New Deputy Clerk Lizzie Jeanes has begun her duties after the City of Grant City hired her in April. In her first report at the May 22nd Grant City Council Meeting, she discussed new grant opportunities she has found. One is a solid waste grant that could provide picnic tables and park benches. She also found a Rural Community and Agriculture Grant from a private source, but the city did not qualify because it is for 501(c)3 organizations; she is passing it on to the Progress Organization. She asked about the protocol for code enforcement; the city directed her to send letters of violation and then refer it to the City Attorney.
The city got a complain about people parking on the sidewalk just north of the Methodist Church and people were not able to get to the church for services. The city directed her to send a letter of violation. Jeanes reported she also had a citizen complaint about stray cats. People can trap stray cats. She got a query about the empty lot the city owns north of City Hall. The city said it was open to accepting bids.
Five citizens, Carolyn Jones, Archie and Pam McCord, Ron Peterson, and Gary Owens, were in attendance to discuss a sewer issue. There were handshake deals made 3-5 decades ago that the city would take care of the sewer lines serving their homes and which runs across Owens’ property. However, easements that would grant the city access to make repairs on the lines have not been found. “We were told it was our responsibility,” said one of the citizens. Owens reported standing water issues and sewer water coming across his yard, and said that when he was digging on his property, he would regularly encounter sewer lines when digging on his property. There was a long discussion on whose responsibility it was to repair the lines in question. The city will look into finding any easements that may have been filed and figure out who is legally responsible for making repairs.
In the meantime, Mayor Debbie Roach and council members said there was nothing stopping the citizens from repairing the lines in question at their own expense, but that if the city were to do it, there were a lot more hoops that they would have to jump through.
Rachel Brown attended the meeting and reported that she was forming a prevention coalition to provide activities and events to help with drug prevention for youth and adults in Worth County. She asked if city employee Ryan Fletchall could attend their monthly meetings; the council granted permission. She asked if the city could donate space for a community garden; the council agreed to donate space at Doc Swift Park next to Dollar General. Brown received a grant to provide all the materials to start a community garden in Grant City.
There was discussion on where the city is with taking down dangerous buildings on the Square. There are five buildings that have been condemned by the council. The council agreed to focus on the State Farm building on the northeast corner of the Square and the Masonic Lodge building on the east side next to the Grant City Housing.
Ryan Fletchall reported that he has been working on the pool all month getting it up; the pool opened as scheduled on May 25th. There were some issues with the pump; the city will look into getting a new filter. Fletchall will get bids and get them back to the city for the June meeting. He reported that levels have been going down at the lagoon, but that duckweed was starting to grow there and that it was difficult to treat. The grinder pump that the council agreed to repair was being put together and should be back the week of May 27th. He reported they had to do work on the pump by the State Barn; it was not turning on.
Carl Staton reported that the city will be installing gas at the new County Barn and for Joey Hughes’ new house. He ordered pipes and risers for the County Barn.
Tyson Troutwine reported that he had been cleaning out ditches and tubes. The city voted to order three loads of cold mix to work on potholes. Carter Chapman has begun work as a summer helper.
The city received a citizen complaint about water running from an alley into her basement. The council will determine if the city owns the alley before moving forward.
Ryan Fletchall reported that he got a quote for the tile on the pool. To have all of them replaced, including depth parkers, would cost $32,230.
The council voted to keep pool admission prices the same, but to raise concession stand prices.
Clerk Farrah Richey reported she spoke with Civic Plus, which offered archiving the city’s social media poses for $3,000. The council rejected it.
The council voted to donate $150 to the Worth County Progress Organization Golf Tournament, $100 to the Back to School Fair, and $125 for the Mosaic Foundation Golf Tournament.
Discussion was held on the welcome sign on the east side of Grant City, which the city says is rotting. Councilman Kevin Kobbe has been looking at options. The company which did the sign on the west side gave a quote of $3,000. The school in the past has looked into putting up a digital sign. The council voted to table the matter until the city could talk with the school and see if they were still interested.
The council gave permission for Mount Ayr to send kids down to the pool for swimming lessons. The old pool in Mount Ayr was shut down by the state and the city is demolishing it and replacing it with a new one.
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