(Spirit Lake)– The way has been cleared for a Spirit Lake bank to move ahead with plans for a major expansion.
Following a public hearing that drew no comments, the Spirit Lake city council Tuesday voted unanimously to vacate and convey a portion of an alley and a parking lot just west of the State Bank to the bank in exchange for 40-thousand dollars. While there had been concerns previously over possible impacts on parking, city officials say plans to widen streets in that area to accomodate diagonal parking on both sides will more than offset what will be lost when the lot is no longer available.
A public hearing to vacate and convey a portion of 25th Street north of Center Lake Drive also drew no comments. The council voted unanimously to approve that vacation and conveyance as well.
John Kragt, Spirit Lake’s representative on the Dickinson County Airport Authority, appeared before the council requesting the city start budgeting for operations at the facility. Kragt says in order to be eligible for state funding, the airport will soon have to stop charging landing fees, which bring in between 2,500 and three thousand dollars a year. Kragt says they’re asking the city start allocating atleast 20-thousand dollars a year to cover maintenance and operations costs. Kragt says they’ll also be approaching the county for funding. While the council expressed some interest in granting the request, no official action was taken. The matter instead was referred to the city’s Administrative Committee.
The council also heard a presentation and funding request from Jim Golden of the Iowa Great Lakes Land Trust. Golden informed the council of plans for a neighborhood redevelopment project known as “Olde Towne One”. Golden says the goal is to develop 25 to 30 affordable single family homes in a nine-block area south of the courthouse between Hill and Keokuk Avenues. Golden requested the city contribute five thousand dollars to help fund an upcoming session during which interested land owners will be able to meet with designers and landscape architects. It’s scheduled for November 13th and 14th at the Spirit Lake High School. The council took no action on that request as well, saying they’ll look to see where they could possibly come up with the money. Councilman Steve Balm says it’s going to be a daunting task as the city is operating on a budget that’s already in the red.
