T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Downtown property owner Tom Deimerly addresses the city council about a sidewalk replacement at the northeast intersection of East Main Street and 2nd Avenue during Monday night’s meeting.

The Marshalltown City Council spent over 20 minutes of Monday night’s meeting discussing who was responsible for repairs to a crumbling sidewalk at the northeast intersection of East Main Street and 2nd Avenue.

Tom Deimerly appeared on behalf of the group that owns the building at 210 E. Main St. and referenced a letter he had previously sent to the council asking that the sidewalk be replaced as part of the Main Street rehabilitation project as opposed to the falling under the general city policy requiring adjacent property owners to maintain sidewalks themselves. He also expressed concern about being asked to vacate the alley between his building and the BA Niblock Orpheum Welcome Center, now owned by the Marshalltown Community School District.

Deimerly lamented a lack of communication with the city over the last three years and threatened legal action to stop the alley vacation. On the sidewalk issue, he felt that the building ownership group had been “good partners” but had become disheartened and was not willing to pay the expense to replace the sidewalk.

“Our approach as business owners has always been we’re not trying to get rich. Let’s find a happy medium for our tenants where they’re successful because when they are successful, we are successful, and I’m successful in paying my taxes to you,” he said. “So while this sidewalk doesn’t cost that much, it costs a lot in emotional and political capital for us. I will not pay for this sidewalk. I don’t have to pay for this sidewalk. The way this property’s set up, we’d all look very bad in the public eye after spending close to $8 million by leaving this seven foot stretch of junk. But I’m willing to do that. I’m willing to take a financial hit because I will not pay for this sidewalk.”

As Mayor Mike Ladehoff opened the floor up for questions, Councilor Melisa Fonseca asked if 2nd Avenue was part of the downtown street project, and City Administrator Carol Webb said it wasn’t currently. In response to a question from Councilor Sue Cahill, Deimerly provided a ballpark figure of about $16,000 to $20,000 for the replacement.

Deimerly said he had suggested a public-private partnership on the area in question, but he also lost out on a major facade grant after initially believing they had secured it. Webb asked the council for direction on either pursuing a cost share arrangement with Deimerly or simply leaving the current policy in place.

Fonseca expressed a desire to remain fair and avoid setting a precedent that would lead to business owners expecting city assistance on sidewalk repairs. Cahill said she was “torn” because she recently voted to improve an alley as part of the downtown infrastructure overhaul.

“I feel we should find a settlement on this to improve our downtown area,” she said. “If we want to tout our downtown area and if we were all willing to vote to improve an alley for that, I think that we should take care of our streets as well and I would appreciate either some type of agreement, a cost sharing if possible, to come out so that we can get this resolved.”

Public commenter Layne Pieri felt that sidewalks should be incorporated into the downtown street project, describing them as “rough” and stressing the importance of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. Councilor Mark Mitchell also worried about setting a bad precedent in breaking with established city policy to accommodate one property owner, and Cahill replied that she believed it was part of a “unique area” due to its location.

Deimerly reiterated his openness to a cost share or public/private partnership arrangement to improve the vacant lot his group owns adjacent to the sidewalk, remarking that it was unlikely they would put up a new building there. Councilor Greg Nichols suggested that Deimerly and Webb sit down to reach a compromise and felt sidewalks should be a higher priority than alleyways.

Public Works Director Heather Thomas noted that 2nd Avenue is currently included as part of Phase 8 of the Downtown Master Plan and Implementation Plan, and there is no current timeline on when the work would occur as Thomas said it would be determined by council direction. The project is currently in Phase 2.

Councilor Jeff Schneider made a motion to work with city staff on incorporating the work into Phase 8 of the project, and it passed by a unanimous 7-0 vote.

——

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

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.