Berry Bros. to replace Elm Street retaining wall

Berry Bros. Masonry of Creston was chosen as the contractor to replace the fallen retaining wall on South Elm Street during the city council meeting last night at the Creston Restored Depot.

Berry Bros. quote for the project was $20,800. The other available bid was nearly double that amount at $39,600 from Kelly’s Flowers & Garden Center.

Council member Rich Madison asked if the reconstruction will include anchors buried into the bank to prevent the wall from failing again.

There will be deeper footings and bigger rebar answered public works director Kevin Kruse.

“The reason why the wall failed down there now was half-inch rebar that had been there 40 years and it rusted off,” Kruse said.

Horses

An appointment with Melissa Heatherington Mower about having horses on her property on 900 S. Cedar St. inside city limits was postponed until the next city council meeting at Mower’s request.

Neighbors of Mower’s South Cedar Street address spoke during open forum to oppose the city allowing horses on the property.

Kirk Anderson said when he purchased his home on South Cedar Street, there were no horses there. He said he was told by Mower that they were only keeping a horse for the summer for a 4-H project, but now there are two horses. He explained that his yard is down a steep slope from Mower’s property so the manure and urine drains down to his yard.

The single-strand electric fence for the horses is also inadequate, Anderson said. He provided pictures for the council and said the horses are often on his property in his yard where his grandchildren sometimes play. He said he feels the presence of the horses is unsanitary and unsafe.

“They weren’t there to start with,” Anderson said. “I wouldn’t have have purchased the property if they were.”

Anderson provided information on how much excrement a typical 1,000 pound horse produces, stating it is 37 pounds of manure and 2.4 gallons of urine, which would equal 18 tons of manure a year for two horses.

Bruce Baker, another neighbor, also objected to the horses. He said Mower’s property is not large enough to support two horses resulting in turning the yard area into a “feed lot.” He objected to the smell and the flies brought to the area by having horses in such a small area.

“It’s like putting us back into the slum,” he said,

Baker added that he has spent thousands of dollars to upgrade and enclose items on his property unlike Mower who he said has three trailers sitting in her front yard.

Update Uptown

Mindy Stalker with the Update Uptown Committee asked the council to approve a temporary closing of a portion of West Adams Street during the Update Uptown event planned for April and $3,500 from the Hotel/Motel Funding to help cover the expense of a temporary painted lane on the street at that time.

Madison explained that the Hotel/Motel Funding did not have adequate funds to commit for this year. A motion was made and passed unanimously to approve the street closing and provide a possible reimbursement of money spent on the temporary paint project in the next fiscal year if the funds are available.

Mayor Gabe Carroll added that for the previous project of the painted quilt block, the city provided $2,500. The project resulted $25,000 in donations and grants for a permanent installation.

In other city council business:

• a resolution was passed for an eight month hay lease with Travis West for city-owned properties near the waste water treatment plant, a South Cottonwood Street property, the Sontag property and near the airport.

• a resolution was passed to approve a bridge replacement over Hurley Creek on North Sycamore St.

• a final reading of the ordinance with sewer use service charge changes was established.

• a public hearing was held regarding the status of the Creston Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Project with Joel Lamb of Southern Iowa Council of Governments giving a report. No other comment was received.

• a public hearing date was set for Feb. 4 for the three-year airport agricultural land lease.

• a date of Feb. 26 was set as the deadline to receive bids for the Creston Alley Reconstruction Project with a public hearing date of March 3.