Council Discusses Dust Problem on West Railroad

TRAFFIC TO RUETER’S BRINGS WEIGHT, DUST ISSUES

The vexing problem of dust kicked up on West Railroad Street was reviewed again at the Grand Junction City Council meeting on Monday, May 9.

The graveled street and its inherent dust in warm weather has been a problem for West Railroad Street residents. Heavy equipment traffic from Reuter’s Red Power implement dealership on Highway 30 is mostly responsible for the dust being kicked up.

Mayor Gerold Herrick said the matter will be included in the upcoming annual street review. One concern is that resurfacing the street may be of no use because the weight of the vehicles traveling to and from the implement dealership would be too much for the type of hard surfacing used on the streets in Grand Junction.

Safety is also a concern. “Considering the size of the equipment and the speeds they maintain, it’s probably better they travel on the street than head out into Highway 30,” said councilmember Linda Hoffman. West Railroad Street runs from Iowa Highway 144 west to the Fifth Street, where it ends and turns north to U.S. Highway 30. Reuter’s is located on both sides of Fifth Street.

“It looks like the options we have are Rueter’s stays off the road or we close the road,” said councilmember Dave Kersey, noting it could be closed just beyond Curt Woltz’s driveway.

Mayor Jerry Herrick said it would only be fair to bring Rueter’s into the discussion before making any decision about how to rectify the situation.

Other business:

Dawn Rudolph of Scranton met with the council to inform them of her bid for the vacant District 2 seat on the Greene County Board of Supervisors. Rudolph was chosen by the Greene County Republican convention on Saturday, May 7, to represent the party in the upcoming special election. Rudolph is employed by the Jefferson-Scranton school district. She is also the mayor of Scranton. In discussing her background in the Scranton area and her familiarity with the east side of the county, she noted having family roots in the area (the Lipkes of rural Grand Junction) and that her son has been a Grand Junction resident for several years.

The District 2 supervisor seat became vacant when Terry Adams died unexpectedly last month. The June 7 election will be to fill that vacancy. Rudolph will face Nick Foster in the election. Foster was selected by Greene County Democrats in their county convention also held May 7.

Candidates for the District 2 position must live within the district, but the election is open to all voters in the county.

Ken Paxton, executive director of the Greene County Area Chamber and Development in Jefferson, met with the council to update them on economic developments in the county. He reported that the Subway restaurant at 1004 North Elm (Iowa Highway 4) will be relocating due to the upcoming Highway 4 overpass construction project. Subway plans to move to a larger facility at the northwest corner of Highway 4 and Lincolnway. Paxton said the enlarged Subway will add eight new jobs to the restaurant’s payroll. Bomgaars on Highway 4 is expanding and that will also add eight new jobs.

In lieu of the new railroad overpass to be constructed on Highway 4 and the ensuing detour around the construction site to the west side of Jefferson for highway traffic—plus a new access route that will run east of Highway 4 behind the businesses whose access will be cut off by the project—Paxton, in noting the expansion of Subway and Bomgaars and stability of other affected business, said “we’ve come out pretty good. It’s looking very positive.”

Paxton said this year’s Bell Tower Festival will be the “best in 20 years.” He said the festival will feature the relaunching of the tower; opening of the artists’ colony; and dedication of the new Doreen Wilbur statue. The statue is being erected at the corner of the Greene County recreation center to honor Wilbur, the first woman from Iowa to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

He also noted that recreational promotion efforts this summer will again feature canoe trips on the Raccoon River with Squirrel Hollow County Park added as an access point. “We have expanded the operation to include Squirrel Hollow as one of the options for canoe trips,” said Paxton. “We are also offering shuttle service between the four put-in and take-out spots for visitors that bring their own canoes and need only transportation between locations.”

Marie McRoberts is the new office coordinator at the chamber office in Jefferson, taking over for Jessica Trecker and will be the key contact for getting information distributed from the office for events in the area.

Paxton also said he is working with community members in Paton and Churdan to help them with their RAGRAI event planning as both towns are on this summer’s route. He also made note of the revolving loan fund to help assist new businesses in the county.

Kersey reported that Grand Junction Municipal Swimming Pool will open for the season on May 26. A lifeguard meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, at City Hall where the lifeguards will be filling out their paperwork and providing City Clerk Rita Jenkins with their IDs (picture ID—driver’s license or driver’s permit, as lifeguards must at least age 16). Kersey also reported on some minor maintenance to the pool ladders.

Fire Chief Terry Hoefle asked if the lifeguards were CPR trained, and Kersey said the returning guards were but the new guards would need that training. They agreed to schedule training for the new guards as soon as possible.

Other business before the council:

*A liquor license for Misty Lanes bowling alley, which is under new ownership.
*Accepted the lower of two bids for a dump truck spring. The low bid of $701.92 was from Hoffman’s with the higher bid, 1,035.85, from Kafer’s.
*Reviewed testing of the sewer drains around town with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
*Kersey reported the Greene County Sherriff’s Department used the library for one hour to pick up outdated and unused prescription drugs as part of a county-wide effort. More than 30 pounds of pills were collected.
*Hoefle reported that Darwin Ritchie and Randy Runyan are two new lieutenants with the fire department. He also said the field fires have slowed down now that the farmers are back in the fields. A problem with the lock on the fire house door resulted in a new lock being installed. Keys to the lock have now been distributed.
*Removal a tree on the west side of the school property on South 13th Street, between the ball park and the school house.
*Accessibility to the town’s share of county funds created when the LDC Commodities ethanol plant opened in rural Junction Township. The plant was given a tax abatement but in return, it provided funds to the county. Herrick said he has been trying to determine how the town can gain access to those funds, adding that the existence of the fund was not widely shared with all local govern