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Mayor proud of goals Monona has accomplished

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By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times

With 2018 coming to a close, Monona mayor Lynn Martinson took time at the Dec. 3 council meeting to address the goals the city accomplished this year.

One of the biggest was the voluntary annexation of 13 properties adjacent to Monona’s southeast boundary. A sanitary sewer extension from Oak Street to South Main Street was also part of that endeavor.

The city’s popular Butterfly Trail was extended from the Butterfly Garden to Gateway Park. Another recreational hot spot, the city park, had some upgrades too, with the addition of ADA-accessible restrooms and new lighting. In the next week or so, councilman Preston Landt said he planned to install surveillance cameras at the park, an effort city officials and the police department hope will prevent mischief. Once the cameras are up and running, Martinson said the city can tone down the brightness of the park’s lights, which some neighbors have complained about.

Other notable goals that have been met include updates to downtown street lighting, renegotiation of the 28E operating agreement with Little Bulldog Childcare Center and creation of an ordinance to deal with chronic nuisance properties.

After a year of upgrades to the facility, the council officially approved the sale of Garden View Senior Living to MALC, LLC, in November. Cedar Rapids-based Senior Housing Management will take over management of Garden View beginning Jan. 2. 

Martinson said the city is in the midst of completing its final goal of 2018: the installation of new steel banners on the downtown streetlights. With the help of MFL MarMac art students, he said designs for the banners have been drawn and selected. This winter, industrial technology students will cut out the metal banners, which will then be painted. They should be up in the spring.

“It was a 99.9 percent year,” Martinson added, congratulating the council members for their involvement. “It’s been a busy year. There were some big hurdles here.”

Covenant puts speed bump in Garden View sale

Upon perusal of the abstract for Garden View Senior Living Facility, city administrator Dan Canton said the new buyer discovered the property doesn’t actually meet the covenants laid out for Gordon Estates, where it’s located. The covenants state properties must either be single-family dwellings or duplexes; multi-family structures, which Garden View would be considered, are not allowed.

“It’s not an ordinance or city issue,” Canton explained, “but an oversight of whoever drafted the covenants.”

To correct the issue, Canton said 75 percent of the owners of record in Gordon Estates, along with Monona Enterprises, must sign off on the covenant being waived for Garden View. The city is sending out letters to those property owners, asking for their OK. If replies are slow to arrive, Martinson said he may resort to knocking on doors.

“There’s no deal until this is signed off on, and the window is closing in a hurry,” Martinson stated.

Chronic nuisance property ordinance approved

Thanks to a new ordinance, the city will now have “more teeth” to go after chronic nuisance properties.

The council approved the first reading of the ordinance, waived the second and third readings, then approved final passage at last week’s meeting. Martinson said it will hopefully cut down on continual police calls to the same residences because property owners can be fined.

“Officers were going to some places once or twice a month for various reasons,” he explained. “We feel we should be reimbursed because they’re using our officers’ time.”

“We had one of those chronic nuisance calls today,” Canton added. “It’s been going on for 10 years. It’s constant.”

Under the ordinance, Martinson said some of the “nuisances” that would be covered include disorderly conduct, assault, drugs, alcohol, parties, loud noises, fireworks, weapons and animals.

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