City Council reviews Pure Prairie Farms street lease proposal

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council discussed a lease agreement and upcoming water quality projects during its regular workshop meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

At the meeting, the council reviewed a lease-to-purchase agreement between the city and Pure Prairie Farms for the acquisition of a portion of Main Street that runs directly in front of the chicken processing plant. Pure Prairie Farms has plans to expand its facility and has an interest in using that portion of North Main Street – approximately 17,424 square feet of property – for truck traffic management and employee parking for its operations.

The city closed that portion of Main Street in early August, renaming a block of Lane Street as part of North Main Street and creating a regular path for traffic from Main Street to North Grand Avenue using signs and street markings. The city will likely make those traffic pattern changes permanent as part of street reconstruction in its 2024 street improvement program.

The three-year lease agreement with Pure Prairie Farms will include three annual payments of $22,000, followed by a final purchase amount of $34,000 following the lease, bringing the total purchase price to $100,000. This agreement also requires that the city purchase a portion of Lane Street previously owned by the railroad.

The council discussed various conditions and scenarios that could be covered by the purchase agreement in the event that plans for the expansion fall through, noting that Pure Prairie’s lender will be recognized as the tenant in the event of a foreclosure and will be allowed to complete purchase if it chooses.

“We’ve drafted this to protect the city as best we can under a lease option agreement,” said city attorney Brad Sloter.

The council will take action at its next meeting to schedule a public hearing, set for Nov. 7, before adopting the agreement.

In other business, City Administrator Steve Diers updated the council on two watershed projects that are in the works. Both the Floyd County Conservation Board and Dennis Sanvig have bioreactor projects in the works and have applied for sponsored project funding to complete them.

“Right now the DNR is going through the details of what would qualify or what doesn’t qualify for sponsored funding.” said Diers. “Once we get their thumbs-up we’ll be able to move forward with these.”

Both projects will fit in with the city’s nutrient reduction strategy, complimenting the city’s own efforts to keep water quality within DNR standards.

Moving into reports, Diers updated the council on a potential new housing development. The city is working on a plan for a new phased housing development, looking at potential locations with either existing infrastructure or undeveloped areas that could be developed as a TIF district, he said.

Finally, council member Keith Starr noted that Friday will mark the first public use of the water tower’s colored lights. An anonymous donor has paid to light the tower blue and yellow in honor of Ellen Bengtson, an active community member who was killed in a bicycle accident in 2020.