New housing project ongoing at old Lincoln school

As work on a series of homes at the former Lincoln Elementary School land continues, needed changes to sewer infrastructure is coming in front of Creston City Council.

Austin Smith, representing Garden and Associates and Parkway Heights Rowhouses LLC, spoke with the council Tuesday about changing the location of the main sewage tank, the sizing of the main lines and adding two manholes. The tank’s current location worked when a school was atop the entire space, but with the plan for 36 units in the space, a move to the alley would be preferred. Regarding the main, Smith said the the main would be upgraded from 6 inches to 8 inches in accordance with common policy.

Smith said the developer proposed a cost-sharing plan with the sewer changes. The developer would pay for the east-west segment while the city would pay for the north-south portion of the sanitary sewer relocation.

Creston City Administrator Mike Taylor asked if it would be possible for the city to buy their own materials for the cost share.

“We might be able to get manholes at a cheaper cost,” Taylor said. “We could possibly save $5,000.” The city buys such material directly from the manufacturers, meaning a lower price than a developer might get.

Smith said no formal vote was needed, but the developer wanted to know if the council would be interested before starting work. All present council members said they were in favor of the idea. Council member Richard Madison was not present.

In other council news…

In April when the lowest bid for a state-mandated wastewater treatment project came in more than $3 million over budget, city council was not thrilled. However, Veenstra and Kimm’s Director of Engineering Libby Patton promised to work her hardest to reduce the bill.

Patton came back Tuesday with the first of what she hopes to be many change orders with reductions to the project. This decrease, totaling $476,447, was prompted by changing engineering plans to decrease greenhouse size, limiting passivation of steel and more. The new contract amount is $10,073,553.

Following a number of complaints of reckless driving on Crest Drive, the council unanimously approved a motion to place stop signs at both ends of the road. Police Chief Paul Ver Meer said after posting officers near the road from May 20 through June 1, eight warnings, four violations and five citations were issued, along with five arrests, all related to driving.

Quiet Harbor Estates Manager Ruth Bolinger submitted a request for a yield sign and streetlight to be added to the property following requests from tenants.

The yield sign, to be placed at the intersection of Patriotic Parkway and Park Street, had positive feedback from the council, though it was suggested to be a stop sign instead of a yield sign. However, being private property, the council was less agreeable to providing a streetlight for Quiet Harbor. A vote to add a stop sign will be held at the following city council meeting, but discussion on the streetlight will not continue.

SICOG Senior Planner Jeremy Rounds shared a grant opportunity with the city council regarding bringing more lighting to Uptown Creston. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant provides approximately $470,000 in grant awards to Iowa communities in order to improve energy and light efficiency. Applications for the grant are due August 1.

During public forum, Creston resident Cheyenne Roche requested the council look into updating their paternity and maternity policies for city employees. The maternity policy has not been updated since 2001, while there is no paternity policy. Roche said about 80% of city employees are men. The unofficial policy for paternity leave is to take one week of sick time and use any vacation time for the remainder.