At the Clarion City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 21, City Administrator Clint Middleton shared a piece of good news for Clarion’s childcare situation. He and city attorney Zach Chizek have been working with Mosaic to acquire that building in a cost-effective manner. After much discussion with their counsel and corporate offices, it was agreed that the city will be able to lease the Mosaic building for 10 years at a cost of $1 per year. The building is located on Madison Avenue north of the grocery store.
The council passed a motion for Middleton and Chizek to continue to pursue that plan and move forward with paperwork and legal requirements. If all goes as planned, this means that the Mosaic building will be the future home of First Steps Early Learning Childcare Center. Middleton reminded that there is a lot of work to be done to the space to make it usable as a childcare facility, but the renovation plans are moving along in a timely fashion. Mayor Duane Asbe noted, “That is extremely good news for Clarion!”
The council held the first readings of two ordinances that would amend current codes. Ordinance 611 pertains to solid waste collection in town. As Middleton explained, this would change the code to allow for the pink containers to be used for collection, essentially matching the ordinance with what is already in practice. Ordinance 612 amends parking regulations in two locations. North Main Street on both sides from 1st Ave N to 6th Ave N, with the exception of religious functions at religious establishments, will be a no parking zone. Fourteenth Street NE on both sides from Central Ave to White Fox Drive will also be a no parking zone. The first readings passed. These ordinances are available to read on the city’s Facebook page.
T&S Sanitation was present at the meeting to discuss their garbage bags. They are no longer able to get the purple bags they have been using for pick up. They asked if they can use bright blue bags, though they’re not marked with their company name. Since the city code does not say the bags have to be so marked, the council said this would be fine.
The city administrator took time to thank Larry Harrah for his time on the council. He served the remainder of Jim Williams term, which concludes at the end of this year. Middleton said to Harrah, “It was short-lived but being able to come in and fill a role like you have years of experience is much appreciated. You’ve done an excellent job for us.” See the separate story about mayor Asbe’s city service.
Middleton also swore in the new council members, Nick McOllough and Dave Flurer, who will be starting their terms in January. New mayor Rod Heiden was supposed to be sworn in but had to miss the meeting due to illness. He will be sworn in before the end of the year.
In the report section, Middleton was happy to report that the Shopko building was recently sold at auction to Iowa Specialty Hospital. Asbe added that they plan to use the building for storage purposes. Director of Public Work Jon DeVries noted in his report that the city had sustained relatively little storm damage the previous week besides some medium sized trees and limbs.
