The Jefferson City Council met Tuesday night in regular session.
During open forum, resident and business owner Tim Pound requested the Council to vote whether or not the city’s ordinance should be in compliance with the state law and allow all-terrain and over the road vehicles on city streets. Council member Dave Sloan and Darren Jackson agreed that it should be voted on by the Council. Council member Pat Zmolek also serves on the law enforcement committee and said at their previous meeting they voted again to not bring the issue to the Council. No action was taken by the Council following the discussion.
Resident Dwayne Forkner presented a petition of 300 signatures to remove Building Official Chad Stevens from his position. The reasons that were mentioned included a conflict of interest for Stevens’ position and his private construction company, not being allowed to walk onto someone’s property whenever he wants and if there was a violation, they believe Stevens should issue a letter or ask permission to enter premises. The petition was given to the city attorney.
The Council then approved the 2023 appointments as presented, the second reading to amend an ordinance to increase sewer rates to 15-percent for the next five fiscal years, they also re-approved by resolution for the procurement policy for Community Development Block Grant work, and set three public hearings for January 24th for the city hall entryway improvement project, status of funded activities for the Upper Story project at 123 North Chestnut Street, and setting the maximum property tax levy for the 2024 fiscal year.
The Council also approved a recommendation from the Finance Committee to become a member of the Safety Group Central Iowa South (SGCIS) for safety training services, as well as a resolution for an addendum to the chapter 28E agreement and for the services that will cost between $11,000-$14,000. They also hired Heather Dobney as a part time city employee at $12 per hour to be a custodian for the new animal shelter.
Finally, the Council heard an appeal by a resident about a determination by Chad Stevens declaring a vehicle abandoned. The resident lives at 904 West Madison Street and it was about an International school bus that the owner is converting into a motorhome. The resident didn’t believe the vehicle should be declared a junk vehicle because it had no broken windows, it runs, however the vehicle is not registered. Stevens highlighted the methods he used to determine the vehicle as junk was that the vehicle hadn’t been operated in 30 days and it hadn’t moved on the property in 30 days.
After the Council heard the owner was planning to have the conversion done by June and the vehicle was off the property by August, and having it licensed, the Council set September 15th to accomplish those goals while putting a stay on the enforcement of the ordinance until then.