Mayor invites public to discuss Uptown projects

With only a month as the mayor of Creston under his belt, Doug Daggett took steps last weekend to fulfill a campaign promise of transparency between public and government, speaking to constituents on city operations Saturday at the Restored Depot.

The main subject of the session centered on Creston’s Uptown revitalization, with Daggett inviting Union County Development Association Executive Director Mindy Stalker and Southern Iowa Council of Government Senior Planner Jeremy Rounds to speak on the multiyear project which started in 2017.

The question-and-answer session is the first of a series of events Daggett plans to continue. He promised future events will have increased publicity to encourage public participation.

Studies and assessments completed by Creston and other community organizations, beginning with a housing study in 2017, have helped identify critical needs in housing and local activity within the community. These assessments were compiled by SICOG and adopted into the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, codified by the city council in 2020.

The comprehensive plan identifies areas of needed improvement within Creston and has been used in recent years for grant applications. Most recently, this resulted in Creston’s neighborhood revitalization grant.

The funds from this grant, totaling a full amount of $1.75 million, will be used on multiple projects in the Uptown area. These were separated into four categories: the Adams Street linear park, Uptown plaza and other parks, street lighting and sidewalks.

Bids for these projects, after their approval by the city council (estimated by Daggett to be sometime in March), will be approved over the summer with construction estimated to begin by the end of the year and continue into 2028.

Stalker outlined the history of Creston’s efforts to revitalize its Uptown district since the initial housing study in 2017 and specifically cited the effects of receiving a Boost grant which allowed for a branding update for Creston implemented last year and the Thriving Communities designation.

Rounds explained the financial side of the grant. In order for the city to receive the grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, they would have to find a way to match a portion of the funds. Not all of the matching funds has to come from the city; these can come from sources initially unidentified in the revitalization plan, including other grants the city could receive.

About $599,060 has been matched to the grant already through the city and other local sources, including property owners. One of these grants contributing as a local source is a $200,000 energy efficiency community block grant, which will be used on the street lighting project category of the revitalization plan.

In plans submitted to the city by engineering firm Garden & Associates, 30 streetlights are planned to be updated along Adams Street.

Easier opportunities for maintenance was a major part of the project’s updates. Stalker pointed out fluctuating height among the street lights, owing to years of maintenance changing the height of the fixtures over time.

“[Street Superintendent] TJ Parsons is who handles the bulk of maintenance to the streetlights, and he’s a huge advocate for upgrading our street lighting, for lots of reasons I think,” Stalker said.

Another portion of the revitalization grant is housing rehabilitation projects, with the city opting to rehabilitate four units within Uptown. This is different than the initial submitted plan of eight units.

Rounds noted this was due to Build America, Buy America restrictions affecting the budget of these projects; additional rehabilitation projects, although possible, could strain the grant’s funds and would be up to council decision after the project is further along. BABA would only apply to any project rehabilitating more than four units.

In responding to questions about city enforcing nuisance regulations on properties outside of Uptown, Daggett said he was in favor of finding opportunities for community support before properties become nuisances.

“I would like to investigate whether there’s opportunities for community where we can help identify some of these houses,” Daggett said. “There’s ways to try to approach it than just with a stick, this nuisance side of it. I think there’s ways we can identify properties that need help before they become a nuisance. Maybe there’s ways the community, not city hall directly, but the community in general can come alongside and try to help them.”

City council

The subject of the revitalization grant was discussed further during a city council meeting Tuesday, where Rounds, Stalker and Austin Smith, representing G&A, discussed the grant further.

Rounds presented a proposed timeline into 2028 and described what’s necessary for the projects as the grant’s period of funding is almost halfway complete.

“We have through approximately July of ‘28 to finish the project, so roughly 40% through the contract period,” Rounds said.

Stressing the impact of the city on the projects, Rounds said further decisions will have to be approved by the city council. While the project continues receiving approvals from various state authorities, Rounds assured the council they will stay informed throughout the process.

“While there may be some odd ideas going around, nothing is going to happen outside of your notice, ultimately,” Rounds said. “What we’re going to look at with this project going forward is, once we have a little bit more design figured out with different spaces, we will come back to the council for action on a proposed concept to submit to the state of Iowa.”

Smith and Rounds said the project most likely to be of interest to the general public is the linear park planned for the south side of Adams Street. The park, planned to be placed in the city-owned parking long from Pine Street to Division along Adams, hopes to give stronger foot traffic for businesses in Uptown.

Daggett requested for the planners to return to the council for the next city council meeting, scheduled for Feb. 3, to discuss further design plans for the linear park. Concerns over how the new space would affect traffic and snow removal were discussed by the council.

Smith said they will present a few options for designs at a future meeting.