The Jefferson City Council met Tuesday in regular session.

During open forum, a few residents complained about a neighbor having too many vehicles and different kinds of vehicles parked on his property and close to encroaching on their property. They asked the Council to review and change the city’s ordinances pertaining to those issues, because the existing one is vague. Building Official Chad Stevens also recommended changing the ordinance. The Council agreed to review and make proposals at a future meeting.

Resident Roger Nielson requested the Council to talk with the Greene County Board of Supervisors to compile a list of businesses and types of chemicals they have on site so that fire departments can deal with incidents easier if they knew the kinds of chemicals that were inside businesses. The Council took no action on the topic.

The Council approved the first reading to amend an ordinance to include feral cat colonies and implement a trap-neuter-release program to reduce the overall number of feral cats. The Council also approved the first reading to amend ordinances to allow for porches on the fronts of homes, allow the water department to disconnect service to an abandoned property and charge a fee for someone to use a temporary water meter when doing a construction project. 

Additionally, the Council approved the third reading to amend an ordinance to increase water rates by three-percent and sewer rates by 5.5-percent, along with a five-year renewal agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation to maintain Iowa Highway 4 through Jefferson. Finally, the Council approved selling three vacant properties, including 705 West Adams Street to Think Big for $500, 607 West Lincoln Way to Jeffrey Richardson and Tina Thompson for $1,000 and 703 North Chestnut Street to Judy Kolbeck for $250, following three public hearings.