Charles City Council reviews Main Street rehabilitation plans

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council talked about billboards, Main Street road work, and nuisance properties during its workshop meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Tami Vetter, owner of the Rustic Corner, owns the billboard along South Grand Avenue. The billboard is coming to the end of a 10-year lease agreement with the city that allows it to sit in the city right-of-way. With the end of the lease agreement coming up, Vetter had reached out to gauge the city’s interest in a renewal.

City Administrator Steve Diers reported that, by definition, the billboard does not comply with the city’s recently updated Uniform Development Ordinance.

“You couldn’t build it again,” he said.

At the same time, Diers also acknowledged that the billboard is somewhat unique and fits with the community, which may justify allowing an exception for it to remain as a non-conforming structure.

“It really doesn’t cause that much of a conflict or a distraction from the road,” said Diers.

The council, affirming with Vetter that the billboard would continue to direct people to downtown businesses, indicated that they would be all right with continuing the lease agreement.

On the subject of downtown, the council also met with Jason Petersburg, an engineer with Veenstra & Kimm Inc., to discuss the preliminary designs for the 2024 Main Street Rehabilitation Project.

Planning out street and sidewalk work from Gilbert Street to Grand Avenue, the project will re-asphalt Main Street, install Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalk ramps, and realign the intersection between Main Street, Lane Street, and Grand Avenue.

Looking at the initial plans, the council considered several aspects of the project. From the aesthetic or practical pros and cons of keeping a grassy island near the Grand Avenue intersection to how the construction schedule could be adjusted to make a minimal inconvenience for businesses, the council discussed different ways to do the project to get the best value and the least disruption.

“I think the end result is going to be better than we have now,” said council member Keith Starr. “The inconveniences are going to be worth the end product.”

An informational meeting for the public about the project has been set for Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 5-7 p.m. at the City Hall council chambers where the community can come in at their leisure to ask questions and offer their own feedback about the plans.

Finally, the council met with Police Chief Hugh Anderson and Code Enforcement Officer Michael Melena to review the current state of the city’s abandoned and nuisance properties.

Anderson offered a presentation showcasing a number of nuisance properties that have either been cleaned up or demolished, along with updates on properties that they are in the midst of working on. According to Anderson, the city is focusing on about four major nuisances at a time, cycling through as progress is made.

While the city still has several properties in need of substantial work, Melena said that many of the property owners with smaller nuisances in the community haven’t needed more than a verbal warning to take care of an issue.

“People have been really good so far,” he said.