City asked to delay action on sale of Angie’s Tea Garden
The Jefferson city council held a public hearing and passed a resolution approving the sale and redevelopment of 206 N. Wilson Ave – the formerly Pizza Ranch – at its regular meeting April 27.
A public hearing on the sale and redevelopment of 100 E. State St – Angie’s Tea Garden – was postponed to May 25 at the request of the attorney for the potential buyers, Why Not Us?
Sale price for the former Pizza Ranch was set at $78,000, the appraised value of the building. The city will assist with a 10-year no-interest forgivable loan to the buyer, Tracy Bosshart of rural Jefferson, doing business as the Stitch LLC.
The city and Bosshart will also enter into a redevelopment agreement that includes a $72,000 forgivable loan. That loan is also forgivable over 10 years. A condition of the agreement is that the building be owned and operated as a quilting and retail shop that is open during all normal business hours. The property is not eligible for any tax abatement.
Bosshart will move the Stitch from its current location at 217 E. Lincoln Way. The shop currently has more than 3,500 bolts of fabric; Bosshart plans to increase that. She recently added yarn and knitting/crocheting accessories. She plans to add more yarn and needle art supplies, as well as general sewing supplies that aren’t available elsewhere in Jefferson. There will be a dedicated classroom/workroom and a seating area where customers can socialize while working on hand projects.
Bosshart purchased the business last August from the estate of Suzanne Sievers.
She told the city council she plans to be in the new location in September at the earliest.
The council also held public hearings and approved the sale of a vacant lot at 305 E. Vest St to John and Angie Wiggins, adjacent property owners, at a sale price of $250; and of a vacant lot at 502 W. State St to Camden Properties IV LLC, also for $250.
The council slated May 11 as the date for a public hearing on rezoning the neighborhood generally surrounding St Joseph Catholic Church from RS-6 (single family) to RM-3 (multi-family). The neighborhood includes three lots previously rezoned to RM-3 for rental properties built by Rowland Construction on N. Olive St between E. Reed and E. Clark Sts. Rowland recently purchased property at the northeast corner of N. Cedar and Reed St with the intention of building more multi-family housing.
According to city zoning coordinator Chad Stevens, the planning and zoning commission considered Rowland’s request to rezone the N. Cedar property and prefers to rezone a larger portion rather than do spot zoning.
Click here for a map showing the proposed changes.
The council held a public hearing at which no one spoke and then passed a resolution approving the FY 2021-22 budget. Budget approval is later this year than usual due to errors in public notices.
The council approved hiring Randy Aponte as a patrol officer with the Jefferson police department. Aponte has worked at the men’s correctional facility in Fort Dodge for 18 months. He was born and raised in New York City, and was in the NYPD Explorer program from age 11 until he aged out at age 18. He then became an auxiliary (reserve) officer there. He is bilingual in Spanish, which police chief Mark Clouse said would be a benefit to the department.
Aponte started Friday morning, April 30, at an annual starting wage of $47,321.
Clouse said that Aponte’s hiring put him at the “magic number” of eight officers.
The council approved the purchase from Automated Systems of a programmable logistics controller for the water treatment plant at a cost of $24,000. The PLC will replace a computer that is operating Windows 7.
The council also approved a service agreement with Bolton and Menk for improvements to the front entrance at the municipal building. The improvements will make it more handicapped accessible and more appealing. The project, including the $17,100 for Bolton and Menk’s planning services, was included in the 2019 bond issue.
