Charles City Council OKs street closing for railroad depot move beginning this week

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Charles City Mayor Dean Andrews said watching a huge building like the Milwaukee Road depot being moved is kind of like watching grass grow — it’s a slow process, so there will be plenty of time for anyone interested to get a look.

Andrews made the comment at Monday night’s City Council meeting, after the council approved closing 11th Avenue between North Grand and D Street from 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 8, to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11, as part of the depot moving process.

City Engineer John Fallis said the depot will begin being moved on Wednesday across the Oliver Development Park property to a location near the southeast corner of the former Simply Essentials live shed area. On Friday, the depot will be moved across the Canadian National Railroad tracks to a spot next to the new foundation on 11th Avenue, where it will remain through the weekend.

On Monday, Oct. 11, the building will be moved from the right-of-way onto its new foundation at the corner of 11th Avenue and North Grand Avenue.

Bob Moen, the president of the American Passenger Train History Museum, of which the depot will become part, said the move on Wednesday would begin about noon, and the work on Friday and Monday would begin about 8 a.m.

Council member DeLaine Freeseman asked about the impact of that much weight sitting on 11th Avenue over the weekend.

Moen said he was told by the building mover, Thein Structural Moving, that with the number of dollies and wheels under the building, the weight on each axle would be less than half the weight of the average semi truck.

Also at the meeting Monday, the council:

• Heard from Mayor Andrews that trick-or-treat night in Charles City will be on Halloween, Oct. 31, and because that is a Sunday it will begin earlier than usual, running from 5 to 7 p.m.

Andrews said people who want to participate should turn their porch lights on, and trick-or-treaters should go only to those houses with lights on. He also urged continued COVID precautions, such as handing out candy rather than letting children put their hands into a common bowl to grab candy.

• Heard from City Administrator Steve Diers that the last brush pickup of the year will be Monday, Oct. 18. Two leaf pickups will be held, on Monday, Oct. 25, and Monday, Nov. 15.

• Approved changing parking at the intersection of North Jackson Street and Clark Street to increase the no-parking area at the southwestern and southeastern parts of the intersection along North Jackson, because of problems seeing around parked cars when entering the street from Clark.

City Engineer John Fallis said state records show there have been nine serious accidents at that intersection since 2011, with a serious accident defined as one with more than $1,500 property damage.

The new no-parking area at the corners will extend for 46 feet on each side.

• Approved closing Blunt and Jackson streets around Central Park on Saturday, Nov. 27, for the Charles City Rotary Club’s kickoff to its holiday light show, which will include food trucks stationed around the park.

• Approved a $10,000 facade improvement grant for 213 N. Main St., toward a $28,300 project to create a fire barrier between the lower and upper floors to make the upper level usable as apartments.

• Approved a two-year agreement of support for the Main Street Charles City program, including $25,000 per year in funding.

Charles City Community Development Director Mark Wicks said the Main Street program provides “a blueprint for revitalizing downtown districts,” including providing training, resources, free design services and greater access to grants in the state as well as grants through the Main Street program itself.

• Approved the third and final reading and passage of rezoning at 1202 S. Main St., property owned by the Bethany Alliance Church known as the BAC Shack, from M-1 light manufacturing zoning to B-3, service business district zoning.

• Approved the third and final reading and passage of rezoning at 904 Court St., from R-3 residential to B-3 service business district, for the purpose of operating a motorcycle repair shop. The property is bordered on two sides by other B-3 zoning, including the new Floyd County Law Enforcement Center.

• Heard during the public comments portion of the meeting from Peggy Loftus, who said she was concerned regarding a public statement made at a previous council meeting by Holly Cheney, that someone had fired a gun within city limits and nothing was being done about it.

Loftus said she was concerned that reporting on the statement in the Press would prevent her son, who was charged in the matter, from getting a fair trial.

The Press report on the statement made by Cheney during the public comments part of the council meeting Sept. 20 did not identify any individual that Cheney was making accusations against.

Loftus said the gun involved in the incident was a BB gun, and it was never fired, and Loftus began making harassment allegations against Cheney when she was interrupted by City Attorney Brad Sloter, who said it sounded like a private matter or a matter for the county attorney, rather than something the City Council could deal with.

Mayor Andrews then said he had talked with both Loftus and Cheney in his office and had told them he would contact the county attorney because “it’s in her lap, now.”

“This is kind of an area of litigation that is ongoing, so I said I would call the county attorney and express to her that I visited with both parties,” he said. “At one time she had possibly recommended a meeting between the groups, and so I will visit with her tomorrow and tell her I’ve had these visits.

“I agree with you that this is more in her realm than it is in our realm,” Andrews said to Sloter.