Peddlers And Solicitors Permits Discussed At Council Meeting
Oskaloosa City Hall
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa City Council moved through several items of importance Monday evening. The Council first received a report on the possible development of an Arts and Culture Commission. During discussion, two members of FACE (Fine Arts and Cultural Events) of Mahaska County presented on Art activities that had been conducted during the spring months and some future events. Members touched on Yarn Bombing the downtown square, an Art Gallery hop, as well as mural painting. After the presentation, the council received and filed the report, but did not formally vote to adopt an Arts and Culture Commission.
The City Council also considered changes to the City Code relating to Peddlers, Solicitors, and Transient Merchants. Among the numerous changes were: Changed the application process to be handled by one department (police department) rather than two (police and city clerk); Reduced the number and type of organizations exempted from the Chapter requirements as discussed with city council; Clarified the definition of charitable organization; Deleted the requirement to provide right thumb print; Added the requirement to show bonding information as required by State Code, Chapter 9C; Updated the fees by applying a conservative inflationary increase from 1990 to 2015. During the discussion on the item, it was suggested by Council Members Jason Van Zetten and Aaron Ver Steeg that the ordinance should be deleted as a whole because of “overregulation.” City Manager Michael Schrock indicated that if this was done, the city would then follow the State Code relating to Peddlers and Solicitors, meaning there would still be some regulation. Ultimately, the council approved the new ordinance on a 6-1 vote, with council member Aaron Ver Steeg voting no.
Finally, the council considered a request from MidAmerican Energy to convert the City’s street lights to LED lights. The city was presented with two options; one would involve phasing in the new lights as street lights fail, taking an estimated 5-10 years to complete, while another would involve the city replacing all of its street lights at an estimated cost of $101,000. After brief discussion, the council referred the item to the City Council Public Projects Subcommittee.
The next meeting of the Oskaloosa City Council will be on July 20th at 6:00 pm in the City Council Chambers.
