As we know, the economy isn't the most chipper thing in the world. But happy to see dirt moving out my back window. A basement is being dug for another house on Bryan Ave as of today. We also have a new house going on Cottonwood as well.
We often talk about businesses, and them making investments. Well some families have decided to make an investment in Roland, and that is just super to see too. I know a lot of small towns around here have seen no new houses built this year.
The dirt is also being moved for our new street for the Bryan extension, as well as Arthur. I'll try to have some pics posted by the end of the weekend.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Good article
Mark Jackson, City Administrator in Story City has a very good article/commentary in this week's Story City Herald. It is in regards to flooding, and drainage issues. Pretty much any reference to Story City could be replaced with the word "Roland", and it would apply. So if you haven't read it, please give it a gander.
Tree trimming
Recently the City sent out about 200 notices regarding needing trees and bushes trimmed up. So that is almost 1/2 of the properties in town. As a review, trees and bushes need to be trimmed 8 feet above any sidewalk, and 15 feet on any overhang over a street.
The ordinance is in place for personal safety of passersby, and on the street side, to help prevent damage to snow plows, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, and so on.
I am well aware that the letter could be construed as being a bit harsh. Unfortunately the letter needs to be written to the worst case. I'm guessing that if you are reading this, you have at least some civic interest. And in that case, a "Hey, can you trim your bushes and trees up" would probably work. So any bureaucratic tone really isn't directed to a person such as yourself.
Unfortunately, that does not work for everybody. And if it were only 10 people, it could maybe get a bit more of a personal touch. But when almost half the town is out of compliance, that becomes a bit of a problem.
So anyway, most of the growing season should be done. If you got a letter, I hope you can work towards compliance, we've got a couple nice weekend days coming up here. I believe in the letter it states something to the effect that if you need more time, to let City Hall know. So if you can't meet the date, let the city know when you can, and that should help matters.
Thanks for your cooperation in this, and let me, or one of the city staff know if you have any questions.
The ordinance is in place for personal safety of passersby, and on the street side, to help prevent damage to snow plows, garbage trucks, delivery trucks, and so on.
I am well aware that the letter could be construed as being a bit harsh. Unfortunately the letter needs to be written to the worst case. I'm guessing that if you are reading this, you have at least some civic interest. And in that case, a "Hey, can you trim your bushes and trees up" would probably work. So any bureaucratic tone really isn't directed to a person such as yourself.
Unfortunately, that does not work for everybody. And if it were only 10 people, it could maybe get a bit more of a personal touch. But when almost half the town is out of compliance, that becomes a bit of a problem.
So anyway, most of the growing season should be done. If you got a letter, I hope you can work towards compliance, we've got a couple nice weekend days coming up here. I believe in the letter it states something to the effect that if you need more time, to let City Hall know. So if you can't meet the date, let the city know when you can, and that should help matters.
Thanks for your cooperation in this, and let me, or one of the city staff know if you have any questions.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Council Meeting 9-27
Kind of a busy agenda tonite, with a lot of different topics.
We made adjustments to the new street plan to add subdrains. The water table is so high along Bryan, the addition of subdrains will help channel water away, and hopefully keep the street from breaking up prematurely.
We gave final approval for approval of keeping of urban chickens. As a reminder, if you want to keep them, you will have to get a no cost license at City Hall.
We gave first approval to move our city council meetings to our Community Center. City Council meetings have been held in City Hall since the 1930s I presume. And most nights it is fine. But it can get very crowded, and warm, and some will have to sit in Janet's office space on nights with a big crowd. With our nice Community Center facility(which is available to rent by the way), it will hopefully become a more inviting place for people to come and participate in our city council meetings. It is not final yet, so next meeting will still be at City Hall.
We also approved some liens on some properties for failing to cut their grass.
One of the bigger discussions was the sale of city property. The City has 2 lots we may potentially wish to sell. One is the lot on South Cottonwood, where we recently tore down an abandoned house. The other is in the Britson Park area, that will be on the other side of the street from the remainder of the park, after the new street is installed. We talked with our city attorney about the legal requirements for us to sell the properties, and how we might like to go about it. Nothing is happening in the immediate term. But if you have an interest in either property, feel free to contact City Hall for more info.
