Mt. Pleasant Council putting renewed emphasis on upkeep of residential property

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Pleasant residents with messy property beware; the city council is watching you.

During Wednesday?s Mt. Pleasant City Council meeting, Mayor Steve Brimhall said the ordinance committee would be closely scrutinizing properties, which would qualify as nuisances under city code.

?We?re going to start working on some (nuisance) issues in the city over the next six months,? Brimhall emphasized. ?We worked with a lot of properties this morning (during a nuisance committee meeting). We will be meeting at least monthly over the next six months to resolve these issues. We want people to maintain their properties.?

Continuing its look toward the future, the council approved two engineering services agreements with Warner Engineering Associates Inc. of Mt. Pleasant.

The first agreement is for the long-awaited Jay Street sanitary sewer project. The project has been in the works for six years and arguably is one of the largest sewer projects undertaken by the city.

Mt. Pleasant received a $600,000 community development block grant (CDBG) this summer to help fund the project. The city twice previously had been denied the grant.

Expected to begin next year, the Jay Street project involves abandoning the northeast lagoons as a treatment unit, deactivating the Hamlin Street lift station and re-directing wastewater so it can flow to the Saunders branch lift station and main wastewater plant for treatment. It also includes replacement of numerous sanitary sewers.

Warner Engineering Associates will be paid approximately $225,000 for its work. The firm already has been paid for its preliminary work.

?We?re ready to do this project and replace the sewer lines,? noted City Administrator Brent Schleisman.

Brimhall said the city has no choice in the matter. ?It (the grant) will be a tremendous benefit to the residents of Mt. Pleasant. We have to do this project and we will not have to raise sewer rates as much (to help fund the work). We are easy prey for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).?

Warner and Associates will also be handling the engineering work for the paving of the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex parking lot. The city hopes to enter into a 28E agreement with the Mt. Pleasant Community School District to pay for the work. Brimhall said negotiations with the school district would begin in November. It is hoped that the paving can begin in the spring of 2017.

The city was awarded a water quality improvement project grant, ranging from $500,000 to $550,000 for the work. The city and school district have to match the grant. Estimated cost of the work is $1 million. Warner?s cost for its work will be an estimated $150,000.

Councilman Kent White said he hopes the project can be done in conjunction with the completion of the Mapleleaf Drive patching project. Concrete patching on Mapleleaf will continue next summer from where the work ended the past summer to Lincoln Street.

?We had the opportunity to get a grant to improve water quality in that area,? White noted. ?It will be a huge improvement for that area and water quality.?

In other business, council members passed the first reading on two ordinances regarding streets.

The first ordinance would change the three parking spaces in front of the old city hall (220 W. Monroe St.) from 12-minute parking to two-hour parking. The second ordinance would restrict parking 40 feet on both sides of East Banker Street from the stop sign at the street?s intersection with North Palm Avenue.

Brimhall said he did not know if the no-parking ordinance was needed at Baker and Palm and asked council members to visit the area and offer their input.

Two mayoral appointments and one reappointment to city committees and boards were approved. Lauren Giarmo was appointed to the planning and zoning commission to fill the remainder of Brandt Knudsen?s term. Knudsen relocated from Mt. Pleasant to Westwood. Councilman Terry McWilliams was appointed to the area development commission, replacing Councilman Alan Huisinga. Huisinga asked to be replaced because he had conflicts with the commission?s meeting times and dates.

Finally, Kurt Moon was reappointed to the community development committee.

Mt. Pleasant City Council members meet again in regular session Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m., at City Hall.