The Jefferson city council at its May 23 regular meeting approved an ordinance setting vendor fees, street closings and more for the July 25 RAGBRAI® pass through.
The ordinance names Jefferson Matters: Main St as the agent for permitting and determination of vendor locations. Local (Greene County) commercial vendors will pay $200 for a single width booth; out-of-county commercial vendors will pay twice that. Local non-profits will pay $100 for a single width booth, with out-of-county groups paying $150. The deadline for permit applications is June 1. Late applicants will pay a $250 late fee.
The use of personal motorized vehicles – scooters, golf carts, ATVs, etc – is prohibited in the event venue as designated by Jefferson Matters.
Lincoln Way will be closed from Grimmell Rd to Cedar St July 25 from 8:15 to 2 pm. All north-south streets that cross Lincoln Way, with the exception of Elm St, will be closed between State St on the north and Harrison St on the south.
The council waived the second and third readings of the ordinance.
The council opened the meeting with a public hearing at which no one spoke, and then approved an amendment to the current year budget. The amendment includes revenues more than budgeted of $1,059,425 and expenses more than budgeted of $2,391,285.
City administrator Mike Palmer explained the changes are due primarily to the waste water treatment plant update and construction of the animal shelter. According to council member Harry Ahrenholtz, a member of the council’s finance committee, the changes “are more of a timing issue than anything else.”
Council member Darrin Jackson said waste water rate increases “will eventually catch a lot of this.”
The amended budget shows an ending fund balance for June 30, 2023, of $10,730,787, amended from $11,990,647.
The council approved a resolution in support of a workforce housing tax incentive application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority by Rowland Real Estate LLC for a $3.4 million housing project at W. Head St and N. Walnut St near the water tower.
The project includes three four-plex townhouses as rental units and eight single family homes to be sold. Andy Rowland said the single family homes will be similar to one he recently built and sold in the 500 block of S. Locust St, with three bedrooms, 1-3/4 baths and an attached double garage. That home is now on the tax roll with an assessed value of $225,000.
The agreement calls for the city to provide a 100 percent tax abatement for three years on the single family homes and for 10 years on the multi-family rental units.
“It’s pretty exciting to not just have places to rent, but for sale,” Jackson said.
During his quarterly report to the council, Greene County Development Corporation director Ken Paxton talked about Midwest Missions, which has entered into a one-year lease/purchase agreement for the building across the street from city hall, formerly rented from GCDC by Aureon.
Midwest Mission is a charity/disaster relief organization with its home office in Illinois. The Jefferson location will be a distribution center servicing suppliers and volunteers in the western portion of the Midwest.
Paxton said volunteers coming to help at Midwest Mission often purchase meals and fuel in Jefferson, and sometimes overnight lodging.
He also said work is continuing to create a multicultural family resource center to provide assistance to new and current multicultural residents of the county. Greene County Schools would provide office space and employ a director. Work finding funding for the position is under way. The school district has tentatively agreed to fund 25 percent of the director cost. GCDC has applied for a state USDA grant for funds as well.
Bill Raney gave a brief annual update on Thomas Jefferson Gardens and thanked the council for the hotel/motel tax funds the Gardens receives.
