The Jefferson city council at its Jan. 10 meeting moved very quickly through a public hearing on amending the city’s urban renewal plan and then approved the needed resolution to make the change. The amendment adds properties to the tax increment financing (TIF) district.
The council then set a public hearing for its next meeting, Jan. 24 at 5:30 pm, to enter into a loan agreement for $1 million, with the loan paid for with TIF funds derived from the expanded urban renewal district.
Included for payment from the $1 million is the city’s $250,000 share of the downtown façade restoration project; paying for real estate acquisition in the TIF district; paying the city’s share of a Community Development Block Grant project involving owner-occupied housing rehabilitation; making the final $200,000 payment on the Highway 4 overpass (that amount is the cost overrun incurred after bonds were sold for the project, which was completed in 2012); and paying preliminary engineering costs for a storm water project in the northern part of the district, an area which includes Wild Rose Casino.
In other business the council approved the recommendation of police chief Mark Clouse to hire Caleb Jans as a patrol officer effective Jan. 13.
Jans is a 2013 graduate of Perry High School. He is now taking his final class to complete a bachelor of arts in criminal justice at Simpson College. Clouse said that Jans’ four-year degree will qualify him for a shortened course at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
His starting annual wage is $39,516.
The city council appointed Ryan Stott and Guy Richardson to the airport commission.
As part of the consent agenda the council approved committee assignments for 2017 as follows: housing- Gary Von Ahsen, Dan Benitz; community betterment- Larry Teeples, Harry Ahrenholtz; park and recreation- Teeples, Dave Sloan; police department/law enforcement entity board- Ahrenholtz, Sloan; wage and benefit- Von Ahsen, Ahrenholtz; library board- Benitz; water/sewer- Teeples, Von Ahsen; street- Von Ahsen, Benitz; cemetery- Ahrenholtz, Benitz; airport- Teeples, Benitz (alternate); animal shelter/P.A.W.S. liaison- Ahrenholtz, Sloan; Highway 30 Coalition- Teeples; hotel/motel tax distribution- Sloan, Teeples; Greene County Development Corporation- Von Ahsen; and golf course- Von Ahsen, Teeples.
Ahrenholtz was appointed as mayor pro-tem. Sloan was appointed to the recycling agency.
