Charles City Council approves new City Hall designs

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council set a public hearing date for City Hall renovations, approved payment for tree removal, and moved forward with the separation of the housing authority during its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 4.

Also at the meeting, VFW Post Commander Denny Hull and Nick Klinetop were present for the proclamation of Buddy Poppy Day.

The VFW will be selling poppies in front of Theisen’s on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. as a fundraiser to support veteran benefit programs.

“We look forward to the community support,” said Klinetop, welcoming anybody in the community that wants to help with the sale to reach out.

“Thanks, you guys, for doing this,” said Mayor Dean Andrews after reading the proclamation. “It’s a great service to all of our veterans.”

In regular business, the council approved a resolution to issue final payment for two portions of the 2023 Tree Removal Project. The first two contracts in the three part project have been fulfilled at a cost of $216,960 and $168,750 respectively, with increased costs over the original bid amount due to additional trees being added to the contract.

Overall, 835 trees have been removed in Charles City over the course of the project.

The council also approved the preliminary plans for the City Hall renovation and set a public hearing date for final approval and bids for Dec. 16.

Over the last several months the city has been working with Bergland & Cram to develop plans for a major renovation of the City Hall/Police Department building, working on everything from exterior color to interior layout and considering improvements for building security and accessibility.

“A lot of time and effort has been put in to get us to where we’re at here,” said City Administrator Steve Diers.

It was also noted that, once complete, the city will be changing the address of City Hall and the library to 900 and 910 Clark Street, respectively.

Now approved, plans will be sent out to bidders next week, to potentially be reviewed in December.

“I appreciate the heavy lifting by the design committee,” said council member Patrick Lumley. “I think it’s a home run.”

Also in the works for some time now, the council held the first reading of an ordinance that would separate the city of Charles City and the Charles City Housing Authority.

After hashing out details surrounding liability exposure, the transferring of property, and having the housing authority secure its own health insurance for employees, the logistical details of the separation have largely been resolved.

“Ultimately, it’s going to make things much smoother on the housing authority,” said council member Phoebe Pittman.

Finally, the council approved the final payment for the 2024 Lime Residual Removal project.

The project was completed at a cost of $152,289.48, which was $10,200.52 under the original bid amount due to less than expected lime disposal and a $6,400 negotiated deduction for work that was not completed in accordance with specifications.