Lansing City Council approves community-wide “thank you” event at City sports complex for October 9, among other matters
by Julie Berg-Raymond
In its regular meeting held Tuesday, September 7 due to the Labor Day holiday being observed on its usual Monday meeting day, the Lansing City Council approved a request by long-time Lansing dentist Bruce Carlson to hold a community-wide “thank you” event at the City sports complex Saturday, October 9.
According to the Lansing Parks & Recreation Board August 16 meeting minutes, the now retired Dr. Carlson described the event as “a thank you to the community for the support of his dental practice and to introduce the new dentists who have taken on the practice.” He said he would also like to recognize several new businesses in Lansing.
Attendees will be permitted to bring their own beverages into the complex, but there will be no alcohol for sale. No alcohol consumption will be allowed outside the complex, including in the parking lot. Fences from Fish Days will be used to block off the event.
In other Parks Board business brought before the council, Andrew Boddicker’s addition to the board was approved; and a revised bid for repair work and renovations to the Lansing swimming pool guard house proposed by Damon Olson of Damon Construction, New Albin was approved - with the stipulations that the City has to be contacted before the project is started, and that painting involved in the project has to be done by a certain date, or be postponed until spring.
The council requested the revised bid due to budgetary concerns and the requirement that an $18,000 grant be spent on a completed project by the end of the year. For the revision, Olson was asked to break down the original project and costs into two parts - with one part of the project to be completed this year, and the other in 2022.
Olson’s revised bid for the first part came in at $38,500 and included the following: sand blast rock walls of exterior showers and guard house; remove and install new lockers in guard house; remove and install new toilet partitions; repair block walls to receive new coatings; install new coatings in interior and exterior block walls at showers and exterior guard house; and protect top of block walls in showers from water entry.
Council members said they would like to see a proposal revision with details provided in Olson’s original proposal of August 2 combined with the briefer summary he provided September 7 for the first part of the project. This part of the project is to be completed by November 15 of this year.
CITIZEN CONCERNS
A citizen concern was raised about not seeing the street sweeper out often enough, and not seeing it out during times when it can get into the curb-line. Where cars parked on streets overnight would make that a problem, the citizen suggested using temporary no parking signs. Also raised as concerns were the filled storm intake on Highway 9, ditch-lines insufficiently attended to, and unfilled cracks in streets.
In reference to the last item, council member Deb Volker noted Shaw Street in particular, saying, “they shouldn’t have to drive on something like a cow-path.” Mayor Pro-Tem Justin Shepard said the City would be putting procedures into the Street Department’s regular maintenance schedule to address these concerns.
Another concern brought to the council involved follow-up regarding actions it has directed citizens to take.
BUILDING PERMITS
The council approved a permit for replacing a porch in disrepair at 245 Diagonal Street, but it denied a permit for a new garage at 301 Center Street. That latter permit request, originally for a single-story garage, had expired, and the resident submitted a new application. The new permit covered the expired one but this time included a second story to the project. A neighbor contacted the council and was present at the September 9 meeting via Zoom. “We were told it would be a single-story garage,” the resident said. “This second story will take away absolutely all of our view.”
Having directed that construction on the garage stop until the matter was resolved, the council voted to refuse the second permit and have the resident re-submit a new request, similar to the original.
OTHER BUSINESS
The council approved a request from Rev. Laura Gentry of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church to close an area of Diagonal Street for Sunday morning worship from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the mornings of September 5, 12, 19 and 26, and October 3. In her request, Pastor Gentry wrote, “The Center for Disease Control has just issued a statement that every person in Iowa, vaccinated or not, should wear a mask when in an indoor public space because of the high level of COVID-19 transmission in all 99 counties. As a church, we are concerned about safety and would, therefore, like to move our worship services outdoors for a few weeks until the new COVID-19 case count is lower.”
Francis Garrett spoke to the council about a foundation he started last year in memory of his late wife, Celia Sander-Garrett. Noting that the foundation has already secured donations in excess of $100,000, Garrett told the council he wanted to share information about the foundation with the City but would not be requesting any funds. He said that a board of directors has been put into place and that he will be involved only in an advisory capacity.
The council decided to postpone until spring any action on tree stump removal; and it approved an LP gas bid from Agvantage FS, Waverly for $1.29 per gallon. The bid is for the 2021-2022 heating season and does not include any taxes. The bid is for bobtail delivery and includes a System Safety check on all five LP tanks. The bid includes two LP tanks at no charge; the other three tanks are customer-owned.
The next regular meeting of the Lansing City Council is scheduled for Monday, September 20.