We made adjustments to the new street plan to add subdrains. The water table is so high along Bryan, the addition of subdrains will help channel water away, and hopefully keep the street from breaking up prematurely.
We gave final approval for approval of keeping of urban chickens. As a reminder, if you want to keep them, you will have to get a no cost license at City Hall.
We gave first approval to move our city council meetings to our Community Center. City Council meetings have been held in City Hall since the 1930s I presume. And most nights it is fine. But it can get very crowded, and warm, and some will have to sit in Janet's office space on nights with a big crowd. With our nice Community Center facility(which is available to rent by the way), it will hopefully become a more inviting place for people to come and participate in our city council meetings. It is not final yet, so next meeting will still be at City Hall.
We also approved some liens on some properties for failing to cut their grass.
One of the bigger discussions was the sale of city property. The City has 2 lots we may potentially wish to sell. One is the lot on South Cottonwood, where we recently tore down an abandoned house. The other is in the Britson Park area, that will be on the other side of the street from the remainder of the park, after the new street is installed. We talked with our city attorney about the legal requirements for us to sell the properties, and how we might like to go about it. Nothing is happening in the immediate term. But if you have an interest in either property, feel free to contact City Hall for more info.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
H a double L O double you double E n
One of the big decisions I have to make his when to proclaim Beggar's Night in Roland. Halloween is on Sunday this year. So on that weekend, Friday has no HS football, as the playoffs will be starting, so that wouldn't be a bad night. Both the Cyclones and Hawks are home on Sat the 30th. And Sunday always has stuff going on.
So I decided to stick with the holiday, and Beggar's Night in Roland will be on Sunday the 31st from 6 to 8PM.
So I decided to stick with the holiday, and Beggar's Night in Roland will be on Sunday the 31st from 6 to 8PM.
City Council Meeting Sep 13
Been a busy week for me, so haven't had a chance to make any comments about the city council meeting last Monday. The meeting was a stem winder. About 2.5 hours.
First up we approved the funding for the Arthur and Bryan street projects. We got a good interest rate. 2.85% I believe. That is nice for the taxpayers to borrow at that low of rate. It will be a 10 year payoff. We are just finishing up paying off a previous water project. So we continue to only use a small amount of our total bonding capacity. So that is good.
We talked a little about a LED sign that the Roland Area Development Corp(RADC) wants to put up in Roland, maybe by Caseys. That will be a nice thing to have if that gets off the ground. It will be a community message board, touting events in the city.
We authorized some initial grading in Britson Park. Along with the road construction through the park area, that will be really be the start of the park.
We also approved the purchase of software for a GIS for city infrastructure. It should be a nice thing going forward, when we can start to track manholes, and water shutoffs, and other stuff like that. Just in this meeting, we had discussions about pipes that we did not know existed where they did.
I made the proclamation for Constitution Week. Tis nice to remember what a great document we have the opportunity to live with.
We passed the 2nd reading of the "Chicken Ordinance". I'm expecting it to have final approval at the next meeting. Last chance, if you don't want to see "urban chickens" come to the meeting at let your voice heard.
However the biggie of the meeting was the discussion and report on effort to limit flood water in our city. Our city engineer Neil Guess was present to discuss his findings. He looked at 3 key areas.
(Below is my express commentary on the discussion, and what was in the report. I linked the report below)
The first was Ryan Circle. Mostly we just need some maintenance there, without a lot of cost. Part of it would be improved draining around the rail trail. This week, a new culvert was installed there, and that should help matters.
Next is around North Cottonwood. Same thing there. With the addition of some culverts, and a ditch cleanout, we think water flow would be improved there.
Lastly is at Britson Circle. That one is not so easy. It appears the street draining was "under-engineered" from the street's construction 40 years ago. And there is no easy way to get the water away from there and to the creek. We are looking at some options, but that may involve getting easements on the most direct route to the creek, or the very expensive route of taking it up along Maple. We are also pondering a route to the south. More to come on that. It is not an easy maintenance fix.
