Council Discusses Animal Shelter Agreement
Council Dissolves their portion of the 28E Agreement with Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter.
This step came at the request of Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter.
The shelter was created in 1992 after a gift from Harold and Myrtle Stephen and was operated under a 28E agreement between Mahaska County, the city of Oskaloosa, and the Mahaska County Humane Society.
After a meeting in January of this year among all the stakeholders of that agreement, the animal shelter stated they wished to transition towards a stand-alone non-profit.
If approved by the various parties, the shelter would then take on the role of the non-profit beginning July 1st of 2021, and its employees would no longer be considered county employees.
Oskaloosa City Manager explained that during his conversations about the transition, the shelter board wanted to make the move to provide more autonomy.
The idea to move to a non-profit was initially suggested by former Mahaska County Supervisor, the late Steve Parker.
The Council approved the move to end the 28E agreement with the Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter.
The Council also went into a closed session to discuss a real estate transaction.
Upon return to the open session, the Council said their discussion revolved around the property located at 207 N. G Street in Oskaloosa.
The city will be accepting bids for that property at an upcoming date for purchasing and developing the real estate, with the sale being March 15th, 2021.
In other business:
The City approved a resolution accepting the completion of the D Street reconstruction project. The final bill for the updates, including new concrete, water, sanitary sewer, and burying other utilities, came up to $2,869,149.19. The final cost was almost $52,000 less than the original allocated budget.
The Council approved the first reading regarding the naming of the street to the new YMCA as Partnership Avenue, a nod to the groups and individuals who helped make the project possible.
The Council approved the second reading of an ordinance regarding sanitary sewer rates. The Council had agreed to increase funding by 8% in the upcoming year to help pay for sewer repairs and constructing a new treatment facility. The average bill will increase by $4.62 a month. Oskaloosa needs to have an updated facility operational by the year 2027, and current projections have the cost of such a facility at $40 million.
