City approves removal of house deemed unsalvageable

A city-owned residential property at 907 W. Adams St. is slated for removal by winter after Creston City Council awarded the contract to Trent Holliday of H&H Commercial Services Tuesday during its regular meeting.

The bid from Holliday was the lowest at $16,200, however it remains unofficial until a bid specification and certificate of insurance is provided to the city. City Administrator Mike Taylor told the council it was up to them if they wanted to award a contingent contract as the three contractors who submitted bids for the project “did not follow the process.”

Holliday’s bid includes dump fees, labor to unhook utilities, remove the house and garage, all concrete and backfill lot using city dirt pile.

Other bids were received from Tyson Greenwalt of APCO Construction for $17,985 and C&J Construction for $18,000.

Even though H&H Construction provided the lowest bid, councilman Matt Levine said he was concerned with choosing them because they “put the least amount of effort” in to its proposal. Taylor said H&H Construction was “fine” and has done work for the city in the past. When Mayor Gabe Carroll asked Taylor if he had a recommendation for the council, he said he’d like to see the house taken down before winter.

“I’ve been fighting it for a long time. It’s not a salvageable house,” said Taylor. “Many, many, many people have looked at it. It’s just not salvageable.”

Taylor expressed concern for future development on the lot.

“It may be difficult to get another home built back in that area, too, because of the setbacks, side setbacks, front yard setbacks,” he said. “I’m not going to say that, ‘Hey, we’re going to put another $150,000 (structure).’ That will never happen. It may just end up being a lot or a lot for an accessory building or a garage or empty. It may just be empty.”

Taylor added asbestos removal has been completed.

In other council news, the council:

• approved a funds transfer of $256,842.

• approved a purchase, sale and development agreement between the city of Creston and Masters Contract Services, LLC for property, 304 N. Elm St.

• amended wording in the urban revitalization plan.

• accepted an Iowa DOT grant award up to $168,000 for fencing and draining improvements at Creston Municipal Airport.

• approved the city street finance report for fiscal year 2021. Expenses were 3,009,916. Revenue was $3,387,533 with $464,909 coming from property, road use taxes and debt services.

• approved a request from the street department to purchase a dump box from Henderson Products for $22,178. A second bid was submitted by Truck Equipment, Inc. for $21,192. The city chose the higher bid because the building of the dump box can be completed before snowfall, whereas the work by Truck Equipment could not be completed until June. TJ Parsons, streets superintendent, said he chose to put on a new box instead of replacing the nearly 20 year old truck, as it still is in good condition and has been well maintained.

• approved drawdown No. 1 of $3,317 for th Water Treatment Plant Project.

• approved a request for a one year extension on a development agreement from the Union County Development Association. the agreement to build a 4-unit, multi-family housing complex at 701 W. Adams St. was executed Sept. 15, 2020, however, with uncertainty in the lender markets due to COVID-19 and increasing material costs, that project was not feasible at the time. In a request, UCDA director Wayne Pantini wrote they are close to working with a developer to meet its obligation.