Ward boundaries, Oak Street Mfg. development agreement approved

Now that the Iowa Legislature approved the new redistricting maps following the data from the 2020 U.S. Census, it was the City of Monticello’s turn to approve new boundaries for the four city wards.
During the Nov. 15 city council meeting, a public hearing was held on the proposed redistricting. Several versions of the city ward maps were sent to County Auditor Whitney Hein for her review and comments. City Clerk Sally Hinrichsen noted to Hein that city staff recommended Option 5. Hein was also in agreement. With Option 5, Wards 1 and 2 each have populations of 1,009; Wards 3 and 4 have populations of 1,011.
Hinrichsen noted that the biggest change from the current make-up of the wards is that of Ward 3. Once the Jones County Board of Supervisors approves the redistricting maps, the maps of the city wards will be available for public viewing on the county’s website.
The council waived the three readings and approved the resolution and ordinance adopting the new maps.
Tom Bagge, owner of Oak Street Manufacturing, was present at the council meeting to answer any questions regarding a development agreement between the city and Bagge for an expansion project on the current facility.
Oak Street Manufacturing is located on Welter Drive. Bagge is proposing a 40,000-square-foot addition with the purchase of 2 acres west of his facility. The cost of such a project is estimated at $1.5 million.
The expansion means the addition of 10 to 20 jobs at Oak Street.
“Those are going to be very well-paying jobs with benefits,” noted City Administrator Russ Farnum. “It’s a huge benefit to the community with the additional jobs.”
Bagge requested a tax rebate incentive associated with the proposed improvements. Those rebates would come over the course of 10 years, beginning at 100 percent the first year. The rebate also includes a land-purchase subsidy of $20,000 per acre, for a total of $40,000.
“This follows many of the past agreements the city has approved for similar projects,” said Farnum.
This project would provide an incentive totaling just under $320,000 over 10 years, while generating nearly $300,000 in new property tax revenue for the city and other taxing districts.
The council preliminarily approved the agreement and amendment to the city’s Urban Renewal Plan. A public hearing on the matter will take place at 6 p.m. on Jan. 3.
Council member Dave Goedken commented that while he’s not a huge fan of development agreements, he thanked Bagge for his investment in the community.
“It’s great!” he praised.
In other city business:
• The council approved a development agreement between the city and Matt Kumley/Glass Tap, LLC regarding property located at 103 W. First St. (former Compadres). The agreement was nearly identical to what was previously presented to and approved by the council on Oct. 4 when Creative Concepts Development (Tom Yeoman) was involved.
The vote passed 5-0, with Council member Tom Yeoman abstaining.
Prior to the call for a vote, Audrey Savage asked if an abstention was the same as a “no” vote, noting that Yeoman no longer has any financial involvement in the project.
“We can’t compel a council member to vote,” Mayor Brian Wolken said. “You need four votes to pass.”
In explaining the reason behind his abstention, Yeoman read a statement he prepared: “I want the record to reflect the facts of the case.”
He explained the city advertised for RFPs and received no interest. After an extension to that deadline, Kumley and Creative Concepts submitted RFPs and the council voted accordingly. Yeoman said the reason he submitted his RFP anonymously was to keep the council from feeling obligated to vote in favor of or negatively against his proposal due to his involvement.
“The goal was to get the property back on the tax rolls quickly and as inexpensively as possible,” he said, a sentiment Yeoman also shared with Kumley.
Yeoman said the two were getting along “swimmingly” on the project until he said Savage got involved.
“The person behind this is Audrey Savage,” Yeoman read. “She enlisted her two shields, Dave Schoon and Tom Osborne. They both railed about an LLC that never existed.
“Everything was done in public view,” continued Yeoman. “This fiasco by those three is nothing short of character assassination of the city council, the city administrator, and the mayor.”