Animal shelter, dog park move up on list
The Jefferson city council at its Sept. 22 meeting reviewed budget priorities for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2021.
As in previous years, the mayor and council members had rated a list of 30 items of importance to residents of the city on a 3-point scale, with 1 being highest priority. The scores were tabulated and presented to the council with previous years’ scores included for comparison. Lower scores indicated higher ranking since a score of 6 would mean the mayor and all 5 council members ranked an item as #1 priority. Ranking scores ranged from 6 to 16. More than 1 item could receive the same priority score.
The survey is geared more toward capital expenditures. Most of the projects on the list include the expense of staff time, planning and engineering, but “employee wages” was not named on the list. There has been much discussion in recent months about increasing wages paid in the Jefferson police department.
Water and sewer line improvements topped this list this year, with all six respondents giving it highest priority.
The animal shelter moved up to second on the list, scoring an 8 compared to 11 last year. Written comments on the survey noted recent progress and that revising plans for the building was a “positive.” The city from the outset has not committed funds to build the new shelter.
In a related project, a dog park moved up on the list, from a total score of 11 last year to a 9 this year. “A lot of people want this, numerous people are asking when it will be done,” was one comment.
In five of the last six years all six respondents named housing as a high priority, putting it at the top of the list. This year two responded assigned housing a 2. “Always important but we have made good headway into this with Region XII and the Rowland project,” noted one respondent.
Involvement with the Highway 30 Coalition is one item on the list that at this time would be a staff priority more than a funding priority. It moved up the list from a 15 to a 10. “Four lanes of highway through Jefferson could really affect industrial and commercial situations in Jefferson and beyond,” commented a respondent.
Development of the Three Block Plan was new to the survey last year and was rated at 13. This year it was rated at 15, with one respondent rating it at 1, one respondent rating it at 2, and the other four assigning it a 3, a low priority. One respondent wrote “I feel it is too expensive for what we will get out of it.”
Click here to see the complete tabulation.
Earlier in the meeting, the council approved the third reading of ordinances increasing water and wastewater rates by 3 percent and increasing the residential recycling rate by $1 per month. The ordinances will go into effect after they’re posted as a legal notice.
The council also approved the first reading of an ordinance lowering the speed limit on N. Grimmell Road from Lincoln Way to Highway 30 from 45 to 35 mph. That has become a primary route to the new Greene County High School. Police chief Mark Clouse said he is increasing patrol on that road, and that issuing a few citations may slow traffic. The council also discussed the possibility of lowering the speed limit on Highway 30 near the school; that would be a decision of the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The council approved leasing the lower level of 202 E. State Street to Welch Ave (Gravitate) for $1,000 per month, with an additional $1,989.65 monthly to reimburse the city for the costs of landlord improvements.
