Council approves Chestnut Street closure for weekly farmer’s market

By Rick Morain
Jefferson Herald

The Jefferson City Council on Feb. 28 approved closing half a block of Chestnut Street on certain hours from June through September. The half block from Lincoln Way to the first alley south, adjacent to Thomas Jefferson Gardens, will be closed for Farmers’ Market and Thomas Jefferson Gardens events during that four-month period.

The half block will be closed for 12 consecutive Tuesdays from noon to about 7:30 p.m. for Farmers’ Market. The closings on those dates might be earlier than 7:30 p.m. if the vendors choose to do so.
The other dates and times the half block will be closed are as follows:

From 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3; from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 2; from 3:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5; and on one of two Saturdays, either Sept. 16 or Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Art on the Square.

NEW PUBLIC WORKS HIRE

In other action, the council approved the hiring of Mickey Teed as a Grade One public works employee. Teed’s pay rate will be $20.65 per hour ($42,952 annually).

Teed worked as seasonal help in the department last summer. He replaces Peter Hostetler in the city’s public works department. Tuesday was Hostetler’s last day in the position after starting in 1993. Public works director Dave Morlan said that Hostetler had handled the recycling truck, and switched to the sanitation department in 1998. Morlan praised Hostetler’s job performance.

DOWNTOWN PROJECT FUNDING

The council approved payments on two downtown properties. Funds for both payments come from the Iowa Economic Development Administration.

One payment was $86,548 to Pub Adventures LLC, the building at Chestnut and State, the northeast corner of the square that formerly housed Don’s Ace Hardware. The building is being converted into a restaurant with six apartments on the second floor.
Payments in the other project, in the amounts of $44,902 to Jefferson City View Properties LLC and $2,442 (for administrative costs) to Region XII Council of Governments (COG), are for the second story apartment project in the corner building across the street north from Pub Adventures.

The quarterly appropriation in the amount of $12,500 was approved for Greene County Development Corporation (GCDC). Ken Paxton, executive director of the organization, reported on recent and forthcoming GCDC activities.
The council approved an annual lease of 133 tillable acres, part of the municipal airport land, to Adam Ebersole for the year starting March 1. Terms of the lease are cash rent.

The council set the date of its next meeting for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 to adopt the city’s 2023-24 budget.