Regional transit rides to Mason City approved

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Trips to Mason City via Charles City’s public transportation system became official at a regular meeting of the City Council on Monday.

The city will amend contracts with NIACOG (the North Iowa Area Council of Governments) and Circle K Communications to provide riders the opportunity to take trips to Mason City using the Charles City public transit system.  

A draft of the revised contract was brought before the council and stated no additional cost to the city will incur with the added trips. NIACOG will fully reimburse the city on the regional trips to Mason City.

NIACOG currently reimburses the city for 50 percent of the operating costs for rides within the Charles City limits. Circle K, owned by Tammy and Dan Elthon, will also renegotiate its contract with Floyd County. Added costs to Circle K will also be reimbursed under the new regional plan.

A fourth city bus will be used for the trips to Mason City. Tammy Elthon said the bus could also be used during peak usage hours in Charles City if it isn’t being used for regional trips.

Elthon said current hours (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.) will be used for the regional rides. A tentative plan calls for the bus to leave around 7 or 7:30 a.m. and that bus could conceivably take those riders back home around noon. A second trip to Mason City to deliver passengers could begin again at 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon, she said.

Additional trips while in Mason City by riders would have to be worked out with NIACOG and the Mason City transit system.

The one-way cost for regional rides to Mason City is $3 for students, disabled or elderly and $5 for the purchase of general public ticket. Those prices drop to $2 and $4, respectively, for county rides.

Rides would need to be requested 24 hours in advance. The bus would drop riders off at their suggested stops and then would have a designated time to be picked up to be driven back home.  

City Administrator Steve Diers said no additional drivers will need to be hired for the regional rides, as the current pool of drivers can be used for the out-of-county trips.

The HMA Paving Project preliminary plans were approved by the council. Hearing and letting dates were also set for the work that will be done on North Jackson Street and South Main.

The project will fix storm water issues in addition to placing a new 3-inch-thick hot mix asphalt surface. Other minor repairs to the concrete curb and gutters, improvements to storm water intakes and a storm sewer extension on South Main will also take place along the 3,650 feet of work. The DOT (Department of Public Transportation) bid letting is scheduled for Feb. 19 and the council will hold a hearing on March 18.

The HMA Paving Project will be funded by SWAP, which, according to the agreement that was also approved by the council on Monday, will pay for 100 percent of the eligible construction activities or $920,000. City Engineer John Fallis said the cost of the HMA Paving Project is estimated at $880,000.

Other action taken at the regular meeting included:

– An internal borrowing of funds request for $2 million for the fiber-to-the-home broadband internet project was given the OK. Lookout Point Communications and NewCom Technologies are currently in the process of working on the business plan and engineering layout phase. The cost of that is around $400,000 and comes out of the general city fund. Those funds will ultimately be reimbursed to the city as part of the long-term financing of the project, if that next step is taken in the $12 million broadband project.

– A public hearing date of Dec. 3 was set for the rezoning of the building at 500 North Grand (the old middle school). The Charles City Community School District is asking for the rezoning in anticipation of selling the building for conversion of the interior space into apartment units. The request asks for the entire property to be rezoned from general residence district to multi-family residence district.

– The council granted permission for the city to apply for a $100,000 grant from the IDAL (Iowa Department of Land Stewardship). The grant would provide a 50 percent match to a surface water project. The city could match the funds via a sponsored project associated with the WRRF (Water Resource Recovery Facility) project. Pre-application is due December 7.

– The city also agreed to approve the goal-setting report provided by Pat Callahan.