The Perry City Council met in regular session Monday.
At the meeting, City Administrator Butch Niebuhr talked about the Kazakhstan delegation that recently visited Perry – as reported here on May 26th. He also talked about the recent Biking Central Iowa report put out by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. It shows the popularity of trails throughout the area along with project updates and cyclists’ preferences of days, time of day etc.
Mayor Jay Pattee then shared the news that Perry High School has received a bronze medal award from U.S. News and World Report, as one of 101 in Iowa recognized by the report. Councilman Dr. Randy McCaulley echoed the mayor’s compliments for the school and added that he’s working with Police Chief Eric Vaughn to sacrifice another turkey vulture to hang in effigy in hopes that the birds will stop roosting in local trees. Councilman Phil Stone then talked about the recent Dallas County Conservation Board meeting in regards to the Raccoon River Valley Trail to High Trestle Trail connector. He said it’s clear people in Perry are concerned about this and the impact on the town. Councilman Chuck Schott said by the end of the most recent meeting on Thursday he felt they were finally communicating well with the Board. Mayor Pattee mentioned one of the meeting attendees bringing up a statistic that being along a bicycle trail actually raises property values. He encouraged northern Dallas County citizens to express their concerns with the Board of Supervisors in regards to road projects that were once on the 10 year plan to be addressed in the area and have since disappeared.
Pam McCallister stepped forward during open forum to talk about a fee she was recently assessed for having tires in her yard. She said she moved the tires within the designated timeframe but was still given a letter telling her she owed the City $60. Jesus Martinez then talked about excessive sewer charges he is asking to be forgiven for. Dan Goodman then stepped forward to talk about a rental property he has that he’s working on cleaning up. He says the City has a company come pick up a sandbox, grill and other items from the property, along with damaging items. Goodman was also charged for the cleanup based on compliance issues. He said he did not feel he should be fined or responsible for these costs because he was working on cleaning it up. The issue was not on the agenda so the Mayor requested he files a written request for forgiveness of those fees. Finally, Perry Library Director talked briefly about the summer reading program and how the Council members and staff are everyday heroes for what they do for the community. She encouraged everyone to come check out what they have to offer.
The Council then approved an Iowa Energy Bank loan agreement which is now solely being administer by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, rather than both that organization and the Iowa Finance Authority. Salaries and wages for all City employees were approved. That breakdown can be found in an attachment pasted below.
A cleaning services agreement renewal with Emilia Zelaya, doing business as Easy Clean, was then approved. The one year agreement for services at the public safety building comes at a cost of $900 per month.
Next the Council discussed an excessive sewer charges forgiveness request from Martinez in the amount of $9,356.72 for property at 500 4th Street. Finance Officer Susie Martinez says two previous requests have been made and approved for Martinez in the past, the most recent one in January of 2013. Martinez, who manages the property, says there were leak issues that have been addressed, though it took a long time for him to locate the leak location. After some discussion, the Council ultimately voted to table the issue until the next meeting.
An Urban Renewal Loan request from Comes Investments in the amount of $25,000 was then discussed. Joe Comes has plans to purchase the Perry Pizza Hut location and is asking the City for financial assistance as he makes improvements to the restaurant before reopening. Comes Investments is a second generation Pizza Hut franchisee that currently operates 13 locations in Iowa and South Dakota. Building landord Rich Saemisch said this is a great opportunity for Perry to have an aggressive owner come in an run the business and reopen it. Moorhead said right now there’s around $36,000 in that fund with money coming back in the form or repayment from other entities each month. Niebuhr says Comes has expressed that he plans to have two delivery vehicles in operation right away, and he hopes to expand seating in the building in the future. The loan request was approved at a three percent interest rate, to be paid back over a five year period.
A plat of survey for parcel “BB” of auditor’s plat, or 611 10th Street, was then approved. This is the combination of two plats, with the goal of building an outbuilding on the property.
A public hearing in regards to the disposal of public property was then set for the next meeting on June 15th. This is in regards to the old middle school grounds being given to Newbury Living to build the senior housing complex that was previously proposed, discussed and awarded tax credits.
The request from McCallister to forgive the $60 compliance fees assessed to her for the disposal of three tires from her property was then discussed. After hearing from the property owner, who said the tires were thrown into her yard and she planned to use them for an art project, the Council denied the forgiveness request.
Finally, the Council discussed treatment of ash trees and public awareness in regards to the Emerald Ash Borer. The Council approved the cost of initial treatment of 12 trees at a cost of $2,825. If the City continues through all eight treatments for the dozen trees, over a span of 16 years the total cost will be $22,585. The work will be done by local businesses No Lawn Left Behind and Walton Tree Service. The City will also be putting colored tape around ash trees in town to help make citizens aware of how many there are in the area, and identifying which trees have already been infected if and when that happens.
For more on last night’s meeting and things happening in the City of Perry, tune into today’s Let’s Talk Dallas County when we speak with City Administrator Butch Niebuhr during the 9am, noon and 5pm hours an AM 1310 KDLS.