Jefferson city residents got a final wallop to their budget at the city council meeting Sept. 13. After approving the second reading of ordinances to increase water and sewer rates, the council approved the first reading of an ordinance to increase rates for landfill and garbage pickup.
Garbage pickup will increase from $11.45 to $12.50 per month effective for the November bill . The rate will then increase 25 cents per year for the next four years. City staff felt “heartache” over that action.
City administrator Mike Palmer explained he finance committee and the sanitation committee had come to the conclusion the city wasn’t covering the cost of providing garbage pickup and landfill fees.
Council member Darin Jackson asked if rate increases should have been done in a more timely fashion. “Have we let things get away from us, that suddenly we’re raising everything on that municipal bill?” Jackson asked.
“Our costs increased just like everything else,” Palmer said. “There’s a lot of heartache by everybody on that for that very reason, raising the water and sewer.”
Jackson asked if the small increases over the coming years will keep Jefferson from a big “whap” like some cities experience when “you have to raise it 15 percent, just boom, in one year.”
Palmer reassured him it would, and Jackson made the motion to approve the increase.
Also at the meeting the council awarded a bid on improvements to the bath house at the municipal pool. Westbrooke Construction of Urbandale was the only bidder on the project; the council accepted the base bid of $89,861 with an add-on of $14,400 for new cabinets for a total of $104,261.
Work will begin early next spring. The project was to have been done this past spring, but bids on the project came in too high at more than $141,000. The plan was amended to one family restroom on the men’s side of the bath house rather than two, bringing the project back within budget.
The project cost will come from the hotel/motel tax fund.
Jefferson park and recreation director Denny Hammen said Westbrooke also agreed to work on enclosing the office and reception area at the community center to allow patrons to have access 24-7. That’s another project that’s been under consideration but was delayed due to being unable to find a contractor to schedule the work.
The council approved a change order and the final pay estimate for the municipal airport runway extension project, and then approved a resolution of final completion of the project. Total cost of the project is $1,488,805. Most was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The council approved a $1,000 administrative contract with Region XII Council of Governments for assistance in preparing an application for a community development block grant for upper story work at 100 E. State St, above The Centennial. Karla Janning of Region XII said the plan calls for two 1-bedroom apartments with rent set for persons with low to moderate incomes (80 percent of the county average income).
Members of the Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community gave their quarterly update.
During the open forum at the opening of the meeting Bruce Banister talked with the council about issues with junk in the yard of his neighbor Eric Chrystal in the 700 block of S. Sunset Rd. Banister and other neighbors have previously complained of junk vehicles and even half an airplane in the yard, “devaluing the properties of the whole neighborhood,” Banister said.
Mayor Todd Gordon said Chrystal has made progress cleaning up the property, but according to Banister, every time one junk vehicle is moved out something else is put in its place. Banister asked why the city can’t deliver an ultimatum with a final date for clean-up, and then do the work and bill Chrystal for it. “He’s been violating a city ordinance and he’s been doing it for years,” Banister said.
Council member Jackson opined that Banister was “not unreasonable” in wanting a deadline. Code enforcement officer Chad Sevens said he and police chief Mark Clouse are working on it.
