Council approves country club road annex

The Washington City Council approved the terms to an agreement with the Washington Golf and Country Club to annex part of the Country Club Road. The portion of the road that runs east-west will become city property while the portion that runs north-south will remain property of the golf course.

The agreement has not been signed yet but City Attorney Craig Arbuckle said the terms the city agreed to Wednesday are satisfactory to all the parties. He said the country club is transferring ownership and liability of the road to the city and that no money will change hands.

The three property owners on the south side of Country Club Road will each receive $2,500 in exchange for access to the right of way on the south side of the road, which consists of mostly the ditch. Those three properties, plus the property north of the road, will receive a tax break from the city by only having to pay a portion of their city taxes for the first 10 years they are in the city limits. The properties will also be able to access the city?s water and sewer system whenever they wish and they will not have to pay tap fees.

Vogel Construction is planning to build a subdivision north of the golf course which will connect to Country Club Road. The subdivision is known as Oakwood Village and will contain 20 lots. The road from the subdivision will intersect with Country Club Road where Country Club Road turns south to the golf course. Arbuckle and City Administrator Brent Hinson have said the city wants to annex the Country Club Road to encourage development in the southern portion of the city. Hinson said the city will likely widen its portion of the road in the next year.

The council also approved the purchase of a tractor on a 4-1 vote for the wastewater treatment plant. The tractor, an LS model from Iowa Farm Equipment in Tipton, comes with a blade, a loader and a mower. Councilor Bob Shellmyer voted against the motion to purchase the tractor, while councilors Russ Zieglowsky, Bob Shepherd, Mark Kendall and Merlin Hagie voted in favor. Councilor Fred Stark was absent.

Shellmyer said all the local tractor merchants should have been asked to submit a bid. He asked wastewater treatment plant supervisor Freg Doggett why he didn?t ask Capper Auto Center to submit a bid. Doggett said Capper did not have a vehicle that met the specifications he was looking for, such as having a cab.

Shellmyer said he also wondered why Doggett chose the LS model, which cost $44,000, when there were less expensive tractors available. The lowest bid was from Armstrong Small Engine of Donnellson, who offered the city a Mahindra model for about $31,000.

Wastewater plant operator Jason Whisler said Thursday that he researched the tractors and that he preferred the LS because the wastewater staff will be able to put larger attachments on it and it will be more versatile. He said it has a wider wheel base than the others, which means it will be more stable when mowing hills. The LS had the most horsepower of any vehicle that was bid at 88 horsepower. Shepherd said that a vehicle of that size would normally cost about $60,000. Whisler said one of the problems with Armstrong?s offer was that it was for a 6-foot wide mower deck when the city asked for an 8-foot mower.

The council talked about the proposed street reconfigurations around the middle school. Hinson said that, after receiving public input on the matter, the city will not close part of Third Avenue as originally planned. He said the school wanted to close the northern half of that avenue because it plans to develop the former parking lot in the northwest corner into a green space. Hinson said the green space is at least a year or two away, so the city will leave all of Third Avenue open this school year. The motion to approve the street reconfiguration passed 5-0.

The council also talked about whether to make Madison Street a two-way street where it is now a one-way street just south of the middle school. Hinson said Madison needs to be milled and overlaid in a few years, so the council should just wait until then when it can re-stripe the road for two-way traffic.

Shellmyer said he has received complaints about the alley near Main Street between Marion and B avenues. Terry Philips of T.K. Enterprises is rebuilding the brick wall on the west side of Bryson Block building and his equipment is blocking the alley to traffic. Philips said Thursday he is taking extra time to complete the project because the mortar is softer than normal and requires more time to set. He said the wall he rebuilt was in worse shape than he imagined and that he had to take special precautions to ensure it would not collapse. He said he did not want to see another historic downtown building collapse as 207 and 209 S. Marion Ave. did six years ago.

In other news, the council:

? approved the second reading of an ordinance to adopt the Urban Revitalization Plan which would allow property owners to receive a tax break if they improved their property;

? approved a bid of about $223,000 from Horsfield Construction to repave Avenue E by the baseball field.

? approved the demolition and controlled burn of 303 E. Washington St. The city purchased that house and plans to demolish it to make room for more parking. It will burn the rubble in the countryside and not on site.