Third and final reading will be March 12
The second verse was nearly the same as the first when the Jefferson city council at its Feb. 27 meeting held the second reading of an ordinance to change the zoning of a parcel of land in the 400 block of W. Head St to allow KCG Properties to build 40-50 units of affordable housing.
As before, discussion lasted close to two hours. Several people who spoke against the project at the first meeting spoke against it again, making many of the same points. At the end of the discussion, the council again approved the zoning change by a 4-1 vote, with Chad Sloan casting the only no vote.
During the open forum at the beginning of the meeting, Jefferson native Mark McCuen, who has extensive experience in real estate development in the Southwest and returned to live in Jefferson recently after seeing improvements made in the downtown in the last several years, advised community members, “don’t share your dirty laundry. Go have coffee and work it out.”
He was referring to the livestreaming and video recording of council meetings, noting that they can be watched by anyone, anywhere, and that Facebook comments are accessible as well. He suggested that arguments shouldn’t take place in an online format. “Disagree, but be careful how you do it,” McCuen said.
Mayor Craig Berry began the discussion by noting that further investigation has shown there is a 4-inch storm sewer line that is not connected in the center of the property under consideration, and that he has directed city administrator Scott Peterson to look into creating a railroad quiet zone in that neighborhood.
Margaret Saddoris, who does not live in Jefferson but owns several rental properties in town, again lead the opposition. She presented five more petitions to the council “because I’ve never heard how many it will take to prove to the council that the property owners within 200 feet of the area…are against.” She also had three letters from businesses in the area, presumably against the project.
She said of 17 neighboring properties, she had signatures of 11 property owners who are against the project. One property owner is deceased, one property is vacant, and two others are owned by estates, leaving 13 properties. According to Saddoris, having signatures of 11 of 13 property owners shows that “the majority of people in Jefferson” and property owners in the area are against the project.
Saddoris and her husband Larry traveled to Madison, WI, to visit KCG’s 218-unit Meadowlands project, a project that was discussed at length at the council Feb. 13 meeting. The project was deemed a public nuisance by the Madison police department due to the high number of calls from service originating there.
According to Saddoris, a Madison police officer told her, “you don’t want them” about KCG, and that the number of calls for service has declined in recent months only because fewer people live there.
She requested all correspondence between the city and KCG regarding the Jefferson project.
CJ Lintner, KCG’s vice president of development, represented the company at the Feb. 27 meeting. When Saddoris said the tax credits that will fund a large percentage of the capital costs of the project is a poor use of tax dollars, Lintner replied that the tax credits are federal tax dollars that no one in Jefferson would receive benefit from.
When Saddoris mentioned the relationship between assessed value and rents collected as it would affect property taxes paid, Lintner replied that the property is now generating no tax revenue.
The second verse differed from the first in who sang.
Greene County sheriff Jack Williams said he had been asked to weigh in on the issue. He said he researched several similar housing projects, most of which were built in cities much larger than Jefferson. Per his research, he claimed there is better than a 50 percent chance that the proposed project will be “full of crime.”
In his opinion, the project would potentially add to use of the food pantry and mental health services. “I know that Greene County is not ready for a large uptick in the need for any of these services,” he said.
He said the Jefferson police department would be overwhelmed by an increase of 100 or even 30 calls per month. He estimated the JPD would need to hire two additional officers to prevent officer burn-out. He would “need to hire more deputies because the crime may extend to rural communities, also,” Williams said.
“I’m not saying this (the project) is a bad thing. It’s just too large of an increase all at once and we don’t have the proper resources to deal with it if we get the ugly side of it. I agree there’s a chance of having no issues. After talking with several agencies that provided information, we’re not ready, and that means that you’re not ready,” he said.
“In conclusion, as sheriff of Greene County, who is elected by the entire county to protect the entire county, and also as emergency manager or deputy emergency manager, it’s my job to know the resources we have. I’m simply stating that Greene County, and specifically the city of Jefferson, is not ready for this,” Williams said.
Lintner responded that KCG takes seriously bringing in services and support for residents before a project is built and operational. He also said that, according to their market research, the “average” resident will not be from outside the county. KCG welcomes partnerships with law enforcement so as not to be a burden on the community, Lintner said.
He later said all potential residents will undergo a criminal background check, a credit check, and income and citizenship verification.