For those of you at the meeting, you know our engineer Neil was distracted by a couple texts about a medical issue in his family. I found out his father passed away on Tuesday. So he has been away from the office this week.
HERE is a link of the DRAFT Storm Sewer report.
First up we approved the funding for the Arthur and Bryan street projects. We got a good interest rate. 2.85% I believe. That is nice for the taxpayers to borrow at that low of rate. It will be a 10 year payoff. We are just finishing up paying off a previous water project. So we continue to only use a small amount of our total bonding capacity. So that is good.
We talked a little about a LED sign that the Roland Area Development Corp(RADC) wants to put up in Roland, maybe by Caseys. That will be a nice thing to have if that gets off the ground. It will be a community message board, touting events in the city.
We authorized some initial grading in Britson Park. Along with the road construction through the park area, that will be really be the start of the park.
We also approved the purchase of software for a GIS for city infrastructure. It should be a nice thing going forward, when we can start to track manholes, and water shutoffs, and other stuff like that. Just in this meeting, we had discussions about pipes that we did not know existed where they did.
I made the proclamation for Constitution Week. Tis nice to remember what a great document we have the opportunity to live with.
We passed the 2nd reading of the "Chicken Ordinance". I'm expecting it to have final approval at the next meeting. Last chance, if you don't want to see "urban chickens" come to the meeting at let your voice heard.
However the biggie of the meeting was the discussion and report on effort to limit flood water in our city. Our city engineer Neil Guess was present to discuss his findings. He looked at 3 key areas.
(Below is my express commentary on the discussion, and what was in the report. I linked the report below)
The first was Ryan Circle. Mostly we just need some maintenance there, without a lot of cost. Part of it would be improved draining around the rail trail. This week, a new culvert was installed there, and that should help matters.
Next is around North Cottonwood. Same thing there. With the addition of some culverts, and a ditch cleanout, we think water flow would be improved there.
Lastly is at Britson Circle. That one is not so easy. It appears the street draining was "under-engineered" from the street's construction 40 years ago. And there is no easy way to get the water away from there and to the creek. We are looking at some options, but that may involve getting easements on the most direct route to the creek, or the very expensive route of taking it up along Maple. We are also pondering a route to the south. More to come on that. It is not an easy maintenance fix.
For those of you at the meeting, you know our engineer Neil was distracted by a couple texts about a medical issue in his family. I found out his father passed away on Tuesday. So he has been away from the office this week.
HERE is a link of the DRAFT Storm Sewer report.
Junk Pick Up/ on Monday/Tuesday
If you have big items of junk that you want to get rid of, Monday or Tuesday is the day. A company will be coming around to get water heaters, TV/Computer monitors (charge for those), and other stuff that they can recycle. But for most things, it is a cheap way to get rid of bigger items lying around your property. Call City Hall for more details. It is also mentioned in a post below.
Smoke 'em if ya got 'em
Notice to All Residents of Roland:
Please be advised the City of Roland will be smoke testing and televising
the sanitary sewer lines throughout the city during the week of September
27, 2010. If we get a significant amount of rainfall before September 27th
the testing may need to be rescheduled. The testing will include smoke
generating equipment that forces smoke into the sewers. Smoke should not
enter your premises unless a leak is present. To minimize the chances of
smoke entering your house, please pour water into all drains including floor
drains prior to the testing.
If any smoke does get in your house it should be reported immediately to the
personnel conducting the tests, or by calling City Hall at 515-388-4861
The smoke is relatively harmless but unnecessary exposure should be avoided
as it may irritate nasal passages. If smoke irritation does occur the
effects will be temporary and disappear quickly after exposure has ended.
Persons with heart and/or respiratory ailments are encouraged to leave the
house during the test. Pets that are exposed will generally react in a
manner similar to humans and leave the smoky area. If an exit is not
available please be sure your pets are provided with proper ventilation.
We appreciate your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience.
City of Roland.
