Jefferson residents had all the time they wanted to talk about issues with the city council at the regular meeting Sept. 26.
Residents were there in force to talk about a pair of agenda items – proposed zoning ordinances pertaining to camper/RV/boat/trailer parking; and the proposed Kading housing project.
The new ordinance would prohibit parking campers, RVs, boats, trailers or buses in the 30-foot front yard setback within a residential area. That includes driveways to garages that open to the front yard.
With more than 25 persons in attendance at the meeting, mayor Matt Gordon said before opening discussion that he wanted to send the ordinance to the housing committee, as it was recommended by the planning and zoning board, which is not a committee of the council. “I think we need to take a harder look at it. It’s going to affect a lot of people. I want to make sure that if we put something out there, it’s got to be right,” Gordon said.
Gordon said he had received emails about the proposed ordinance.
“I’d encourage everybody that’s got some ideas or concerns that you email the council so we get all that feedback and can come up with something that will work for most,” Gordon said.
Still, he accepted comments from those in attendance.
Gary Woodley told the council the 30-foot setback is too restrictive, as it would require most camper owners to park them in the middle of their front yard. He suggested that if an ordinance is needed, it should be similar to the junk vehicle ordinance, applying to campers and boats that don’t move anymore.
Council member Dave Sloan said that’s one of the things that need to be looked at more closely. “We want to make sure we get this right as opposed to getting something done,” he said.
Roxanne McCollom asked where the ordinance “started.”
Gordon said he had spent a lot of time driving around Jefferson recently. “You basically can’t find one city block in town that this wouldn’t affect. Some people are doing it right. Some people are doing everything the city has asked.
“Other people aren’t. It goes for boats and for trailers. There’s a lot of variation… In some places it is a problem; in others, it’s not.” Gordon said. “That’s why we’re giving you the opportunity to get a hold of your council members and have the committee take a second look at it.”
After more than 10 minutes of discussion, Gorden called a stop to it, saying the council’s intention with the agenda item was to get input, not have “back and forth.”
Members of the council housing committee are Darren Jackson and Harry Ahrenholtz.
The council appoints members of the planning and zoning commission. They are Guy Richardson, Nick Richardson, Jim Unger, Linda Eighmy, Nancy Teusch and Cindy Daubendiek, according to the city website.
An agenda item listed as a “report” on the proposed Kading housing development proposed for north central Jefferson drew comments from the public as well, many of them questioning the need for it.
Ahrenholtz also serves on the council’s finance committee. He called the job of working through the figures for the requested 10-year tax abatement and the needed investment by the city (in infrastructure) “a work in progress.”
He said Kading expects the city to provide the tax abatement, an ingress/egress road off Gallup Road, and water and sewer lines extended to the edge of the project site.
Kading will pay the cost of building a storm water retention pond, but the city would be expected to pay the cost to connect it to the storm water drainage system, and to maintain that connection.
According to Ahrenholtz, assuming the project is in place for 20 years but takes 2-1/2 years to complete, the city would collect property taxes from it for 7-1/2 years. He said the city would receive water and sewer revenue as soon as residents move in, along with road use taxes and local option sales taxes paid by residents. There’s also a possibility of a $340,000 state grant to pay for a portion of the road off Gallup Rd.
He said it looks like the project would be “revenue positive” for the city, calculating costs and revenues over 20 years.
Ahrenholtz is also a member of the Greene County Development Corporation board and has promoted the city’s participation from the first time it was mentioned.
City administrator Scott Peterson said the plans for the street through the development are changing, with it now more likely to be a public street than a private street. Despite that, Kading still expects to pay the cost of constructing the street, although the cost to build a public street is more than that of a private street.
Peterson said the city will continue to work with Kading and GCDC on the project. He encouraged the public to attend GCDC’s community information event next Monday, Oct. 2, at the Greene Room at Wild Rose Casino. The Kading housing project will be included in the presentation. Beverages and appetizers will be served at 6 pm, with the program at 6:30. There is no cost to attend.
Mayor Gordon asked if infrastructure was put in for the single-family housing developments on the west side of Jefferson.
He continued, “I think the public has a lot of concerns with the investment the city is willing to put into this.” He asked if there are enough jobs in Greene County to support that many new residents.