Also new in the second verse were voices speaking in favor of the project.
Jefferson resident Chris Durlam, who owns property 500 feet from the project site. He said it’s a good project without a lot of risk to the city. “There are a lot of people out there who support this project. They may not be passionate about it, so they’re not here at the council meeting,” he said.
He said KCG will get the federal tax dollars wherever the project gets built. “It’s going to come out of your pocket anyway, no matter where they put it. I think it may be easy to get 11 of the property owners around there to be against it. They don’t want something different. But I think it’s a good project for the community. I support the council people who have put themselves out there and tried to do the right thing on this, and haven’t cowarded down under the pressure because a lot of people show up here… There are people out there, and I talk to them every day, who support this project.”
Peg Raney, who lives east of Jefferson but is known across the state for her work with Jefferson Matters: Main Street, said that it has taken years of volunteer effort to get to the point where developers are interested in building projects in Jefferson. Despite that, Main Street and Greene County Development Corporation did not approach or recruit KCG to Jefferson.
“I applaud people who take the time to come and serve on our city council and investigate things and try to make the best decision they can. I am not one of the people who likes to come up and be vocal like this, along with a lot of other people who have been contacting you (council members) as well. They just don’t come to the podium to do it. I’m sure you’ve heard as much from those people,” Raney said.
LeAnn Monaghan, also of Jefferson, said she has also watched council meetings online recently. “It’s been troubling my heart as I listen to citizens of our town talk about ‘those people’ they don’t want living in our town. One would infer from those conversations that they are the lawless, the drug addicted, the welfare moms, illegal immigrants, and generally undesirable. Let me tell you that many of ‘those people’ are already living here,” she said.
She said use statistics from the food pantry and the need for a Homeless Coalition indicate that. “Some of ‘those people’ are disabled, or seniors living only on Social Security. Some are the working poor, unable to afford a place to live. They’re our fellow human beings,” she said.
She said she had grown up as one of ‘those people’ as a result of the Farm Crisis. She asked people to “have compassion and respect, even for ‘those people’.”
Greene County Schools board president Bonnie Silbaugh of Jefferson had been watching the livestream of the meeting from home. She came to the meeting to clarify her thoughts after Berry, at the outset of the meeting, said he had talked with her and the school district is in favor of the project.
Silbaugh said at the meeting that she has had good conversations with fellow school board members and with people on both sides of the question. “I don’t have the luxury of wearing only my school board cap and saying that of course more housing is more growth, more numbers in our school, higher budgets. Obviously that sounds good. I’d never say there won’t be any problems, because with any growth, any change, there’s always something that’s going to have to handled, have to be tackled… If you ask a teacher, they’ll say that all they do is get thrown change they have to try to handle, and problems they have to fix. That’s going to happen whether you guys change the zoning tonight or not. That’s the issue. The school board will be sure to do what’s best for the school district to do.”
After hearing comments from 13 different people, the council approved the second reading of the ordinance to change the zoning from light industrial to RM3.
Council member Darren Jackson said the city has little risk in the project. “This is on KCG. If they fall on their face, it’s on them. All they’re asking us for is a rezoning.”
The third and final reading will be held at the March 12 meeting.
In other business, the council held a public meeting at which no public comments were given on the plans and specifications, form of contract, and estimate of costs for the E. Lincoln Way resurfacing project. Those items were then approved, with council member Sloan voting nay.
The preliminary estimated cost of the project, which will extend from Locust St east to the municipal cemetery, is $759,150. Bids for the project are due March 5; bids will be considered at the March 12 council meeting.
The council set March 12 as the date for a public hearing on the second story residential project at the Centennial building. That project is partially funded by a Community Development Block Grant, necessitating the public hearing.
The council approved hiring Bolten & Menk to provide professional services in writing a capital improvements plan at a cost of $16,700. Sloan cast a lone dissenting vote.
The plan will provide tracking and long-range planning of equipment needs, infrastructure projects and other items for all departments within the city of Jefferson. That will allow city staff better to prepare for purchases or improvements and to review funding sources in advance of actual needs.
The council approved writing off $2,379 in bad water/sewer/garbage debts from 2015-2019.
The council confirmed the employment of Joe Foote as municipal golf course clubhouse manager.
