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FIRST IN A SERIES

A portion of Marshalltown’s tax rate, along with funds from numerous other sources, sets aside money to meet long-term needs throughout the community.

The foresight of city staff starts with the five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which is also the first part of the coming fiscal budget to be presented to the city council for approval.

Instead of borrowing money to buy equipment as small as police squad cars, those purchases can be planned for and managed to make the best use of taxpayer dollars.

On the topic of transportation, the purchases and improvements on the horizon include new squad cars every year for the next five, along with other vehicles and numerous equipment upgrades like portable radios.

The fire department is planning for new fire trucks in 2008-2009, for $375,000, and in 2011-2012, for $400,000. A $130,000 street sweeper and several other nearly $100,000 street maintenance vehicles are also in the plan, as well as two almost $300,000 transit buses.

Besides annual street and bridge repairs, projects in the city’s immediate sights include median improvements at the Second, Sixth and 12th street railroad crossings, ranging from $80,000 to $210,000; West Madison Street between Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue, for $76,000; and $1.7 million for reconstructing Highland Acres Road.

Two years out is a $350,000 redevelopment of the public parking lot along Second Street between Main and Church streets.

“That was planned several years ago and didn’t get done,” said City Administrator Dick Hierstein at Monday’s city council meeting. “Other things came up.”

South 12th Street, at $50,000, and widening of Iowa Avenue, at a cost of $1.5 million, are out in the latter most two years of the five-year plan.

At the council meeting, Hierstein said resurfacing of North Third Street is slated for 2009, and City Engineer Lynn Couch said temporary fixes for the ripples in that street may be able to be accommodated in the Public Works operating budget.

For aircraft, the city in the current fiscal year has been purchasing land for a coming runway extension at the Marshalltown Municipal Airport in 2009 or 2010 that will total more than $2 million. Rehabilitation of the taxiway for that runway is also scheduled for 2011-2012 at a cost of $400,000. Federal grants contribute 95 percent of those costs.

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Contact Ryan Brinks at 641-753-6611 or rbrinks@timesrepublican.com

 

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