Everly council ends fowl debate

Any hopes of revamped livestock rules in Everly were put out to pasture by the city council on Monday.

Following a brief debate, members agreed to keep the city's ordinance prohibiting chickens from town. A resident approached the council last month about tweaking rules to allow poultry inside city limits, but the changes were ultimately deemed unnecessary.

"I know with the couple who asked about it, there wouldn't be a problem and they'd take care of it," said Mayor Brad Behrens. "But if we get one bad egg [it would ruin it for everyone]."

Several cities allow chickens inside city limits if the owners adhere to strict protocol. Some council members were willing to test the fowl water, but eventually consensus was reached to shelve the issue for good.

Council Member Tara Patrick said that if enough people are passionate about raising chickens in their yards, they should petition the council for changes.

"If they get a bunch of signatures, then we will entertain changes," she said.

• School sale remains point of concern

The impending sale of the former Clay Central/Everly 7-12 grade building is still troubling city council members.

Last month, Behrens and the council expressed concern about the sale of the building to Guardian Education and Athletic Services (GEA). The school board in July agreed to sell the entire property, including all outbuildings, to GEA for $5,000 after the non-profit firm approached the district with plans to transform the facility into an "intermediate college program." The institution would be geared for post-secondary students interested in honing both their academic and athletic skills for the next level, according to GEA.

Behrens and the council hope GEA's plan succeeds; however, they're concerned if it doesn't. With the district dissolving all interest in the building once the sale is complete, CC/E will seemingly have no obligation to tear down the former school if it eventually becomes abandoned.

"I just don't want the city to get stuck with it," said Behrens. "We don't have a million bucks to clean it up."

CC/E Board Member Brian Schmidt fielded a few questions from the council regarding the sale. He said most legal hurdles have been cleared and the process should be able to move forward following a public hearing set for Oct. 7 at the elementary building in Royal.

"Everything is slower and takes longer than you think it should," Schmidt said about the sale's progress. "We haven't heard much."

Schmidt said that he was also concerned about the building's fate if GEA's plan fails and the organization dissolves. He hoped the sale contract would address that in some manner, but he hadn't seen any rough drafts yet.

"There's going to be some backlash on it," said Behrens. "I've already heard from other community members and taxpayers who are concerned."

Several city council members plan to attend the public hearing next month with the hope of airing concerns and finding clarity on the situation.

"It gets more nerve-wracking the more I think of it," said Behrens.

• Sewer project sees noticeable progress

Dust has been flying east of town during the past month after crews picked up steam on the city's sewage treatment pond project.

Putting on his engineer's cap, Schmidt gave the council an update on progress. Several benchmarks were reached in late summer when construction crews returned to the site following a month-long absence.

"There's been a lot of action this last month," said Schmidt. "The plan is to basically get everything done except the north cell lining. If they can get the sludge out yet this fall, there really won't be much left for them to do in the spring."

Once completed, the multi-million dollar upgrades will bring the sewage ponds into compliance with state regulations. They experience large amounts of discharge during heavy rain events, which is not allowed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

King Construction, of Wall Lake, was awarded the contract last fall after submitting a bid of $3.88 million. The price was approximately $1 million more than the project's estimated price tag; however, the council felt it was left with no choice but to accept the proposal after being forced to rebid the project once before in 2019.

Consequently, the project's completion date was pushed from Dec. 1, 2020 to Oct. 15, 2021. Despite the lull in progress this summer, Schmidt was happy with recent developments.

"I've been very pleased with the progress this month," he said.

• City to sell property

The council agreed to begin taking the legal steps to sell city-owned property on East 4th Street to Dave and Keith Seivert. The duo would like to build a shed on the property for some of their vehicles.

The council agreed that it would benefit the city to get the property back on the tax rolls. According to discussion, certain variances will need to be granted by the Everly Zoning Board of Adjustment before construction can begin.

"If somebody wants to put up another building in town, I'm all for it," said Behrens.

The Seiverts would like to begin work before winter arrives and have already put a down payment on the building. The city council agreed to immediately move forward with procedural steps regarding the property's sale.