By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
NORTH ENGLISH – During the March 6 meeting of the North English City Council, Councilman Andrew Custer suggested dealing with nuisance properties featuring large amounts of junk by sending letters to find out who is responsive to community beautification, then driving a trailer through town and hauling away items, with property owners paying the fees. Councilman Lou Garringer stated city-wide cleanups had helped in the past, but that a lot of nuisance property owners don’t think their items are junk. Mayor Dan Strohman stated there were four properties that the cleanup hadn’t fixed. He said he had tried talking to the owners personally or lending dumpsters for free, but that it hadn’t helped. He stated they could invite them to council meetings, but that would just irritate them. He stated he could contact them personally before sending the letters. Garringer stated they had already tried this by putting dumpsters on the properties and that the property owners still didn’t throw things out.
The council approved a liquor license for the new owners of Main Street Pub & Grub, Trent Forrest and Jake McLaughlin. Forrest and McLaughlin that they plan to give the building a face lift and add a flat top grill and fryers. They stated they hope to be open by Cinco de Mayo, where they plan to sell tacos and margaritas. Forrest, who is also a member of Iowa County Community Development, noted that his organization is offering grants of up to $5,000 in matched funds to businesses on Main Street to update their facades.
Strohman stated the city had received a request to take over and tear down the north part of the Brodor property on Main Street. He stated there was no way to take it down without causing huge foundation problems with the south half, whose owners want it to keep standing. City Employee David Knipfer stated they wouldn’t be able to find anyone willing to tear down the building. Garringer stated the building was an eyesore, but would likely keep standing for years. Forrest stated that, when the state did a walkthrough of the town, they were confident the north half could be revitalized. Strohman stated the state had seen worse buildings. Forrest stated the building qualified for a $100,000 emergency catalyst grant and could then apply for a formal catalyst, but that matching funds was a problem, and that $200,000 wouldn’t be enough. Knipfer stated that, realistically, no one would want to put $500,000 into a building on Main Street in North English.
City Clerk Tara Heyne gave an overview of the budget amendment, which will be voted on at the next council meeting, which features an addition of: $35,000 in maintenance for the library to add a new ramp and do roof work; around $20,000 for the walking trail, including $10,000 already overspent and $10,000 for a planned second phase; $70,3000 for tree trimming and grinding; $10,000 for general government services; $40,000 for water and sewer loan payments; and $1,500 for generator maintenance. Strohman stated that the city had applied for a community foundation grant for the walking trail. Heyne stated that the city had received its 2024 audit from the state and that the only problem it found was a lack of segregation of duties, something nearly all small towns get dinged for.
