearheading the effort to create a public/private partnership to provide incentives to developers, leading to more housing in Jefferson and the county. The committee hopes to have an incentive program in place by the 2017 building season. City council members, county supervisors, Region XII Council of Government staff and local developers are serving on the committee.
The Neighborhood Improvement Program, also in Sorensen’s wheelhouse, was rated at 7. The program this year has a $30,000 budget to assist homeowners with payments of up to $2,000 for projects like painting and windows, as well as demolition of houses where needed.
Economic development is still in the council’s sights, ranked as a 6. One person ranked it as a mid priority rather than a high priority. “That’s been ongoing in this community for the last 752 years,” Berry said, with little other comment.
Also at 6 was entries to the city. The north entry to the city off Highway 30 is the only one with special signage. Palmer said an engineering firm has already developed a proposal for an east entry way. The street committee will see the proposal at its next meeting. Berry said he’d like to see signage on the Raccoon River Valley Trail as bicyclists enter the city. The discussion last year mentioned efforts to create a new “brand” for the city. No actual progress has been made and there was no mention of branding during Tuesday evening’s discussion.
Railroad quiet zones has moved up on the priority list, with two naming it as high priority and three naming it as a mid priority for a rating of 8. Last year, with six persons responding, quiet zones ranked 15.
A new animal shelter was ranked as a high priority by two persons, a mid priority by two persons and a low priority by one person. City council member Dave Sloan reported that architects Waggoner and Wineinger of Mason City will have a cost estimate for the proposed new animal shelter to the steering committee in the next couple of weeks.
Items that no one ranked as a high priority include historic preservation, improvements on Lincoln Way, tourism, cemetery improvements, development of recreational assets, emerald ash borer planning, upgrading equipment, recycling and park improvements.
As the council discussed recreational assets, mention was made that Greene County Development Corporation executive director Ken Paxton reported meeting with a potential developer for a water park. The location under consideration is near Wild Rose Casino.
Four persons ranked recycling and park improvements as low priorities.
In the audience were Dan Benitz and Kirk Hammer, both candidates in the Nov. 8 general election for the council position vacated by Lisa Jaskey.
Benitz questioned why the fire department was not listed in the scoring process. He said the next new fire truck the department purchases will be too large for the current fire station and suggested the city council start planning now for when a larger building is needed. The fire department last year competed for funds available to charitable organizations for funds for needed firefighter safety equipment.
Click here to see the tabulation of priorities in considering the 2017 budget.
In other business, the council approved the third reading of an ordinance to eliminate voting wards and the second reading of an ordinance to increase residential and commercial trash and recycling pick-up fees by 5 percent.
The council approved a contract in the amount of $27,000 with Grell Roofing to install a new roof at the city-owned commercial building at 200 E. State St, and another contract not to exceed $30,000 with C & D Masonry for wall repair and tuck pointing at that building.
The council also approved a five-year contract with Grave Discover to a computerized data base of gravesites at the city’s cemeteries. There will be a $500 start-up charge and a $1,200 annual charge. In addition, the city will incur an estimated $10,000 in expense for data entry. The new program will make it easier for city hall staff to answer queries about the location of graves.
