Charles City Council passes first reading of chronic nuisance ordinance
By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com
The Charles City Council passed the first reading of a chronic nuisance ordinance modeled after similar legislation from Waterloo, Mason City and Dubuque.
The ordinance has been in the works for the last couple of months.
“We’ve had a lot of discussion on this,” said Charles City Administrator Steven Diers.
The city will be able to bring nuisance issues to the attention of landlords if the ordinance receives final approval by the council.
The ordinance will allow the city to assess charges against owners of properties that have chronically received nuisance complaints, not to tenants that occupy rental properties, although tenants could be charged if their actions violate other laws.
“I think our citizens really want us to be doing something proactive as opposed to reactive,” said Mayor James Erb.
The ordinance helps get ahead of chronic problems, Erb said.
City-owned properties would be exempt from the ordinance.
Spook Walk
The council approved street closures from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26, for St. Mary’s Street from Clark Street to Riverside Drive, and Riverside Drive from St. Mary’s Street to Leland Avenue.
In the case of rain or harsh weather, the Spook Walk date will be Monday, October 30.
The Charles City Chamber of Commerce is also requesting use of Police Department cones.
It is the 22nd year of the Spook Walk in Charles City.
Fireworks
The Charles City Council passed the second reading of an amendment to its fireworks ordinance to be in compliance with state law.
The city will no longer require city permits to sell fireworks.
The original fireworks ordinance was modeled after other cities to include provisions to require a city permit in addition to a state-issued license.
A recent ruling from the courts in the city of Ankeny has barred cities from including additional requirements from sellers.
“This is an update to our previously approved ordinance,” Diers said.
Housing Department
The city voted to purchase a truck and approved a contract for asbestos abatement.
The city is piggy-backing on state vehicle contracts for the purchase of a 2017 Ford F250 3/4-ton extended cab truck.
The truck is estimated to cost $27,638 and is being purchased from Stivers Ford in Des Moines.
The tile in South Cedar Terrace and North Cedar Terrace have been found to contain asbestos and require abatement. South Cedar Terrace also has asbestos in the mastic.
“They wanted to be able to remediate the problem,” Diers said.
It is more cost effective to contract with a firm to get ride of the asbestos, Diers said.
The Charles City Housing Department will contract with Asbestrol Inc. to remediate the asbestos.
Cambrex
The city approved the sponsorship of a Cambrex application for the high quality jobs grant program.
This is the kind of program that most communities hope for themselves, Erb said.
Proclamations
Mayor Erb issued two proclamations during the meeting, for Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Alpha Delta Kappa Month.
Julie Debower, president of ADK, was there to represent her organization.
Currently ADK has 36 practicing and retired teachers in its organization.
“We gave two $500 scholarships to CCHS students,” Debower said. “We support world understanding.”
Emily Propst, domestic abuse advocate for Floyd, Mitchell and Worth counties with the Crisis Intervention Service, was present as well.
Propst noted that her organization served 391 people this year in Floyd County.
The next City Council planning session with be at 6 p.m. Oct. 11 in the City Hall council chambers.
Mayor Erb said during the session that trick-or-treating will be on the 31 this year.
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