March 28, 2024

$1M grant proposed for Barton extension

An economic development grant for $1 million will be considered by the Newton City Council on Monday. The grant is proposed to fund the 70.7-acre Barton extension at the Fairmeadows North housing development.

The request was made by the Newton Housing Development Corporation to complete the purchase of land with repayment of the funds determined in the Real Estate Development Agreement. The land, located at North 11th Avenue East, has the potential to create 155 new housing lots.

The council will also look to expedite the approval process of an ordinance creating a regulatory structure and setting need or permit fees for food and street vendors for RAGBRAI. The regulation includes restricting glass containers, authorizing only one beer tent, nuisance issues, penalties, clean up procedure and street closures to ensure public safety.

In order to begin booking vendors and start collecting fees, which will fund the event prior to RAGBRAI, a request has been made to pass the first consideration of the ordinance and then waive the final two readings to adopt the ordinance the same day.

In another collaborative effort, the city is working to update the current rules and regulations at Memorial Park Cemetery. Since the cemetery came under the control of the city, the current rules and regulations did not apply to the operations there.

By using the input of local funeral homes, monument companies and veterans groups, the city has prepared a new set of rules and regulations that would include both Union and Memorial Park Cemeteries. A few of the changes include updating normal hours of internment on from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, relocating fees associated with the cemeteries to the city’s fee schedule and changing the clean-up dates to the first full weeks of April and October.

Also on the agenda is a proposed increase to the minimum fee at the Newton Landfill. The current fee is $8 and city staff recommends raising it to $10.

After creating the Customer Convenience Center in 2014, the landfill has incurred many additional costs associated with the services provided there. Because Newton is the lowest among 13 comparable central Iowa Landfills, city staff and landfill 28-E members recommended increasing the fee by $2 to help offset the new costs.

Finally, the city is looking to honor fallen Newton Police officers Bobby Barrickman, Daniel McPherren and Lt. Patrick Richardson by naming three local bridges after them. The bridges would be within or bordering Newton city limits.

Iowa Administrative Code allows for the naming of Iowa bridges in honor of individuals who have had extraordinary public service or some exemplary contribution to the public good or outstanding service to the nation, this state or the person’s community and have a connection to the community where the highway or bridge is located. If the approved, the NPD would seek approval from the Jasper County Board of Supervisors and upon their approval, would submit the application to the Iowa DOT for review and determination.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com