All councilmembers were in attendance at the Tuesday, December 3 Clarion City Council meeting. The first item on the agenda was a presentation from Clarion citizen Shannon Walker. Walker, who is a regular attendee at council meetings, asked to be put on the agenda to share some of her visions and goals for Clarion. She explained that she had recently attended a workshop in Des Moines that asked participants to envision Iowa in 2030 and come up with actionable goals.
Walked proposed some big goals such as working towards food co-ops in rural areas that would offer fresh produce and also spaces for crafting and trying new businesses and loan closets for household items that would be available to all. Walker shared several areas of concern for Clarion in particular. She discussed her unease with the city’s use of chemicals to spray weeds, especially in public areas like parks. She also honed in on the use of plastics and cited the floating garbage patches that occupy large portions of the ocean. Walker suggested the city work to install water fountains with bottle refilling capabilities to reduce the use of plastic around town. She also brought up the idea of having food waste collection in Clarion to facilitate community-wide composting. After her presentation, the council thanked her for her concern and passion.
In other business, the council conducted three public hearings during the meeting, all of which pertained to water projects. The first two were for loans not to exceed $1 million and $1.5 million for the well project, water main updates and a possible water treatment facility. City Administrator Clint Middleton noted that all of these projects will not be happening right away, but these steps must be completed now as the city has a finite window to access CDBG grant funds. A third public hearing was held for the submission of a CDBG grant application for the water line improvement project.
No community members brought up any concerns during the hearings, and city officials noted that they had not received any questions during the previous weeks about the measures. Resolutions were passed after each respective hearing approving the loans and the grant application.
Additionally the council approved adding Anthony Meinke to the Iowa Specialty Hospital Governing Board of Trustees. Council approval is needed for this since the hospital exists under the jurisdiction of the city. The first pay request for Peterson Construction was approved for work on the well project in the amount of $108,908.
In individual reports, all officials expressed their excitement about Clarion being chosen as an overnight stop for the Iowa’s Ride bike ride in July. Middleton noted there will be plenty of chances for citizens to get involved with planning or volunteering in the future. He also discussed the upcoming 2020 Census, and emphasized how important it is to count every person as more opportunities for Clarion open up should the population reach the 3,000 mark.
