What was expected to be one of the longest Marshalltown city council meetings of the year thus far due to the sheer number of agenda items ended up clocking in at under an hour and a half on Tuesday night, and it ended with some positive news for the city related to negotiations with Union Pacific on the potential closure of the railroad crossing at 2nd Street between the YMCA/YWCA and Spahn & Rose Lumber Co.

In conjunction with the final discussion item of the night, Public Works Director Heather Thomas came forward and shared an update on the crossing as part of the larger Quiet Zones project. Back in March of 2024, the city had a cash offer of $100,000 from the UP Railroad on the table to close it, which the city had previously declined to do, and at the time, the council instructed Thomas to work on negotiating a more favorable deal.

A year plus later, the offer on the table has jumped to $750,000 with the potential for a $100,000 matching grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) — in total, an $850,000 package. She then offered the council the opportunity to vote on the proposal as is or go into more detail on how it would impact other projects.

Councilor Gary Thompson quickly motioned to accept the $750,000 and close the intersection as a pedestrian safety measure, and fellow Councilor Jeff Schneider jokingly suggested asking the company if they would be interested in building another viaduct at the 12th Street or 12th Avenue crossings. Before the vote was taken, Thompson did ask Thomas for clarification on where the proceeds would go once the deal has been executed.

“Right now, as drafted in the memo and based on how the negotiations kind of transpired, our concern was less about the vehicles and their inconvenience in closing that crossing and more about the pedestrians. So right now, that money would be intended to go towards improvements for pedestrian and bike traffic to better utilize the 3rd/6th Street viaduct for this area,” Thomas said. “So that’s currently where this money would be going, and we’d want council’s confirmation of that direction.”

The motion carried by a unanimous 6-0 tally with Greg Nichols absent.

Council moves forward with selling South Center Street

properties to Dean Lawthers

The second to last discussion item on the agenda pertained to three dilapidated residential properties currently owned by the city — 915 S. Center St., 919 S. Center St., and 501 N. 1st Ave. — that were slated for demolition before the council voted back in March to remove them from the list due to interest from private individuals in performing the work themselves.

Assistant Housing and Community Development Director Clayton Ender said that as part of the city’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process, bidders were offered the opportunity to either demolish and redevelop the properties or restore the houses to inhabitable status with time frame requirements such as external work being completed within six months and all work finished within a year.

On the 1st Avenue property, the city received a single $10,000 bid from Troy Cline to restore the home to inhabitable status, and given the lone bid status and Klein’s responsiveness, Ender recommended accepting the offer. For 915 S. Center St., which is located just south of Taco John’s, there were three bids — Dean Lawthers, who currently owns 917 S. Center St. and rents out the house, offered $1,000 with a plan to sell the house and move it elsewhere with a 60-day window. If it is not sold in that timeframe, it would be demolished at his expense.

The second bid came from Timothy Sletten, who said he would repair the house to inhabitable status, for $5,000, and the third came from Top Notch Tree Service, which would pay $35 to demolish the house but would also stipulate the city coordinating the purchase of 917 S. Center St., which Top Notch Owner Jeremy Adkins would then buy back for $30,000 and package all three of the properties together.

The two bids for 919 S. Center St. from Lawthers and Top Notch were essentially the same, but Lawthers’ bid would only include demolition and no attempt to sell the home. Sletten did not bid on 919 S. Center St.

“While not the highest bid amount, staff is recommending that the bid be awarded to Dean Lawthers considering he owns the middle piece there and is well positioned to market the three parcels together for a redevelopment opportunity for the city as a whole by opening up a prime commercial or mixed-use type redevelopment site on a key commercial corridor here in town,” Ender said.

Councilor Mike Ladehoff said he agreed with Ender’s assessment and felt selling to Lawthers made the most sense.

“I think that the city comes out taking Mr. Lawthers’ offer on the whole properties. Otherwise, we kind of end up with a hodgepodge kind of thing that really doesn’t help us,” he said.

Fellow Councilor Barry Kell emphasized the importance of adhering to the established timelines out of respect for the neighbors who have dealt with the blighted properties for such a long time already.

“What’s before us seemingly is a win for everyone. What I would hate for this to do is continue to drag on with extension requests,” he said.

Of the original six houses on the demolition list, Ender said 915 S. Center was the only house the building inspector deemed “potentially salvageable,” but he agreed that he didn’t want it to end up in another part of town in the same condition “perpetuating the problem.” The purchase agreements would also come with a right of reversion giving the city the right to retake possession if the stipulations are not followed.

Councilor Mark Mitchell asked who would be responsible for demolition if an agreement is not followed, and Ender said they would essentially find themselves back at square one — either paying to demolish the property or putting it back out for bid.

“Can we pass the expense on to him?” Mitchell asked.

City Attorney Steve Leidinger told the council they could initiate a contract claim for specific performance requiring the individual to pay for the demolition, but he felt it would be easier to take the title back and rebid the project.

“I just don’t want to get caught with the expense of the city having to pay for demolition,” Mitchell said.

Kell then clarified that the city already had the option to demolish the properties in question but chose not to, and Thompson then asked City Administrator Carol Webb for clarification on whether the sales would require the passage of an ordinance change or a resolution with a public hearing.

Thompson then motioned to proceed with the sale of the North 1st Avenue property to Cline with staff bringing it back as a formal resolution, and it passed unanimously. A subsequent motion from Schneider to proceed with the sale of the two properties on South Center Street to Lawthers passed by the same tally.

In other business, the council:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved the appointment of Kelsie Stafford as the new Parks and Recreation Director.

• Approved a temporary outdoor service amendment for The 918 for the upcoming Blessing of the Bikes event on June 7.

• A motion to reconsider the 8-month Class C retail alcohol license for Ay Caramba Burrito Shop failed with four votes in support (Councilors Melisa Fonseca, Schneider, Ladehoff and Kell) and two opposed (Thompson and Mitchell). A reconsideration of a previously failed motion requires a supermajority of more than ⅔ of the council, and because Nichols was absent, it did not meet that threshold.

• Approved a comprehensive plan amendment for 706 E. Linn St. east to South 8th Avenue, 715 Noble St., 710-716 Noble St. and 713-715 E. Main St. to accommodate the expansion of MARSHALLTOWN Company and later approved rezoning them from a medium density residential to a general industrial district.

• Approved a comprehensive plan amendment for 915, 917 and 919 S. Center St. and later approved rezoning them from a medium density residential district to mixed use zoning.

• Approved the third and final reading of an ordinance change rezoning a total of 10 lots to accommodate the JBS retention pond project by a 5-1 vote with Mitchell as the lone dissenter. Mitchell said he had spoken to a neighboring resident who was not notified of the project, and Ender told him mailers had been sent to everyone within 250 feet along with other “good faith” methods of spreading the word.

• Approved the first reading of an amendment to the code of ordinances allowing self-service storage mini-warehouses as part of the Shops at Marshalltown redevelopment project by a 5-1 vote with Fonseca opposed.

• Approved the first reading of an ordinance amendment to Chapter 156 regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Board of Adjustment procedures and residential building materials.

• Approved the first readings of amendments to Chapters 52 and 53 of the city code regarding the user charge system for sewers and sewage disposal as well as the exemptions and credits available for storm water.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.