Camanche to return grant

By Danica Baker
Herald Staff Writer

July 17, 2008 11:11 am

— CLINTON — The Camanche City Council voted to return an Iowa Department of Economic Development Community Development Block Grant to help disaster recovery efforts throughout the state in exchange for a grant to be issued in 2009.
City Administrator Tom Roth explained the proposal put forth by Hank Manning, Public Facilities team leader in the IDED Community Development Division. He said the letter advised that if communities do not have the money already committed to the project for which it was awarded, the funds can be returned to IDED and used to help those in need.
He said that if the funding is returned, IDED agrees to fund the project again next year.
According to the letter Manning sent the city on July 3, IDED is seeking communities that received recent CDBG and HOME funds which would be willing to forego the award for one year in order to amass funding for disaster recovery efforts. The letter includes a promise to re-issue the grant funding to the community.
“The IDED will re-award your project or activity for the same purpose and funding source and amount with our 2009 allocation (available next spring),” the letter states.
The $550,000 grant was awarded to the city of Camanche in 2007 to be used toward improvements of the Camanche wastewater treatment system, with the project later being revised to include design and installation of a forcemain to the coming regional treatment plant to be built in Clinton. Roth noted that construction of the forcemain was to begin by the end of the year, or the city risked losing the grant. He remarked that delays in the project have pushed the project back, but returning the grant is an excellent opportunity to give the city some “breathing room” to finalize project plans.
Councilman Trevor Willis, acting as Mayor Pro-Tem in the absence of Mayor Jim Robertson, noted that the grant the city received was awarded in 2007.
He asked Roth to make sure the 2007 grant would be eligible for the exchange. City Attorney Tom Lonergan agreed, saying council approval of returning the grant would be contingent upon receiving written confirmation the grant is eligible through the return opportunity.
At the beginning of the council meeting, Camanche resident Dan Srp addressed the council regarding an event held July 4 at the Camanche Marina in which friends and family gathered to hear a local band perform.
He said approximately 60 to 70 people attended the event held on private, commercial property with the permission of the owner and tenant. Srp said event organizers attempted contact with city officials to learn of any related event requirements, such as permitting, and spoke with a police officer who advised they saw no foreseeable issues but cautioned the event should conclude by midnight.
Srp said setup for the event took a couple hours and the band began performing at 9 p.m., only to be told to stop the event by a police officer shortly after they had begun, due to a noise complaint.
Srp said he loves the Camanche community and thinks the event was a good thing to happen, since it brought neighbors of all ages together.
He said event organizers could not attend the council meeting to discuss what happened, but would like to know how to go about planning another such event so that it may be held again in the future. He said he was merely informing the council of the incident so the city would be able to offer a more detailed explanation at the next council meeting.
Police Chief Bob Houzenga said he did not know the details of the event, but said if a noise complaint is received an officer will investigate and it is at the officer’s discretion whether the complaint is valid and necessitates action.
Roth commented that he doesn’t think anyone wants to discourage others from having a good time, but said hosting a party can be a “balancing act.”
Camanche resident Les Shadle remarked that it is a shame people couldn’t put up with the noise for one night, especially during a long holiday weekend.
Roth said that many Iowa cities allow block parties, but said he thinks some may require permits. He said he would look into what the city’s regulations are and what other cities require.
Later in the agenda, the council approved a motion to institute a policy of adjusting a resident’s sewer bill in extraordinary situations where residents incur a bill equaling three times their normal usage due to an internal system malfunction. The policy would use the average of several bills to determine the overage and then the city would forgive 75 percent of the difference. Roth explained that the property owner would fill out an application form for the discount and have to provide the city proof that the usage problem has been fixed, such as an invoice from a plumbing company or receipt for plumbing parts.
He noted that the exception would be available to residents once within a two-year period. City Clerk Sheryl Jindrich remarked that simply shutting water off would not qualify as rectifying the problem.
City Attorney Tom Lonergan reiterated that the city has forgiven portions of residential sewer bills a few times in the past when extraordinary circumstances ended in significant sewer bill overages.
He added that the provision requiring proof of repair would prevent abuse of the program.
The next Camanche City Council meeting will be held Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 611 S. Third St.