Iowa’s Ride is council topic

Iowa’s Ride, the new across-the-state bicycle ride that has announced Monticello as one of its stops, was among the topics of Doug Herman’s City Administrator Report during the regular meeting of the Monticello City Council Dec. 2 in the Council Chambers. 

The event could bring up to 5,000 riders into Monticello in the afternoon and evening of Sunday, July 12, 2020, where they will spend the night before heading out on the next leg of the ride Monday morning, July 13. 

Herman said the date of the Monticello stop is advantageous, not only because it is a full week before the first Great Jones County Fair activities begin, but also because they will arrive on a non-work day for most people. 

While many Monticello businesses are typically closed on Sunday, Herman said some have indicated they are willing to open up on July 12 in order to give Iowa’s Ride participants options for food, shopping and entertainment. 

The idea, Mayor Brian Wolken said, is to “get the riders immersed in your community.” 

Herman said also said that because the ride is capped at 5,000 registrations, there won’t be as many people in Monticello as those that have stopped in Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) stops in past years. 

The best part, he said, is that all money spent in Monticello as part of the stop will stay in Monticello – there won’t be any fees collected by Iowa’s Ride organizers. 

In other city business: 

• The council approved Pay Request No. 8 from Horsfield Construction, Inc., in the amount of $48,745.79, for the N. Sycamore St. reconstruction project. 

This is the final scheduled pay request, after which the city will maintain a retainer totaling $102,519.13, or 5 percent of the earned amount. City Engineer Patrick Schwickerath will need to complete a review of the project, which will result in a final change order “sometime in the next few weeks,” Herman said. 

Quantities of concrete, fill and other items are expected due to additional work performed by Horsfield for private property owners, such as new driveways, or sewer or water service lines. Those additional improvements will be assessed against the property owners by agreement, Herman said. 

• The council approved a supplemental agreement between the City of Monticello and the Iowa Department of Transportation regarding maintenance of primary roads in Monticello. 

The agreement provides for a reimbursement from the State of Iowa to the city, in the amount of $9,284, to cover general maintenance of sections of Highway 38 located within the Monticello city limits. 

• The council approved the continued investment in the Jones County JETS transportation program, at a cost of $1,500, which is consistent with the city’s investment since fiscal year 2010. 

“I believe JETS to be a worthwhile and necessary service for Monticello,” Herman told the council in his pre-meeting notes. “It is clearly a service used regularly by Monticello residents.” 

• The council also approved a standard residential tax abatement related to property located at 307 Grandview Ave. The new value added by the improvement, up to $75,000, is exempt from taxation for five years.