The Jefferson city council at its June 14 meeting approved spending $6,030 for additional soil testing at the site of the new Greene County animal shelter, but only after asking several questions about the need for the testing and whether it should be paid by the contractor.
Issues with the soil at the site present the most recent challenge to the project.
After years of fundraising and downsizing, the foundation was finally poured last December for the Greene County animal shelter. Construction began on the animal shelter in March, only to be halted in May. According to Jefferson building officer Chad Stevens, it was determined the structural fill on the site won’t support the footings. The foundation had already settled 3 inches by then.
Stevens told the council Jensen Builders, general contractor for the project, planned to put down piers to support the foundation from underneath. A test pier showed the soil at 20-30 feet may not be stable enough to do the job.
Original soil testing was done to 20 feet. The new testing, at city expense, will go down to 50 feet. “We need to figure out what’s going on,” Stevens said. “You’re investing a lot of money in the animal shelter. We need to get this figured out, get the foundation supported properly so we don’t have any issues long term.”
The property on which the animal shelter is being built was donated by Greene County Development Corporation to the animal shelter committee. After the city took over the project, the site became city property. The soil testing was done after GCDC donated the site but before the city took ownership.
TEAM Services of Fort Dodge will bore three 50-ft deep holes to determine the stability of the soil before proceeding with the project.
The council approved resolutions and set three public hearings for the June 28 regular meeting. The first is on plans and specifications for the Russell St water main project. The project will be let out for bids following the public hearing, with a bid opening scheduled for July 7.
The second public hearing will be on the plans and specifications for improvements to the entrances to the municipal building. Bid opening for that project is also scheduled for July 7.
The third public hearing is on the status of the Community Development Block Grant-funded project at 200 E. State St. City administrator Mike Palmer explained the public hearing is required by the Iowa Economic Development Authority due to the use of grant funds. The public hearing will include a general description of what has been completed to date; a summary of expenditures to date; a general description of remaining work; a general description of any changes made to the project budget, performance targets, activity schedules, project scope, objectives or beneficiaries; and a description of how the public has reasonable access to the proposed and actual use of CDBG funds.
The council waived the right to review a plat of survey for a parcel south of the Star Energy facility south of the Raccoon River on the east side of Highway 4. Iowa Cover Crops is purchasing 3-1/4 acres from the Roger W. Koppen Trust for the purpose of erecting a warehouse.
Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community committee chairs gave their quarterly report.
Events chair Philip Heisterkamp, who served as chair of the Bell Tower Festival steering committee, reported the recent festival was an “awesomely chaotic weekend” with “overwhelmingly positive reception.”
The city council had previously agreed to a one-time donation of $12,170 to bring carnival rides by Gotcha Games of Collins for Friday and Saturday. Heisterkamp reported the company is refunding $2,000 due to being unable to provide two of the rides contracted for. Carnival ticket sales netted $17,144, with 20 percent of that – $3,428 – coming back to the festival steering committee. That amount will be banked for the 2023 Bell Tower Festival.
Main Street/Chamber director Beth Vander Wilt said the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs’ Iowa Great Places selection team will be in Jefferson June 20. According to Tower View Team chair Deb McGinn, selection as an Iowa Great Place could make Main Street/Chamber eligible for grants as large as $500,000 for qualified projects.
