A complete council
Getter, Meyer take oath of office for City CouncilBy ANNE BLANKENSHIP Daily Freeman-Journal Managing Editor
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For the first time since November, the Webster City City Council is once again at full strength.
The two newest council members, Doug Getter and Geary Meyer, were sworn into office Monday night at the regular City Council meeting.
Getter and Meyer were elected in a special election held Jan. 19 to fill two seats on the council. The seats had been vacant since Nov. 11 when Melissa Borer and Mark Gillette resigned their council seats.
David Toyer, an economic development consultant hired by the city assist the city manager with many of the ongoing economic development activities and contact, gave and update to the council.
"I've been busy these first few weeks," he said, adding that he had been visiting with all the players involved in the planning and strategy sessions going on concerning job creation in the community.
In order to help the council focus their efforts, Toyer said he had been compiling a list of economic development incentives available through a variety of sources,
"What is it we can do for incentives to attract opportunities and how do we leverage those dollars?" he asked. "How do we know what incentives are out there?"
Toyer said he found that there was no single source listing all of the incentive funds available, so he was keeping a confidential log of what he was discovering to better increase the city's advantage.
Toyer's report also looked at how Webster City compares to other cities when it comes to cost of living and the cost of doing business.
"From what I've found, we're in good shape compared to other Iowa cities. This community stands out very well on many of the indicators,"he said.
Toyer told the council that the state fares well when it comes to cost of doing business. It rank 49th in the nation, he said, or in other words, has the second lowest cost of doing business.
"Does that low cost of doing business translate into lower paying jobs?" asked council member Linda Conaway.
Toyer added that other areas of the country may have higher salaries, but also have higher costs of living.
"The low cost of living, low rent and other factors put us in very good position," he said.
"It all comes down to job creation," said City Manager Ed Sadler. He told the council they will have to consider what level of financial incentive they would like to offer and the number of jobs required to get that incentive.
"We need your thoughts so we have our marching orders when opportunity knocks," he said.
The council agreed to hold a special work session next week to discuss the incentives. The time and date will be released when a common date can be found.
The council approved the third reading of an ordinance that deals with changes to the speed limits on Superior Street. The new ordinance will have drivers slowing town to 45 mph between Closz Drive to the U.S. Highway 20 and Iowa Highway 17 interchange, then to 35 mph to a point 300 feet south of Elm Street. From that point, the speed limit will drop to 30 mph from Elm Street to Second Street.
The changes to the speed limit were recommended by the Traffic Committee due to the recent construction of Red Bull Division Drive and Hospital Drive, along with the anticipated completion of the new hospital in 2010, and the city's project at Superior Street and Fairmeadow Drive.
A second ordinance pertaining to zoning ordinances for decks was approved on the third reading. The changes would mean that all decks would need to meet the setback regulations, and those decks more 30 inches above grade would require a building permit. Structures not requiring building permits would include decks less than six inches above grade, a 5 foot-by-5 foot entrance platform that is no more than 30 inches above grade, and a residential, uninclosed handicap ramp.
A public hearing was set for 7:15 p.m. Feb. 15 on the Superior Street-Fairmeadow Drive Intersection Improvement Project. Bids for the project were let on Jan. 20, with Concrete Technologies of Urbandale turning in the lowest bid - $874,307.08.
The council postponed any action on the city's 2008-2009 audit report. Jeff Peters, a certified public accountant with Williams and Co., of LeMars, was unable to attend the meeting and will make his presentation on March 1.
The council also authorized the publication of the 2009 city employee gross wages.
Contact Anne Blankenship at editor@freemanjournal.net or call 832-4350.
