Council members and the mayors of Tama and Toledo made it clear they do not want to discourage use of the Claire Wedmore Memorial Basketball Court area. But a complaint about late night use will prompt some restrictions they said.
At their regular meeting on Monday night, Tama City Council members Steve Baier, Crystal Kaufman, Kenny McAdoo and Mike Carnahan and Mayor Dan Zimmerman were joined by Toledo Council members Brian Sokol, Jeff Filloon and Travis Mullen, Mayor Dave Svoboda and City Clerk Julie Wilkerson.
The out-of-doors basketball court is located just west of the Tama-Toledo Family Aquatic Center on East Summit Street in Toledo. Both cities share responsibility for the area because of the joint swimming pool ownership.
Council members were told the switch box which controls the lighting of the court had apparently been tampered with allowing the court to be lit late at night. It was also reported car lights have been turned on and positioned to light the court in the late night hours.
Council members directed John Lloyd, Tama public works director, and Duane Upah, Toledo superintendent of public works, to check on the lighting controls for the court.
Under policy agreed upon by both councils, the basketball court is to be closed at 10 p.m. and a sign posted with rules also including no parking on grass areas and an appeal to pick up trash and to "be respectful of property."
Police may be also asked to patrol the area more frequently.
Pool Bond Refinancing
Tama will be in a position to take advantage if interest rates fall and a re-issuance of bonds to pay for the city's share of the Family Aquatic Center can be made.
Council members voted 4-0 Monday night to authorize the procedure if a savings of at least $75,000 over the term of the bonds can be realized.
The only apparent "catch" in the move is a time lapse between initiating the re-issuance of the bonds and the fluctuation in the interest rate before the new bonds are sold.
It was reported in an email to the council by Travis Squiers, a vice president of Piper Jaffray, the city's bond agency, the city could spend $5,000-$7,000 if interest rates were to rise during the period and the city elected to cancel the bond sale.
Tama owes about $1.4 million as its share of the $3.2 million Aquatic Center cost.
Order Ice Cream Depot To Vacate
The owner of the Ice Cream Depot, a downtown ice cream stand on city property at 3rd and State, has been ordered to remove all his property from the location within 30 days.
Dennis Noe, Tama, was notified this week of the termination of his lease on the ground for failure to pay his annual lease totaling $375 and a $21 water bill due from last fall. This resulted in breaking his lease for location the council said.
Noe is also to clean up the location upon vacating it.
DOT Approves 9th Street Bridge Replacement
City council members will apparently have up to three years to decide if Tama is to participate in replacing the bridge on East 9th Street.
The council learned Monday night the Iowa Department of Transportation has agreed to pay 80 percent of the estimated $525,000 replacement cost. This would leave Tama responsible for about $105,000 of the total.
The street is one of two providing access to city-owned Oak Hill Cemetery. It also is a route to the area for which Tama has growth potential, Mayor Zimmerman said.
City Clerk Judy Welch told council members other street projects would have to be scaled back if current Road Use Tax (RUT) funding is used to pay for the city's share.
Public Works Director Lloyd said he believed Street Superintendent Stuart Eisentrager would not favor reducing or eliminating the on-going curb and guttervreplacement program which relies upon RUT money.
It is believed cement box culverts would be used to replace the present bridge structure over Mud Creek. The DOT used cement culverts to replace another bridge downstream under Business Route 30 last year.
In other business the council:
approved extending for two more years the lease of 140 acres of crop ground to Scott Shadden for $21,170 annually. Shadden proposed making improvements to the property including clearing some standing trees and removing rock. In addition he will also clear trees damaged during the July 11, 2011 derecho storm which remain. He told the council he did not want to do the work if he might be out bid for the land rental. Council members noted Shadden's bid for the current year was considerably higher than others received. The land is near city-owned Cherry Lake on the city's southwest side.
learned smoke detectors in the Louise and Lucile Hink Tama Public Library need to be inspected. Council member Kaufman said the library board had not been aware of the need for nor had budgeted for this work which could cost about $450. Council members directed a determination of what inspections required before proceeding.
approved a new ordinance governing spot zoning. All legal and publication costs associated with a spot zoning request are now the responsibility of the property owner. A $400 application fee must be paid to pay these costs with any additional costs also billed to the applicant. The change was made because fees to change zoning have usually been paid solely by the city in the past.
approved the fire department purchase of 1,000 feet of used, four-inch hose at a cost of $1,000 from fire fighting fees billed to insurance companies. The council also learned the department plans to buy 30-32 pair of new firefighter boots at a cost of up to $240 per pair from trust fund money. Some of the boots now in use were bought in the 1980s the council was told.
approved hiring Michael Bly and Joshua Bly for summer help each for $10 hourly.
approved a housing rehabilitation project payment for a residence at 605 Beautiful Street to TJA Construction for $30,720.
said requests for "children at play" street warning signs will continue under a city policy which requires the signs to be paid for by those making the request.
heard from Brandon Clemens, a Cedar Rapids Kernels baseball representative, who is proposing holding a Tama-Toledo night at the ball park in Cedar Rapids.