Heavy rains this summer have created problems for some Jefferson residents, and the city council heard about it at the Aug. 12 meeting.
Larry Joy, who lives in the 500 block of E. Washington St, said that in the eight years he has lived there, he’s never had water in his basement like he has this summer. He asked if dealing with drainage is planned.
City administrator Scott Peterson answered that many basements around town have had water in them. He said it may be groundwater seeping through the foundation, but in many cases it was sanitary sewer backup. Peterson said there have been issues “over time.”
He said the southeast part of town has had issues, and that the sewer lines in the area north of Russell St were lined in 2022 and 2023. That has helped keep roots out of sewer lines so they continue to flow.
He told Joy the fairgrounds drain to the north, to his neighborhood, and that the council’s recent action to amend the urban renewal plan there will allow the use of TIF to do a drainage project that would alleviate the problem. He made no promises when a project would be done,
He did, however, tell Joy a contractor has been hired to start Aug. 18 cleaning sanitary and storm sewers in that neighborhood. “I wouldn’t promise you much of anything because I know the condition is poor, but I would tell you it’s being addressed and it will happen on Monday or the first part of next week,” Peterson said.
Also during the open forum, Jim Nelson, who retired from the Jefferson fire department 20 years ago, asked if a new fire station was taken off the list of proposed capital improvement projects at the fire department’s request.
He said he was told by a current Jefferson firefighter that along with a leaking roof, the current fire station has doors too small for new trucks. When a new, $427,000 fire truck arrives, the mirror brackets will need to be cut down to fit through the door, he said.
He said that between 2020 and 2025 the council approved $2.5 million in forgivable loans. “You’re using your money to fix other people’s businesses on the square and everything else. Why can’t the city take care of their own business with that money?” he asked.
Peterson answered that the matter has been discussed with the fire department and there are options for the fire station. “We haven’t decided to proceed down that path yet,” Peterson said.
Nelson also asked about a lot in the 800 block of W. Lincoln Way to a contractor for home construction two or three years ago, with a condition that a house be built within a year. Peterson agreed and said there are more than that one lot sold with a contingency. Peterson told him building officer Chad Stevens is working on the non-compliance, and determining if the city wants to take the lot back.
Bill Allen talked about increasing property taxes, saying taxes have doubled in eight years. He asked if the city has taken on too much. “Are we spending too much money on forgivable loans? And by the way, how many retail businesses do we have around the square?… What are we promoting? Nice storefronts that look pretty, but are we getting new storefronts around the community?” he said. He suggested the council members could say ‘no’ to some of the requests for funding around the square.
Council member Darren Jackson responded that the council doesn’t set tax rates, and that other towns of similar size have even fewer businesses than Jefferson. He spoke of his time on the Grand Junction city council when the question was more often which downtown building should be torn down next.
In other business, Peterson announced the city will hose the weekly Java & Juice Friday, Sept. 12, at 9:30 am at the wastewater treatment plant. A ribbon cutting will be held at 10 am, with small group tours following.
City engineer Jim Leiding reported that more than 30 persons attended a meeting July 24 to hear options for the use of the Greenewood Center and the Jefferson municipal golf course clubhouse, and possible housing development. The meeting lasted 2-1/2 hours. He said there was good discussion on each of the options presented.
The goal was to find a “preferred option” for each element. The preferred option for the Greenewood Center is to “refresh” the main floor and move laundry and storage there so congregate meals would not need to access the basement.
The preferred option for the golf course clubhouse is to relocate it to the basement of the Greenewood Center, with space for a pro shop, a bar, golf simulators, restrooms, and seating area.
The current clubhouse would be razed. The site would be used for additional parking, outdoor seating, outdoor cart parking, and realignment of cart paths.
Work on a development area to the west would include extending the road and utilities, and having sites for three duplexes to the north and four duplexes to the south. Bolton & Menk is now updating visuals and cost estimates and doing a financial study with the goal of presenting findings in September. Peterson reported that Iowa League of Cities has chosen the downtown building restoration project for an All-Star Community Award. The award will be presented at a banquet Sept. 17.
