The Jefferson city council held a public hearing and then approved the first reading of an ordinance pertaining to all bicycles, including e-bikes and motorized bicycles, e-scooters, and power-driven mobility devices.
City attorney David Morain summed up the ordinance when he said operators of any type of bicycle, scooter or power-driven mobility device need to follow “the rules of the road.”
“We want them (e-bikes, etc) to be used. We just want them to be used safely,” Morain said.
According to council person Luke Winkelman, “We want to weigh responsible use, safe use, as well as not to inhibit any recreation that occurs.”
Only a few residents spoke at the public hearing. Russ Gettler said he thinks e-bikes and e-scooters shouldn’t be allowed on sidewalks anywhere. The ordinance prohibits them on sidewalks in the business district. Tim Pound said that since e-bikes can go as fast as 45 mph they, and their operators, should be licensed. Daniel Cunningham said he’d like to see a helmet requirement in the ordinance. (Per Morian, that’s not legal in Iowa.)
Police chief Mark Clouse called the new ordinance “a tool to use for safety.” He said bikes/scooters can be impounded after multiple violations, requiring parents to pay a $100 impound fee to recover them.
The ordinance must be approved in two more readings – planned to be at the July 28 and Aug. 11 council meetings – and will be in effect at the start of the new school year.
Morain said there will be “a substantial education process” through the media to inform parents of the ordinance and to encourage them to be sure their children know the rules and expectations.
In other business, the council did not award a contract for construction of the Westwood sidewalk project, but instead sent the matter back to the council’s streets committee for further discussion.
Winkelman and council member Chad Sloan asked for clarification of who would handle snow removal from the new sidewalks before the project proceeds.
The current plan is that the city would handle that task, as the sidewalk would be close enough to the traveled portion on Westwood Drive that city snowplows would push snow onto them. Peterson said that plan was the result of public meetings about the project held last summer.
According to Sloan, that’s unfair to other residents who are responsible for clearing their sidewalks, particularly those on Elm St, which is plowed by the Iowa DOT. Sloan also named Sunset Rd and Rushview Drive as city streets without sidewalks, and asked if the city will at some point pay for sidewalks there.
Winkelman said he’d like to have written documentation regarding snow removal before a contract is awarded.
City engineer Jim Leiding had presented bids on the project. Seven bids were received, with Cardenas Concrete of Fort Dodge the low bidder. The project was estimated at $883,525 for the sidewalk, with an additional $65,181 for concrete work needed on the alley north of Doc’s Stadium. Cardena’s total bid was $7856,502, 17 percent below the engineer’s estimate. The bid is valid for 30 days.
The council’s streets committee meets Tuesday, July 21, at 8 am at the municipal building.
The council authorized placing a referendum on the local option sales tax (LOST) on the Nov. 3 ballot. The council will discuss a revenue purpose statement at a later meeting, as well as whether to write in a sunset date or allow the tax to become perpetual. The tax generates approximately $600,000 annually, all of which is used for repair, maintenance, and improvement of city infrastructure.
The council approved hiring Glenn Hackbarth as a police officer. Hackbarth was a police officer in Fairfield for five years before relocating to the area due to his wife’s employment. His starting wage per the union contract will be $74,030.
The council set a public hearing for the July 28 meeting on granting an electric line easement and gas regulator easement to Alliant Energy on the property east of the Jeffersonian apartments. The city is purchasing the property from Alliant, but Alliant wants to have an easement.
The council accepted a Catalyst grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority for work at 111 N. Chestnut St. The building is owned by Schyler and Lauren Bardole. The city will serve as fiscal agent. The council approved a change to the city cemetery policy allowing trees to be planted under specific conditions. Some cemetery fees are also increased; the price of cemetery plots is not changed.
