28E agreement with county approved for building inspections

To fill the void Prairie City has been experiencing with the lack of a building inspector, the city council approved a 28E agreement with Jasper County to provide those services at the July 10 meeting. While approving the agreement allows inspections to begin within the city, the council will continue on the topic with a public hearing set to approve building code amendments for the 28E agreement at the next city council meeting Aug. 8.

“Previously at the special council meeting, council was presented a couple of options and my understanding is the council wanted to move forward with the 28E agreement with Jasper County,” city administrator Joe Bartello said. “In the interim, we had the expectation that he was going to work as a consultant for the city. He then got direction from the county attorney’s office that until he had a signed agreement between the city and county he was advised not to do those inspections.”

With the agreement approved, the inspector can begin working with local contractors to complete back-logged inspections, while the city continues to work on the wording for the building code.

“They can always do the work and get the process going and do the inspections with the understanding that the code will be brought up to date next month,” city attorney John Judisch said.

The news of inspections moving forward was welcomed by local business owners, including Maggie Wenthe of Prairieview Partners, LLC, who are currently working to complete a renovation of the historic bank building in downtown Prairie City. Wenthe said the project is three months behind schedule because of the hold up with inspections and it is affecting any future plans the company was pursuing within the city.

“We have to move forward with our project. We have been sitting and waiting for about three months now,” Wenthe said.

The project Prairieview Partners is referring to is a new wellness center that will house Mayo Massage Therapy and the Shades of You by Lori hair studio along with a new yoga studio and nail center. Wenthe laid out how the delays have affected not only her business but the businesses that are slated to fill the new center.

“Not only are we losing money on rent, now we’re up against harvest and work that we were planning on doing ourselves. We will potentially have to outsource, increasing our construction costs,” Wenthe said. “It is also a domino effect for all of the people involved. I still am worried what if she (Kirsten Weiland, owner of Mayo Massage Therapy) decides to get a different place in a different town because she needed the summer business.”

Another business caught up in the delays is Pro Ag Star, who intends to fill the space vacated by Mayo Massage when it moves. Pro Ag Star is currently without a space after giving up its lease in Pella to expand to Prairie City.

“We want Prairie City to thrive, we are all born and raised here,” Wenthe said. “It’s not just the new stuff, it is taking care of the buildings we have and keeping the charm and character.”

Wenthe said she, along with other local builders, are hesitant to work in Prairie City because of the confusing layout of what is expected from the projects. The wellness center is the second project for Prairieview Partners and Wenthe said the rules completely changed from the first go.

“We were actually looking at taking on a third project, we were thinking of possibly Robert’s Brothers up for sale. It is such a great location and there are so many things we could do,” Wenthe said. “We’re not touching it, there is no way. After everything we have been through on these two projects, we wanted to do that, but right now, I cannot suggest in good conscious that is something we should put forth on our business. The stress that this has caused, the delays, it is a problem.”

Councilman John Lee agreed with Wenthe and said it is an area the council needs to address and get taken care of for future work.

“We’ve heard this complaint before, how people don’t want to do business here,” Lee said. “We have people here who want to grow this city and all it is, is just one big hassle.”

While the 28E agreement has been accepted, work to update the building code will continue. At the public hearing in August, council will get its first look at building code amendments and will take the first steps to approve them for future city use.

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