Please be advised the City of Roland will be smoke testing and televising
the sanitary sewer lines throughout the city during the week of September
27, 2010. If we get a significant amount of rainfall before September 27th
the testing may need to be rescheduled. The testing will include smoke
generating equipment that forces smoke into the sewers. Smoke should not
enter your premises unless a leak is present. To minimize the chances of
smoke entering your house, please pour water into all drains including floor
drains prior to the testing.
If any smoke does get in your house it should be reported immediately to the
personnel conducting the tests, or by calling City Hall at 515-388-4861
The smoke is relatively harmless but unnecessary exposure should be avoided
as it may irritate nasal passages. If smoke irritation does occur the
effects will be temporary and disappear quickly after exposure has ended.
Persons with heart and/or respiratory ailments are encouraged to leave the
house during the test. Pets that are exposed will generally react in a
manner similar to humans and leave the smoky area. If an exit is not
available please be sure your pets are provided with proper ventilation.
We appreciate your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience.
City of Roland.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Water Pressure
You may have noticed a loss of water pressure about 9:30 Sunday night. Apparently the pump quit at the water treatment plant, the alarm didn't go off, and the water tower got drained enough to lose pressure.
Water Superintendent Nathan was able to quickly get to the treatment plant, reset the pump, and that got more water back in the tower, and by 10PM, we could all take a shower before going to bed.
We'll find out why we didn't get an alarm to prevent that.
As a reminder, if something went horribly wrong, we can always turn a valve and hook up to Central Iowa Rural Water. And since we are talking about pressure, about about some Billy Joel from the '80s.
Water Superintendent Nathan was able to quickly get to the treatment plant, reset the pump, and that got more water back in the tower, and by 10PM, we could all take a shower before going to bed.
We'll find out why we didn't get an alarm to prevent that.
As a reminder, if something went horribly wrong, we can always turn a valve and hook up to Central Iowa Rural Water. And since we are talking about pressure, about about some Billy Joel from the '80s.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
9/11 thought
Today is obviously the anniversary of the attack on our country by insane members of a death cult. The anniversary reminded me of something I do as a mayor. Not a big deal, and I've never mentioned it before, but wanted to use this occasion to mention it. Not sure if anybody has even noticed, but here ya go...
One of the jobs of mayor is to run the city council meetings. We are given an agenda of all the items to discuss. And first up on every meeting is the roll call.
I'm assuming you've heard the story, but on that fateful day, when passengers on hijacked Flight 93 heard about the other planes crashing, they did the brave thing and decided to attack their hijackers. Some passengers were on airphones to family during the event, and it was reported that passenger Todd Beamer said, "Let's roll," just before the passengers' efforts to storm the cockpit.
I like the attitude, and the bravery of Todd and the other passengers on that flight. So that phrase resonated with me.
So using the word "roll", ever since I have been mayor, I start our meetings with, "Let's Roll, Call."
So if you notice the slightly odd pausing with how I say it, it is my quiet tribute to those passengers on 9/11.
One of the jobs of mayor is to run the city council meetings. We are given an agenda of all the items to discuss. And first up on every meeting is the roll call.
I'm assuming you've heard the story, but on that fateful day, when passengers on hijacked Flight 93 heard about the other planes crashing, they did the brave thing and decided to attack their hijackers. Some passengers were on airphones to family during the event, and it was reported that passenger Todd Beamer said, "Let's roll," just before the passengers' efforts to storm the cockpit.
I like the attitude, and the bravery of Todd and the other passengers on that flight. So that phrase resonated with me.
So using the word "roll", ever since I have been mayor, I start our meetings with, "Let's Roll, Call."
So if you notice the slightly odd pausing with how I say it, it is my quiet tribute to those passengers on 9/11.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
House is down
I've written about it occasionally in the past, and now I can officially say the house on South Cottonwood that was a giant eyesore is now gone.
Don't have a price yet, but the city council will be entertaining offers to purchase the lot. If you have any interest, please call City Hall. Above is a pic of the house as it was coming down, picture courtesy of Council Member Corey Johnson.
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