Fairfield council agrees to amend lease for compost site

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield City Council voted Monday to modify its lease on ground owned by Fairfield Economic Development Association that the city is using for compost.

Fairfield Council member Paul Gandy explained that the city’s property committee met earlier that evening to discuss the lease agreement, which FEDA asked to amend. FEDA owns 10 acres near the intersection of South 20th Street and West Jackson Avenue, land that it is leasing to the city for $1 per year so the city can use it as a compost site.

However, the city is only using 4 of those acres, so FEDA requested that the lease be changed to allow FEDA to use the other 6 acres, with 60 days notice to the city to vacate.

Fairfield City Engineer Melanie Carlson thanked FEDA for the “very affordable lease” allowing the city to maintain a compost site that is open to the public, both as a place to drop off yard waste or gather free mulch that city staff create from the yard waste.

“The compost site is a privilege, and we need to continue to use it properly such as not dumping trash items there,” Carlson said. “The streets department loads mulch into people’s vehicles one day a week, so it’s a great service for citizens, and it’s a great partnership with FEDA.”

Acceptable yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves and branches. Biodegradable bags may be left there, but not plastic bags.

FEDA Executive Director Josh Laraby said the current lease was adopted in 2013. The language in the new lease is also written to roll over from one year to the other unless one side wants to cancel the lease with 60 days notice.

Gandy noted that, apart from shrinking the city’s leased portion of the land from 10 acres to 4, the only other change in the lease was specifying the amount FEDA will charge the city for maintenance such as fence repair, which will be $125 per hour.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com