The Jefferson City Council met Tuesday night in regular session.
During open forum, Jefferson Fire Chief Jack Williams told the Council about the department’s $4,800 expense to upgrade it’s lighting system to LED’s. He pointed out that due to grants and various rebates, the total cost would be less than $2,000.
The Council then approved a resolution to enter into two loan agreements following two public hearings. The first was to refinance three existing general obligation bonds for a lower interest rate that would save $287,000 over the total of $4 million in bonds. The second was to issue $2 million in bonds for renovations to the city-owned downtown buildings that would be reimbursed through tax increment financing.
Next, the Council discussed a possible financing option for the animal shelter project. It was proposed that $400,000 would be the maximum amount the Council could issue a bond for, without having to have residents vote on it. The proposed amount would add $0.25 per $1,000 of valuation onto the City’s tax levy, which is currently $2.71. Resident Jeff Cunningham voiced concerns about the size of the facility and possibly paying for ongoing expenses like utilities. Following the discussion, the Council wanted to review the plans before it went back out for bid.
The Council then allowed a resident to address a nuisance abatement issue from the City at 407 South Olive Street. The City Building Inspector Chad Stevens issued a nuisance notice for four non-working vehicles on the property in mid-December, which then expired mid-January. The landowner asked for more time to get rid of the vehicles, due to weather conditions. The Council and landowner agreed to have the nuisance abated by March 15th.
The Council also approved to promote Police Officers Jason Kroeger and Jeremy Beherns to the rank of sergeant, with a $3,000 pay increase to $57,500, they also set February 9th as the 2022 fiscal year budget workshop and March 9th as a public hearing date to adopt the budget. Additionally, the Council approved several items with Bolton and Menk concerning the wastewater treatment plant upgrades. Those agreements included an additional $14,000 for a degradation report to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, $19,500 for a required Environmental Protection Agency risk and resilience assessment and emergency response plan, and $127,000 for the preliminary plan for the upgrades. Finally, the Council approved a $700,000 interim loan through Iowa Finance Authority for administrative, legal and engineering services for the wastewater project.