Waukon City Council hears update on township portion of financing for new fire station project

by Bob Beach

During its regular meeting Monday, April 7 the Waukon City Council met with Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Schellhammer and Allamakee County Attorney Jill Kistler, who updated the Council on financing options for construction of a new fire station in Waukon. Schellhammer said that since learning last week that the member townships of the Waukon Area Fire Protection District and the Fire Board itself are not legally authorized to directly borrow the necessary funds, he had met several times with the township trustees. In addition, he and Kistler had been working out the details of how the County could help to resolve the situation so that the fire station project could move forward.
The first step in that process, he said, would be for the townships to request that the Board of Supervisors issue bonds on behalf of the townships. He said that all of the township trustees have expressed a willingness to move forward with that process, with the exception of Hanover Township.
Schellhammer said that the Hanover Trustees and clerk have expressed concerns about the township's ability to pay back the loan, given the uncertainty of the continuation of the local option sales tax. He said that the trustees are also concerned that the taxable valuation of property in Hanover Township is significantly lower than the other townships in the fire district and that they feel that their portion of the project cost should reflect that.
He added that Hanover Township would have sufficient funds to pay back its portion of the loan over 20 years, but its trustees are currently unwilling to go that route because the other townships would pay back their portions in ten years and, in the meantime, some other funding need could arise, leaving Hanover short again. Schellhammer said that the Hanover Trustees had also inquired about how to be released from the fire district, stating that they thought the township could be adequately served by the Eitzen, MN Fire Department.
Schellhammer said that as only one member of the Board of the Supervisors, he is uncertain of how the Board will proceed if seven of the eight townships agree to request that the County issue bonds. He said that it's difficult to get everyone to agree on anything and that in his opinion, "seven out of eight is pretty good." He assured the Council that the Board of Supervisors would proceed as quickly as possible with issuing the bonds if that is the wish of the townships.
After some discussion, the Council voted to apply for the full $680,000 USDA loan at zero percent interest through Allamake-Clayton REC for the new fire station. City Attorney Jim Garrett said that the benefit of the zero-percent interest loan could be equally divided between the City and the Fire Board.

In other business, the Council held several public hearings regarding zoning matters, none of which drew any comments from the public. The first hearing regarded an amendment to the City's zoning ordinance to add "governmental and semi-governmental administrative and protective facilities" as a conditional use in the M-1 manufacturing district. The Council approved the first reading, waived the second and third readings and passed the amendment, which will allow for the construction of the new fire station in the industrial park area.
The other two hearings involved changes in zoning restrictions and rezoning of the former location of the Town and Country Trailer Court on West Main Street. The Council approved the first reading, waived the second reading and passed an ordinance to change the zoning district to B-2 for the area now owned by the Stilwell family and an ordinance to allow lumber yards as a conditional use in B-2 districts.
The Council also met with real estate developer Dick Sullivan regarding the proposed extension of Logan Street in his subdivision in southwest Waukon. Sullivan presented the Council with a development agreement, but the Council was not satisfied with the terms of that agreement. The Council voted to direct City Attorney Jim Garrett to draft an agreement for the Council's consideration.
Garrett also presented the Council with a proposal from Innovative Ag for voluntary annexation of additional property for expansion of its current facility south of Waukon, which includes a five-year tax rebate. The Council directed Garrett to draft a development agreement reflecting those terms.
The Council also approved plans for a fly-in breakfast at the airport during Corn Days. Garrett said that the City's insurance would cover any liability so long as the City is named as the sponsor of the event.