GCDC has said there are 200 unfilled positions among Greene County employers. Gordon doubts that number.
GCDC director Ken Paxton repeated figures he’s provided before – that 30 percent of the workforce in the county lives outside the county because there isn’t housing available. Seventy percent of that 30 percent said they’d move into Greene County if they could find housing.
Paxton said that every year the county loses 30-40 “significant jobs” because there’s no housing. He repeated his claim of there being 200 open jobs in the county, based on meetings he has regularly with major employers.
He also said current residents might move into new rental units, freeing up their single-family homes for sale to newcomers.
“I recommend Kading really does some education to the public on what they’re all about,” Gordon said.
Paxton replied that people with questions should attend the Oct. 2 event.
Rick Morain, a longtime member of the GCDC board, said Kading’s study shows 60 percent of the units will be filled by people who already live here and have jobs here. The remainder would be filled by employees who would like to live closer to their jobs.
Margaret Saddoris, who with her husband Larry owns many rental units in the county, said she has visited the websites of the largest employers and found only 60 jobs open.
“As a landlord here in Jefferson, my question is, when we’re paying $165 a unit (in taxes), why would you give them a 10-year tax abatement plus an estimated $1.2 million infrastructure investment?”
She used overruns on other recent projects to predict a higher cost on the Kading project, and estimated the property tax abatement to total between $280,000 and $320,00. “You’re talking roughly $2 million you’re willing to pay somebody to come inside, who’s not from the community,” Saddoris said.
She said she knows many people in Madrid, where one of Kading’s earlier projects is. She said she reached out to them and was referred to the Madrid Media Network. Comments there on the Kading project were not favorable.
“If you five people push this on the taxpayers
denny scheuermann
of Jefferson, you’re going to be known
as the worst city council in 50 years.”
“As a taxpaying citizen, we haven’t asked the city for any dollars…. To give them $2 million on the low side, I don’t think it’s fair to the taxpaying citizens of Jefferson,” Saddoris concluded. Her comments were met with applause for others in attendance.
Nikki Uebel, a realtor who also owns apartments in Jefferson, asked the council to do their own housing study. She said there’s a 10-15 percent vacancy rate rental apartments, and that’s without the units Rowland Construction is building near the water tower.
“I really think you should be very cautious about automatically accepting that there’s that much of a housing need. I really have a hard time seeing that there’s going to be an additional need for 100 or 200 units,” Uebel said.
“If you five people push this on the taxpayers of Jefferson, you’re going to be known as the worst city council in 50 years,” Denny Scheuermann said.
Council member Jackson said the council is “in a process” and that he welcomes the comments.
The council then moved onto other agenda items.
At the beginning of the meeting the council held a hearing on a nuisance abatement notice to Erick and Jill Johnson, who live at 402 S. Wilson Ave. The abatement notice cited a non-compliant shed in the driveway and a junk vehicle, a pickup truck topper and a golf cart parked within the front yard setback.
In a prepared statement, Jill Johnson said she would have preferred a knock on the door and conversation with city zoning officer Chad Stevens rather than receiving an abatement notice in the mail. She said the letter put her immediately into defensive mode. “People simply need to get off their soapboxes and set their egos aside and work through the process,” she said. “Life is not the same and easy-peasy for everyone.”
After Johnson provided the history of the items listed, Mayor Gordon suggested the Johnsons meet with the housing committee and “work something out that’s going to work for both sides. I really don’t want it to be us vs them.”
The hearing was tabled and all deadlines to comply with the notice are paused. After that meeting the council could put a stay on the notice.
The council approved an ordinance requiring property owners to pay for the installation of water service lines larger than 1 inch in diameter from the main to the curb stop. City administrator Peterson said most service lines are 5/8 or 3/4”, and that lines larger than that get very expensive. The cost would be based on time and materials. The city would be responsible for maintenance after their installed.
It is primarily commercial and industrial water customers who want the larger lines, Peterson added.
The amendment to the ordinance was recommended by the council’s water/sewer committee. Council member Darren Jackson, who is not on that committee, asked why the customer should pay the full cost of installation rather than only the additional amount above a 3/4” line.
The council approved the first reading of the ordinance. “This is only the first reading. If there are a lot of people who don’t like it, they can come for the second and third readings next time,” Jackson said, referring to the Oct. 12 meeting.
