On Tuesday the Marshalltown City Council will consider an ordinance to raise parking ticket prices by $5. 

Initially fines for alternative parking is $15, front yard parking and fire lane parking are $25. The ordinance would increase those fines by $5 each, bring the alternative parking fine to $20 and the fire lane and front yard parking fines to $30. 

Raising parking tickets by $5 each was budgeted to generate an additional $17,500 for the general fund. In March the council discussed raising fines during its annual budget discussion. 

The council is considering the ordinance for its first reading. Ordinances require three readings before they are enforceable. 

The council will also consider a resolution for a $1.6 million Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy or RISE grant. 

The grant is for funds to extend Edgewood Street and North 8th Avenue for a diversionary route to Highway 14 for trucks. 

The Department Of Transportation approved this grant in October 2019, but the city could not sign the agreement when it was presented in January due to a change in scope. The city will have three years to complete the project from the date of award.

The project is estimated to cost the city between $1.2 million and $1.6 million, which is budgeted from LOST-Capital and Marshalltown’s Road Use Tax revenues in fiscal year 2021. 

Projects funded by the RISE program promote economic development in Iowa through the establishment, construction, and improvement of roads and streets. The RISE program is targeted toward value-adding activities that feed new dollars into the economy and provide maximum economic impact to the state on primary or secondary roads, and city streets open for public use.

An art grant will be considered for a proposed Pocket Park between the city hall and the Coliseum. 

The Capital Improvement Projects include a Pocket Park planned for Fiscal Year 2021, which is to include a pickleball court. 

“As this project was being conceptualized, the inclusion of some sort of art related to the tornado was always on the table,” according to city documents. “Overall the pocket park budget is estimated at $220,000 which includes stormwater and pavement replacement for the length of the alley, which will become the second pedestrian alley in Downtown.”

The grant would be for $3,000 which goes toward hiring an artist or storyteller to interview residents impacted by the tornado. The artist would also include 10 quotes from multiple languages and design custom concrete stamps.

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Contact Thomas Nelson at tnelson@timesrepublican.com