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1926
CITY TAKES OVER YARDS
Division Superintendent Bonner Turns Over -C. & N. W. Yards to City.
The matter of using the North-Western railroad yards between Des Moines and Seneca streets as a parking space for automobiles and a permanent cleaning up of the place, was definitely settled today when Geo. Bonner, of Mason City, division superintendent of the line, and Geo. J. Long, city manager, had a conference in this city.
In’brief, the North-Western gives the city the free use of the ground for purposes, in return for which, the city agrees to keep the yards clean and free from debris and to see to it that merchants and business men no longer use this ground for storage purposes.
City Manager Long and the street department of the city will attend to carrying out the city’s part of the agreement.
To place New lights.
In addition to keeping this parking place clean and free from all debris and storage, the city also plans to run a line of electric light poles down the center of the space for the full two blocks and light it as well as the streets are kept lighted.
These lights will be in addition to the alley lights already installed. This parking space is much used on Saturdays and celebration days and it is the plan of the city to improve its desirability as a parking space and also to police it on days and nights when it is much used.
City to Force Action.
A committee from the merchants bureau of the Chamber of Commerce some time ago undertook to clean up this space and to keep it clean. They found difficulty, however, due to the fact that they had no authority to enforce their requests.
With the city handling it, this objection will be met for the city now has the authority to make any demands it sees fit on merchants in the way of keeping this parking space free of any debris and to prevent its use as a storage ground.
City Fortunate
The city will at once begin a thorough clean-up of the place and as soon as possible will erect a line of poles and thoroughly light it. It is certainly an ideal place for auto parking and is conveniently near to the business district of the city. Few cities have so many good parking facilities as Webster City and city authorities expect to see to it that the best possible advantage is taken to make good use of the North-Western yards.
1951
City reported richer market
Webster City stamped as one of best markets in midwest
(Special to the Freeman-Journal)
NEW YORK-On the basis of money earned in Webster City in 1950 and the amount spent in the local retail stores, the city takes its place as one of the richer markets of the United States. This is shown in the new, copyrighted survey of buying power, prepared by Sales Management, covering every section of the country.
The high scale of business activity In Webster City Is Indicated by the $12,403,000 In sales chalked up In the local stores. This figure was well over the city’s quota. It represents .0080 percent of the nation’s business--more than the .0051 percent that should be produced locally on the basis of population.
Chief Factor
The chief factor In the bigger spending locally was the better earnings of Webster City families. The data shows that the 2,300 families in the city had a net disposable income, after taxes, of $11,411,000. It represented an average income obtained by straight division, of $4,961 per family. This was higher than the $4,127 earnlngs per family nationally and than the $4,127 per family averaged In the West North Central states. In Iowa it was $4,397. These figures are arithmetical averages, it is pointed out, and are higher than the median figures that will emerge later from the 1950 census, which took into account only individual incomes under $10,000. Center of Trade Area
The fact that the volume of sales locally Is greater than total income indicates that Webster City Is the center of a large trading area. A guide to the relative economic position of each community Is given In the survey by a “quality of market” index. This compares the individual city’s potential based on population, income, sales and other factors, to that of the rest of the country. Webster City’s index is placed at 127, or 27 percent above the general average.
1981
W.C. Products plans hearing on industrial bond issue
Webster City Products, a division of White Consolidated Industries, Inc., has a hearing on its industrial revenue bond issue before the city council on Monday, July 20.
In May of 1980 Webster City Products Company and White Consolidated Industries, Inc. made application in a memorandum of agreement that would entitle their $2,000,000 expansion to be financed by industrial revenue bonds after the upcoming public hearing.
The expansion was for two major programs. The first was the construction of a 25,000 square fabricated parts warehouse and the second was for the new paint department expansion.
The warehouse was completed in the fall of 1980 and the paint department expansion began in the fall of 1980, and the final phase is scheduled for completion in August of 1981. This project has increased the capacity of the paint department by approximately 100 percent. This added capacity enabled the production of Webster City Products Co. to increase in 1981 substantially over 1980.
The employment payroll increased in 1981 by approximately 150 people in both the factory and the offices that could not have been made without this expansion. This expansion will enable the production to increase substantially more in the future.
Upon completion of these programs, the production facilities can support an additional 400 employees to the present work force at the Webster City Products Co. facility with only moderate requirements of in-plant storage In addition, these programs will increase the property tax base for the community of Webster City.