Riverside talks future community building

The Riverside City Council talked about a plan to build a community center at its meeting Monday night. A committee was formed last month to investigate where a community building should be and what it should offer.

The committee is composed of six members: Todd Yahnke (who is also a city councilor), Randy Sexton, Laurie Sexton, Steve Musser, Tonya Smith and Misty Herrig. Riverside resident Kristin Bell spoke at Monday?s meeting and urged the council to find committee members from a wider variety of backgrounds.

City Administrator Tina Thomas said the committee members asked to be on the committee. She said the committee is still open to new members.

Councilor Ralph Schnoebelen said he, too, would like a committee composed of a range of people.

?I?d like to see a school student or two on there,? said Schnoebelen. ?I?d like to see an elderly citizen or two on there. We need to open it up and see if we can get different age groups.?

Bell remarked, ?I think there are people in the community with an engineering background, and that could be useful in designing a structure.?

Mayor Brian McDole asked Bell, ?So, are you saying you?re interested??

Bell said she was very busy but that she was talking to other people about joining the committee.

In an interview after the meeting, Bell said, ?I don?t have a problem with any of the individuals on there. I just think they need to add diversity.?

Thomas said the committee is in its infancy and has not yet decided what kind of building should be built, and could be a recreational center, a reception hall or anything in between.

In other news, councilor Kevin Kiene reported on the hotel/motel taxes of a few neighboring cities. Kiene showed the councilors the hotel/motel tax revenue of North Liberty, Iowa City, Muscatine and Coralville. He also showed them how those cities used their tax revenue. He commented that very few cities give their hotel/motel tax funds to non-profit groups outside of city government.

The council voted unanimously to award a three-year trash/recycling contract to Johnson County Refuse Inc. Business owner Steve Smith spoke about the new prices he would charge the city. The current price for garbage stickers is $1.10 but will be $1.25 for the next three years under this contract. The cost of recycling will rise from $4.50 per household per month to $4.75. Smith said he was comfortable leaving these prices in place through the life of the contract.

Dan Striegel addressed the council on behalf of the Riverside Quick Responders (QRS). He asked the council to continue its annual donation of $5,000 to QRS. The money goes toward insurance and fuel. Riverside QRS often uses the money to pay for training in a particular area of patient care. Last year, the quick responders purchased mannequins to practice CPR. The council voted 5-0 to donate $5,000 to the Riverside QRS.

At the end of the meeting, the councilors took turns speaking about an issue not on the agenda. Councilor Todd Yahnke said he?d like the city to advertise during the rodeo as it has the past two years. The rodeo has taken place the past two years during TrekFest, which is the last weekend in June. In 2009, the city spent $800 on advertising and then $950 the following year. The city purchased space on the chute gates and had its sponsorship announced over a loudspeaker.

Kiene brought up the weapons ban that was tabled and later removed from the council?s agenda earlier this year. Kiene wants to see the firearms ordinance return to the council?s agenda.

Mayor Brian McDole said that he watched the Cedar Rapids City Council on television and that he?d like to run the Riverside City Council meetings in a similar fashion. Specifically, he?d like to move citizens? time to the end of the meeting.