Council’s police committee will not pursue ordinance allowing hunting in the city limits
The Jefferson city council at its Feb. 24 meeting heard about commercial flex space in the east business park from Greene County Development director Greg Piklapp. Storage Solutions of Iowa, based in Carroll, owns, maintains, and operates the building.
GDCD developed the east business park with roads and utilities.
The building includes four cold storage spaces and eight flex (incubator) spaces. Those spaces can be used as office space, warehouse, or light industrials spaces. Businesses can flex it to fit their operational needs, Piklapp said. Heating/cooling, electrical and plumbing are installed, with each business creating office, manufacturing or warehouse space. “It’s a one-stop shop to create a start-up, a next-step, or an incubator system,” he said.
It offers a less expensive for businesses wanting to grow, has easy access, and all parts of a business – office, manufacturing, and warehouse – are located at one site. He provided examples of commercial flex spaces in Boone, Tipton and Adel, as well as Jefferson. The facilities are fairly standardized from site to site. “This type of commercial space is highly sought after and is at a premium… It’s a very viable resource to have in your community.”
Four flex units and three cold storage units are already in use, Picklapp said.
The entire east business park is in a tax increment financing (TIF) district. New businesses are entitled to a three-year tax abatement.
In other business, the council approved a 28E agreement with the Greene County Swim Team for use of the city pool. There is no direct charge for pool use; the agreement outlines the responsibilities of the swim team regarding practices and swim meets.
The council approved employing Jacob Kopaska as golf course superintendent and Joe Foote as club house manager for 2026.
In other business Chad Stevens, the city’s representative on the animal shelter board, shared 2025 statistics. Sixty cats went through the shelter. Of those, 27 were adopted out, 12 were adopted through PetSmart, two went to the shelter in Perry, nine went to the shelter in Boone, one went to a farm, six were returned to their owners, one died while in a veterinarian’s care, and two were euthanized.
The shelter saw 89 dogs. Fifty-five of them had been picked up by law enforcement and were returned to their owners after fees were paid. Twenty dogs were adopted out, five were transferred to other shelters, and seven were euthanized. Quarantine was provided for 10 dogs, eight of which were returned to their owners but abated from the community. Stevens said the shelter is a low-kill shelter, not a no-kill shelter.
During the reports portion of the meeting, council member Luke Winkelman reported the police committee had met. After considering public comments on a request to amend the city ordinance to allow public hunting on a parcel of land in the southwest portion of the city, the committee recommends no further action. The ordinance will not be amended.
He also reported that after a request by a home business on S. Cedar St north of the elementary school, signage will be posted reminding drivers not to block private driveways. A line of persons waiting to pick up their children at dismissal begins forming as early as 45 minutes before school dismisses. Winkelman offered as tip-of-the-hat to local businesses that allow employees to leave work to respond to calls as Jefferson firefighters. “You could have all the firetrucks in the world, and without someone to drive them, we’d have nothing..” He specifically thanked AAI, Syngenta, Louis Dreyfus, Heartland Bank, Raccoon Valley Lawn care, Cunningham Roofing, and Tri-County Lumber. “Without their flexibility and allowing their employees to leave we’d have very little daytime fire coverage,” he said.
