Lansing City Council hears proposal in regard to radium issue in water supply, discusses train track safety and other matters during RAGBRAI® events
by Macie Hill
The regular meeting of the Lansing City Council was held Monday, June 19. Discussion circled around MSA representatives addressing the City's radium issue in its water supply, Main Street well inspection, a new hiring for a city lawn mower position, fencing put up in front of the train tracks for RAGBRAI®, an ATV ordinance update, and a public hearing scheduled for the July 3 meeting.
MSA Professional Service representatives attended the meeting to meet all of the council members and let them know that they are interested in preparing the city's radium preliminary engineering report. The town of Farley in Iowa is one of MSA's clients which is having a similar situation that Lansing is having with radium. The project that MSA is proposing to take on would be about a three-year process with three parts, including design, bidding and construction.
The Main Street well will get pulled sometime this summer for its first inspection in 13 years and Lansing Mayor Mike Brennan suggests taking a sample from the well just to check on the radium level. That testing will be done when the well gets pulled.
A new individual has now been hired for lawn mowing by the City, so everything should be more caught up with the lawns around the city now that there will be two people mowing. Mayor Brennan says there are some properties around the city that are getting close to needing City crews to mow the lawn because the grass is getting too long and not looking its best. If something is not done soon by the property owners themselves, the City will mow those properties and then assess the property owner a fee for mowing.
RAGBRAI officials are suggesting that the City erect fencing in front of the train tracks when the riders are in town because of safety concerns. There will be some breaks in the fencing to let people through, making sure to not block any businesses. The biggest reason for this suggestion is to limit the places where everyone does cross the tracks in an effort to be more safe. RAGBRAI is also bringing some Iowa State Patrol officers with them that are dedicated just for the event, but the City will still have to hire around ten additional officers.
The Allamakee ATV Club will be coming to a meeting in the future when they are on the agenda for an answer about an ATV ordinance. The council discussed different options that could happen in regard to that ordinance and will make a final decision as soon as possible.
During the Monday, July 3 meeting at 7 p.m. there will be a public hearing on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation Bridge Improvement Loan Agreement.
