Charles City Council hears update on Simply Essentials, Housing Authority projects

Staff report

A truck bay will be on the east side of the upcoming Simply Essentials property, City Administrator Steve Diers told the Charles City Council during Monday’s meeting, but some council members had concerns over the truck’s content.

“That’s still not that far from a residential area,” Council member DeLaine Freesemen commented as Diers wrapped up his City Administrator’s report.

The building would be a bay for four trucks to pull in with chickens waiting to be unloaded, and have a sprinkler system to keep birds cool during the summer, he added.

“Then any water from that would be collected and dumped off site, it would not go into our wastewater system,” Diers said.

The discussion with Simply Essentials is ongoing, Diers added, and he planned to present more at the Aug. 10 council planning session.

MORNINGSIDE APARTMENTS

Issues uncovered during Charles City Housing Authority’s Morningside Apartment construction have added $19,322.50 to the project’s budget, Housing Director Heidi Nielson told the Charles City Council on Monday.

Working with Kamm Excavating, project workers found water shut-offs were deeper than expected and drain tiles were incorrectedly dead-ended in sand under complex steps when they were first installed. New drain tiles were connected to alternate drainage and two additional cement slabs were removed to accommodate the curb stop excavation.

The initial completion date of Aug. 19 has been delayed, Nielson said, now anticipated at Sept. 1. The project’s total cost is nearly $170,000, up from the original anticipated price of $110,000.

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