City Council Discusses Duplexes for the Pine Street Subdivision

The New London City Council met in regular session on Dec. 11, 2023 with all Council members present with the exception of January Benjamin. They approved the agenda and the consent agenda. No one addressed the council in open forum.

They next held a public hearing. There were no citizen questions or comments on the proposed sale of real property to the New London Community School District described as part of Lots 3, 4, 5 and 6, Block 3, Mullen’s First Addition to the Town of New London, Iowa. They then passed Resolution #415. The city will sell parts of these lots 3, 4, 5 and 6, Block 3 Mullen’s First Addition to the New London Community School District for $1.00. This is the small empty house behind the bus barn. The school will be responsible for its demolition.

In reports, Councilman Berner informed the Council that the 2018 Chevy Tahoe squad vehicle needs repairs for a head gasket and will go to Shottenkirk for repairs.

In old business, they revisited the issue of sanitation services for the next three fiscal years. WEMIGA submitted a monthly cost of $17,430.25 which includes a fee of $654.75 per month for biannual curbside clean up. Waste Management submitted a monthly cost of $17,707.87 which includes a fee of $2,856.98 per month for biannual curbside clean up. The Council discussed the two proposals and the different options for a clean up. The Council requested Kasi to prepare figures on how the two proposal would affect current sanitation rates and will approve a proposal at their next meeting on Jan. 8, 2024.

The Council then moved on to new business. They took the following actions:

The purchase of a new street sweeper was discussed next. There are four available at MacQueen for $288,830.00 ($188,830.00 with trade) before an expected price increase. The Council would like the vendor to reserve one for the City for the next budget year. The City would pay for the sweeper out of the 2024-2025 budget, replacing the 2018 sweeper which is showing its age. The Council will look over the budget before committing to the purchase. They would like to have a committee meeting to discuss the issues with the 2018 sweeper.

The next item discussed was selling Lots 1-4 in the First Addition of the Pine Street Subdivision with a total sale price of $50,000.00. The Mayor has two contractors who are in business together interested in purchasing the four lots to build duplexes on them. The council agreed they would be willing to sell all four lots for $50,000 and would extend the build timeline to accommodate construction of multiple housing units.

The Council then discussed the patrol agreement with the Henry County Sheriff's Office. The Public Safety Committee proposed the City present the agreement with 77 hours per week of on-call coverage for $2,000.00 per month or $12.57 per capita with a sixty (60) day notice for any changes to the agreement. The Council agreed this number was reasonable and would like the Public Safety Committee to present the number to the Sheriff’s Office to consider.

The last issue the Council discussed was excavating the ditch on South Pine Street in the 600 block. Mayor Miller stated the ditch and empty commercial lot in this area is significantly higher than the road and Mediacom is planning on installing services in this ditch in the next year. The Council agreed the excavation work needed to be done and would like to get quotes to bring the ditch/property to final grade.

The meeting adjourned at 7 p.m. The next regular New London City Council meeting will be on Jan. 8, 2024 at 6 p.m. in the City Office.