Much Ado About Weeds

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa City Council met in regular session on Monday at 6:00 pm at city hall.

The council heard from Ann Frost, Oskaloosa Area Chamber and Development Group, about the work the organization has been taking part in for the past quarter.

Some of the things the group is working on include a housing development committee, a workforce committee, while tourism is gaining traction once again.

“We know that housing is a huge priority in the community,” Frost added.

The Chamber also had their strategic planning meeting, and are planning a follow-up session to talk about what the Chamber’s next steps will be moving forward.

The Council approved a resolution adopting the proposal for the Fiscal Year 2020 property, liability, automobile, equipment, and workers compensation.

This upcoming year will see an increase in the cost of $17,574 for the next fiscal year.

In that total increase, it breaks down to $3,222 due to increasing property values. The commercial auto insurance went up by $4,206 due to vehicle changes and the addition of new equipment and/or vehicles. Workers compensation was the last portion of the increase, which cost an additional $6,881 due to an increase in the Experience MOD from 0.76 to 0.88.

The total insurance cost for the city for insurance for the fiscal year 2019-20 is $180,157.00.

The Council also considered and accepted the bid and awarding of a contract for the Oskaloosa Facade Improvement Project Phase 2 to Cornerstone Commercial Contractors, Inc.

The initial bid from Cornerstone Commercial Contractors, Inc was $811,792,00. The architect for the project, Curtis Architecture and Design reviewed the bid and negotiated a reduction in the contractors base bid, lowering it to $794,962.00.

The revised bid is still higher than the original architect cost estimate of $674,406.00.

“The difference between the estimated cost and revised bid is expected to be covered by a $50,000.00 increase in grant funds from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. A $30,139.00 proportional increase in contributions from the property owners, and an approximate $40,417 increase in City of Oskaloosa TIF funds.”

The motion passed on a 4-1 vote.

Oskaloosa City Manager Michael Schrock addressed some concerns about the appearance of the South D street project, and specifically the growth of weeds within the project.

“We as a community haven’t accepted that project just yet,” said Schrock. “We’ve been negotiating with the contractor to make sure that they need to do what they’re supposed to do.”

Those items Schrock is speaking about is the grass and flowers in the space according to the specifications set out in the contract.

“We’re still working with them. There’s a reason why we haven’t gone out there and spent a lot of time on that yet because it’s technically not the city’s. Again, it’s actually the contractor responsibility.”

Schrock said he feels as though the contractor is onboard in getting the situation resolved.

Posted by on Jun 19 2019. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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