Years of fundraising by VFW Post 9599 for a new roof on their building at 109 N. Chestnut St are over. The Jefferson city council at its Dec. 14 meeting approved a 4-year forgivable loan agreement to provide the VFW with $42,800 for roof repairs. In exchange, the VFW will complete a façade project “to be more historically accurate,” city building official Chad Stevens said.
“We’re moving in the right direction as far as getting the façade work done,” Stevens said. He added that the new roof “will preserve another building up on the square.”
In other business, the council held a public hearing for review of the wastewater treatment facility project and an application for funding from the State Revolving Loan fund. No comments were heard.
The council approved the second reading of an ordinance rezoning all of the north side of the 800 block of W. Lincoln Way and 708, 706 and 704 W. Lincoln Way from single family residential to multi-family residential.
The council later approved resolutions proposing the sale of four parcels of city-owned, vacant property and set the required public hearings for the next meeting, Jan. 11. Three of the four will be used for residential construction.
First, the council approved the plat of survey for the east 21 feet of the lot at 806 W. Lincoln Way. Palmer said Craig Kinsey, owner of 804 W. Lincoln Way, has used the space for many years and will purchase it. The lot at 804 is smaller than zoning allows; the additional 21 feet would make it a conforming lot.
The council proposes the sale of the remainder of that lot along with 808 W. Lincoln Way. Justin Towers is the potential buyer; he plans to build a duplex there.
The council proposes the sale of the lot at 407 W. Lincoln Way. Palmer said the potential buyers, Ken and Sue Bose, plan to build a single-family home there.
The final lots for sale are 105 and 107 S. Olive St. Andy Rowland is the potential buyer with plans to build a duplex.
The council approved the third reading of an ordinance establishing voting precincts; going forward, there will be two precincts with Elm St being the dividing line.
The council approved Wellmark as the provider of the city’s employee health insurance. The cost for insurance increased 8 percent but there is one less employee on the plan. “(The increase) kind of washed itself out,” Palmer said. There is no increase in cost to the city, with the total cost at $560,519.
The council approved the appointment of Larry Rodgers to the fire department.
During his report, police chief Mark Clouse and captain Jason Kroeger showed a Stryker Lifepac CR2 automated external defibrillator (AED). Kroeger wrote a grant to the Helmsley Family Foundation, partnering with the Iowa Department of Public Safety to provide AEDs in law enforcement vehicles. Kroeger hoped to get one; the department received six at a total value of $10,000.
Clouse said the devices are “top of the line. If you can run a third grader’s coloring book, you can run one of these.”
Every police vehicle will be equipped. “We’re grateful to that foundation for making it possible,” Clouse said.
During the open forum, Dennis Murphy briefed the council on the plans he and his wife Terry have to open a commercial meat locker in Jefferson. They hope to build it on the city-owned vacant lot east of the former Kum & Go gas station.
Murphy raises cattle. He plans to slaughter his own cattle as well as the cattle of two other producers. The operation will be small, slaughtering only one beef and two hogs each day. The meat will be cut and packaged and sold there, as well as being shipped nationwide. The locker will be federally inspected. “It will be kept to the utmost standards. A lot of lockers today are not to those standards,” Murphy said.
According to city council member Dave Sloan, city attorney David Morain said there is nothing in city ordinances to prevent such a business because the largest portion of the business will be retail sales. The Murphys will own and manage the business and will employ four others – two to slaughter, one to cut meat, and one to handle the retail sales.
Murphy told the council the USDA won’t license the business until they own the property. The council will hold a public hearing at the Jan. 11 meeting and then plans to adopt a resolution approving the sale at the Jan. 25 meeting.
“I think it will be a good business for the town,” Murphy said.
Annie Randolph spoke to the council on behalf of ACCESS (Assault Care Center Extending Shelter & Support) and requested $1,000 in financial support from the city. During the past year, ACCESS served 1,395 clients in Boone Story, Marshall, Tama and Greene counties. Thirty-five of those clients were from Greene County.
During his report, police chief Mark Clouse commended the work of ACCESS, calling it “a great, amazing group,” and saying it provides services the JPD cannot.
