Spends half of meeting listening to Multicultural Center and Kading project dissenters
The new city-owned animal shelter still doesn’t have an “official” name after the Jefferson city council at its Nov. 28 meeting failed to approve the needed resolution.
The animal shelter board proposed three items to the council. First, the building would be known as Community Shelter.
Second, use of the adjacent dog park would be available to all dogs licensed by the city of Jefferson or in their home community at no charge. Rural dog owners would be able to get their dogs licensed in Jefferson so they could use the dog park. However, the cost of dog licenses would increase from $5 to $10 for spayed/neutered dogs and from $10 to $15 for unaltered dogs.
Third, the maximum stay for a dog at the shelter would be 18 uninterrupted months. At that time PAWS would initiate a review process to make other arrangements for the dog. Euthanasia would not be one of those options.
Darren Jackson is the council’s representative on the animal shelter board. He was not at the council meeting, so the resolution approving those items received little discussion. Council member Dave Sloan made a motion to approve the resolution. The motion died for lack of a second.
Following the meeting, council members Pat Zmolek, Harry Ahrenholtz and Matt Wetrich all said it was the 18-month maximum stay they objected to and agreed that 12 months would be more appropriate.
Most other business on the agenda was handled easily. The council approved an application from Sierra Community Theatre for a façade grant in the amount of $130,000, contingent on successful fundraising for the theatre’s share of the project. The theatre previously received a grant for upper story windows. This project involves the street level façade. Design work is being done by Franks Design Group, which has done most of the design work in the downtown area.
The council approved a $5,000 allocation for operating expenses of The Children’s Center. The contribution will come from the city’s hotel/motel tax fund.
The council approved renewing the Wellmark employee health insurance for the coming year with a 5.8 percent rate increase. City administrator Scott Peterson call the increase “not too bad,” considering the current insurance market.
The council approved maximum tax rebate payments called for in development agreements with several businesses. The amount paid to each business is based on the actual amount of taxes received from that business. Maximum payments are as follows: Mark Bauer Development, Lincoln Ridge, $53,000; Tri-County Cash Lumber Mart Inc, Briarwood, $8,000; Jefferson Hotel Group, $101,200; Mike Wahl, $23,000; and BAM, Vet Clinic, $17,500.
The council set Dec. 12 as the date for a public hearing amending an easement granted earlier this year to Hardin Hilltop Wind for an electric sub-station. The easement needs to be three feet larger than initially approved.
The council approved the third readings of ordinances pertaining to fences and the materials of which they’re made; increasing water rates 5 percent; and clarifying maintenance responsibilities for downtown sidewalks.
The meeting was on track to be less than 30 minutes and non-confrontational until Greene County Development Corporation director Ken Paxton gave his quarterly report.
He reported that fundraising for the proposed Multicultural Family Resource Center is going well and that based on that, and on an increase in the number of Greene County students needing support in English language learning, the GCDC board and the Greene County school district agreed the school should begin advertising/recruiting a director for the Multi-Cultural Center.
He also said GCDC board member John Rigler drew to their attention an organization in Des Moines that is working to resettle Ukrainians displaced by the war there. GCDC has committed to work with that organization. He said the goal is to resettle one or two Ukrainian families in the county. An 8-person volunteer panel is working on that project. “In effect, that will be the first project of the Multicultural Center. Once the director is in place, the director will take over that particular project and move it forward,” Paxton said.
He reported the final development agreement with Kading Properties for the proposed project in northeast Jefferson is under review by GCDC’s attorney. A grant writer is working on a RISE grant for the road needed to access the site. Paxton said the Iowa Department of Transportation has indicated the road would be a good project for RISE funds because it would open up new lots for commercial development. The grant could cover either 80 percent or 50 percent of the cost of the road.
Bolton & Menk has done the necessary drainage study and forwarded it to the Army Corps of Engineers for review.
At that point, mayor Matt Gordon sparred with Paxton. Gordon asked if the focus of the Multicultural Center is on Latinos. Paxton answered that the first focus will be Ukrainian resettlement. “It’s intended to be for all cultures,” he said.
