Above is a view of Hwy 63 that runs in front of the South Tama County High School. To the far right of the picture is the new location for the start of the school speed zone which is just north of the STC baseball field. Chronicle Photos/Allison Graham

It was a quick and unanimous decision by the Toledo City Council on Monday March 9 to offer financial support to the school speed zone project. Prior to the council meeting the DOT approved lowering the speed limit on Highway 63 to 30 miles per hour during specific times. Hours for the planned 30 mph school speed zone are 30 minutes prior to school start, during open campus lunch from 11:30 a.m.- 12:50 p.m. and 3:05 p.m.-3:50 p.m. The exception is the early dismissal on Wednesday when the zone would be in effect from 2:05 p.m.-2:50 p.m. The DOT also agreed to place the start of the speed zone north of the baseball field, which was a change from the original plan.

While there was some discussion between council members about the city being forced to maintain a blinking warning light, no one on the council wanted to delay the project either. At the end of the day, according to council member Joe Boll, no one wants to see a pedestrian injured in a car accident.

STC High School Principal Roy Frakes was on hand to discuss the issue with the council. Frakes stated he spoke with Toledo council member and Tama Police Chief Jeff Filloon regarding accidents on this stretch of road. According to Frakes there have been three accidents per year since 2011, but it was not specified as to whether these accidents involved STC students.

There is still question as to whether the cities or the school will have financial responsibility for the actual programming equipment used to run the lights.

A date for the speed zone change has not yet been set.

City farmland available for rent

Due to the falling commodity prices local farmer Charles Boeker will no longer be able to obtain the $465/acre financing for the Toledo farmland located south of the sewer plant. Another 80 acres is located near 310th Street. In a split vote Boeker was released from his contract with the city. Council members Brian Sokol and Joe Boll voted no to the contract nullification while Jeff Filloon, Travis Mullen and Terry Goodhart voted in favor to nullify the lease.

Heath Kellogg attended Monday’s meeting to give the Toledo council members an update on the happenings with the Tama County Economic Development (TCED). TCED’s main focus is finding capital to bring to the area. The most recent example of that is the newly opened, Iowa Premium Beef facility in Tama. According to Kellogg it takes a lot of time, determination, and will power to bring capital development projects to this area. One reason is that due to the size of our community, we are often too small to be on the radar of most regional development projects. To combat issues with population Kellogg packages Tama-Toledo along with small area towns such as Montour, Clutier, and Vining. TCED focuses on projects that can bring in 10-30 jobs at a time. Their main goal is to bring in projects that can turn into paychecks for local citizens. Some may find Kellogg to be tight lipped about future projects and it’s for good reason. Kellogg has learned that capital development projects are not done until their done. Meaning that leaking details prematurely can sometimes result in another community snatching the opportunity away. Although he was not able to disclose any particular details, he encouraged the council that there are currently irons in the fire for the future.

In other council business

* a contract was approved for a portion of the Community Development Block Grant to go to 206 N Church St for siding and roofing.

* the 2016 Budget was approved.

* Janet Kriegel, Toledo City Clerk was approved to attend Clerk IMFOA School

* council approved to begin the process to declare 113 W. High St. a nuisance abatement. City attorney Mike Marquess will be sending notification to building owner Richard Wedmore.

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