City Council will act on raising garbage rates Monday

By Mary Pieper, Special to the Charles City Press

A resolution to raise garbage rates by 0.022 cents per gallon per month will be on the agenda for Monday’s Charles City Council meeting.

During a work session on Wednesday, the council discussed options for rate increases.

LJP Waste Solutions/Jendro Sanitation recently asked the city for a 7.4% increase in payment for solid waste collection services based on the national Consumer Price Index. LJP/Jendro’s contract with the city states that it can request that increase once a year.

Solid waste customers in Charles City have the option of using 35-gallon, 65-gallon or 95-gallon containers for their trash.

Last year the council decided to switch from an across-the-board increase for all customers to a by-the-gallon increase so those who use the smaller containers would not see as big a rate hike.

City Administrator Steve Diers told the council Wednesday that putting the heavier burden on those who have larger garbage containers acts as an incentive for people to throw away fewer items and recycle more.

The current per-month garbage collection rate in Charles City is $13.77 for customers with 35-gallon containers, $18 for those with 65-gallon containers, and $22.33 for customers with 95-gallon containers.

Diers said if the council were to set a .022 per-gallon increase for the next 12 months beginning with the billing period that starts on Oct. 1, the per-month rate increase would be 77 cents, $1.41, or $2.07 depending on container size.

By contrast, if the council were to go back to an across-the-board rate hike, those increases would be $1.02, $1.33, and $1.65.

Council member Patrick Lumley said he likes the per-gallon charge for garbage collection.

When the council made the change last year, “it was very well-received by the community, especially the elderly population. Those folks don’t produce a lot of garbage so they generally tend to have the smaller ones (containers),” he said.

Council member Phoebe Pittman said now that the city has begun charging a per-gallon rate, the community has come to expect it.

In April the council agreed to pay a fuel surcharge requested by LJP/Jendro through the end of September. The city has been paying that surcharge out of its existing cash balance rather than passing along the cost to solid waste customers through an additional rate hike.

Diers said LJP/Jendro has not asked for an extension of the fuel surcharge, which has cost the city an estimated $5,500.

In other business, the council discussed partnering with the American Passenger Train History Museum to construct public restrooms at the railroad depot that has been relocated to the intersection of North Grand Avenue and 11th Avenue.

The APTHM is willing to make space available within the depot when it is restored for men’s and women’s restroom facilities that can be accessed by the public seven days a week through an exterior entrance that automatically locks at dusk and unlocks at dawn. The city’s cost share for those restrooms has been quoted at $50,000.

The depot would have a second set of restrooms not accessible from the exterior that would be available for patrons when the depot is open.

Council members previously asked city staff to investigate the cost of a stand-alone public restroom near the depot to compare against the cost of partnering with the museum. That investigation revealed such a structure could cost anywhere from $385,000 to more than $500,000.

City officials are considering applying for a Destination Iowa grant to help fund the depot restoration project – including the public restrooms – and to extend the Charley Western Recreation Trail about 2,000 feet to the depot to create a trailhead. The total cost of both projects is estimated at $1.1 million.

Diers said the city’s contribution of $50,000 toward the public restrooms at the depot would be part of the local 60% funding match required to apply for a Destination Iowa grant.

Mayor Dean Andrews said the estimated cost for extending the trail is $289,000, while the depot project will cost around $800,000. He said the museum has around $150,000 raised so far to contribute to the local matching funds for the grant.

The new owner of a former apartment building near the Cedar River boat ramp has approached the city about buying it. Diers said this building could be turned into a restroom facility with a shower stall for kayakers.

The assessed value of this brick building is around $28,000. Diers said the actual purchase price might be reduced by 50% since the building is in a flood plain.

Lumley said the whitewater course downtown is heavily used, and there are no other public restroom options there besides portable toilets or City Hall, which “doesn’t sit right with me.”

Diers said the Destination Iowa grant can only be used for one specific part of a town, so the city would not be able to include riverfront improvements like a public bathhouse/restroom in its application for the depot and trail project on the north end of town, even though the trail connects to the riverfront.

Pittman said even if the council decides to contribute $50,000 to the public restrooms at the depot, she would still like to explore the idea of turning the former apartment building into a bathhouse/restroom facility down the road.

If the city council decides not to contribute $50,000 toward the proposed public restroom project at the depot, the museum will probably use that area of the building for additional storage instead, according to Andrews.

Also on Wednesday, the council:

-Discussed a bid of $98,500 from Veenstra & Kimm of Mason City for engineering work for the 2024 Main Street project, which will involve asphalt replacement from Gilbert Street and South Jackson Street to the new intersection of North Main and North Grand.

-Discussed two proposed watershed improvement projects to be completed this fall through a recently approved agreement between the city and the Floyd County Soil and Water Conservation District.

One of the projects, to be located at the Mink Creek WMA, includes the construction of a bioreactor. The total estimated cost of this project is $27,909. The city’s share of the funding would be $6,977.

The other project, to be located on Dennis Sanvig’s property between Gilbert Street and the Avenue of the Saints, will also include a bioreactor. The estimated cost is $10,600. The city’s share would be $2,650.

• Discussed a proposed policy allowing members of the public to request special lighting of the water tower.

• Reviewed a request from the street/water department to purchase a street lift from Mid Country Machinery for $35,000.

• Discussed a $2,650 façade funding request from Todd Prichard for his law office building at 103 N. Main St.

• Heard a follow-up report from Diers on RAGBRAI. He said it looks like the city will make a small profit on hosting an overnight stay for the riders once all the bills are paid. Those funds can be used for future events.

• Heard from Diers that a couple of small shelters in Dana Park will be moved to Lions Field to go along with upgrades to the playground area. Pure Prairie Farms is acquiring Dana Park and has no use for those shelters.

• The next council meeting is a regular session to be held Monday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The next planning session has been moved from Sept. 28 to Sept. 26 because Diers will be out of town for a conference. The planning session is scheduled for 6 p.m. at City Hall.