Council Moves Forward With South D Rebuild
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa City Council met Monday night in regular session, where the council heard the audit report from Martens & Company CPA, for the 2016 fiscal year.
Fiscal years for governments end on the last day of June, and the next fiscal year begins on July 1. Oskaloosa is currently in the 2017 fiscal year.
The representative from Martens & Company states that the city appears to maintain a healthy overall financial position.
The City of Oskaloosa paid Martens & Company $8,850.00 for their services, and accepted their report.
The board took up the second reading of an ordinance amending Oskaloosa Municipal Code pertaining to sidewalk requirements.
The ordinance would read:
17.08.120 – Required Public Sidewalk
A.-Public sidewalk shall be required for the following:
1.-All new developments in all zoning districts. New developments include projects requiring a site plan review, changes in property use type, and all new residential structures.
2.-All redevelopments, enlargements, or extensions of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of either the total property area or gross building area in all zoning districts, except for single-family, two-family, and duplex use types.
3.-These requirements may be waived by the City Council based on a recommendation after Planning and Zoning Commission review in GI (General Industrial), LI (Limited Industrial), and Residential zoning districts.
B.-All new or existing sidewalks required by this section must be constructed, or reconstructed, in concrete and in compliance with current ADA accessibility and meet the local, state, and federal standards.
C.-Where sidewalks are required by this section but are not adjacent to properties with existing sidewalks, city council shall consider installing sidewalks to connect the new development to existing sidewalks in accordance with the city-adopted sidewalk plan.
The measure passed on a 4-3 vote after the second reading.
In March of 2015, the Oskaloosa city staff was authorized to submit an application to the Iowa Department of Transportation for the reconstruction of South D Street from A Avenue West to South 6th Street.
The City of Oskaloosa was awarded an 80/20 matching fund from the Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant of up to $1,900,000 for the reconstruction of South D Street. The proposed reconstruction plan will include new concrete pavement, sidewalk ramps, storm and sanitary sewer improvements, and aspects of the City’s Complete Streets Policy. This section of D Street is a minor artery which carries approximately 5,400 vehicles per day. As a result of the high volume of traffic, the existing asphalt over brick pavement is beginning to deteriorate.
After city staff consideration, Gardens & Associates Ltd. was chosen to provide professional services for this project and prepared a professional services contract in an amount not to exceed $308,763.95. This contract has been submitted to, and reviewed by, the Iowa DOT.
The measure passed unanimously.
The council approved a housing needs assessment go be conducted by Maxfield Research & Consulting, in an amount not to exceed $19,045.
The primary purpose of this analysis is to provide the City of Oskaloosa with a market-based analysis to identify current and future housing needs in the Oskaloosa area. This will help decision makers develop a greater understanding of the City’s housing market.