Gordon answered that he had been contacted by CNN, (after Chuck Offenburger gave the national news outlet his contact information), and that CNN had mentioned “specifically how we’re trying to attract Hispanics and migrant workers. That’s where we’re getting confused on who we’re trying to attract.”
Paxton said Latinos are the fastest growing group in Iowa and that the most demand for jobs and housing will likely be from that group.
Gordon asked Paxton if he had talked with the council before going public with the Nueve Vida/Multicultural Center plans. Paxton replied that he had talked with council members. Gordon countered that that wasn’t true, that he hadn’t talked with people “before you come up at a council meeting and sprung this on us.”
Gordon asked if businesses were ready for diverse populations. Paxton answered that after 30 years of declining business, business owners were ready. Gordon asked police chief Mark Clouse what language JPD officers speak. “English” was his one-word response.
Paxton finished his report after being quizzed by the mayor.
A parade of persons followed to speak in opposition to the Kading project and the Multicultural Center. None were recognized by the mayor before speaking.
Most had spoken on the same subject at recent council meetings and repeated the same concerns, which have already been reported.
Most new comments referenced an article by Chuck Offenburger, chair of the GCDC committee working on the Multicultural Center. The article was posted to GreeneCountyNewsOnline last week.
Offenburger had praised the cultural diversity in Storm Lake, Denison and Perry. Emma Saddoris told the council the majority of Jefferson residents don’t want the town to be “another Storm Lake.”
She said that “segregating over 80 to 180 families in an industrial area with no current road, yard space, parking, parks, or sidewalks is just wrong.”
Saddoris quoted from Offenburger’s article comments from GCDC board president Sid Jones. “The type of positions and opportunities available with our employers here cover a wide spectrum, but a lot of them are probably not going to be filled by our traditional Caucasian workforce. We haven’t been able to find enough of them for years.”
She asked why race is a factor, why people won’t do the jobs local employers have a difficult time filling, and suggested that the money being spent on the Multicultural Center could be better spent in providing sign-on bonuses or longevity bonuses for employers to award to new or longtime employees.
Nikki Uebel repeated her previous arguments against the Kading project, saying that Jefferson already has adequate rental housing available. She suggested a centralized data base of rental units available would be helpful, and that the project is looking to remedy a problem that doesn’t exist.
Margaret Saddoris started a back-and-forth with Paxton, who was sitting in the back of the room. Gordon asked her twice to make her comments to the council, not the back of the room. She asked Paxton repeatedly who had originally paid for the property GCDC intends to give to Kading. He explained repeatedly the land had been given to GCDC 30 years ago, and that GCDC recently purchased a small parcel to even out the boundaries of the parcel.
Diane Kirby asked about the Multicultural Center’s interpreters, and suggested that any interpreters working on behalf of the city need to be certified and bonded to protect the city against potential lawsuits.
Denny Lautner has spoken against the Kading project at every opportunity. This time he questioned Scott Peterson’s support for the project. “I’m amazed that you so quickly jumped on the bandwagon for the Kading project, or did you have to drink some of the Greene County Development Corporation’s Kool-Ade or you wouldn’t get the job?” he asked.
Mayor Gordon allowed the speakers 36 minutes during a meeting that lasted 62 minutes.
The meeting concluded with reports from Peterson, council members and city staff.
Peterson explained the county board of supervisors has called for a special vote by persons who live in the unincorporated parts of the county on a question of changing the statement of purpose for Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST) revenues. The change would allow the funds to be used for “any lawful purpose” rather than solely tax relief. The vote would also remove the sunset date for the LOSST.
Peterson said 50 percent of the city councils in the county must pass resolutions allowing the election to be held. He asked council members to consider if the city should also hold an election removing the sunset date (now in 2027) for the LOSST. He plans to have on the Dec. 12 council agenda discussion of the matter.
Council member Matt Wetrich reported fundraising is going well for new pickleball courts and that the committee plans to apply to either Grow Greene County or the Greene County Community Foundation for funds.
