City News

AGENDA
North Liberty City Council
June 18, 2013
Special Work Session
7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers

1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Approval of the Agenda
4. Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Plan Update Presentation
5. Water System Facility Plan Update Presentation
6.  Adjourn

North Liberty, Iowa, June 6, 2013 — Several North Liberty roads are schedule to be closed Friday, June 14, for the annual North Liberty Fun Days parade. The roads scheduled to close are:

• West Cherry Street, from Highway 965 to North Dubuque Street
• North Dubuque Street, from West Cherry Street to West Zeller Street
• West Zeller Street, from North Dubuque Street to North Stewart Street.

Road closures will occur when parade lineup begins at 6 p.m. The parade starts at the Community Center, 520 W Cherry St., and runs east on Cherry Street. The route turns south on Dubuque Street, goes west on Zeller Street and ends at the intersection of Front and Zeller streets. Please use alternative roads when traveling through North Liberty Friday afternoon and evening; for example, North Juniper is a detour for those who use Dubuque Street. Highway 965 will remain open.

Registration is not required for parade participants.

There will be posted No Parking signs along the parade route

For additional information about road closures, contact the City of North Liberty at 319-626-5700.

On Monday, June 10, 230th Street in North Liberty will close from Highway 965 to 8 Point Trail for work repairing and improving the nearby at-grade railroad crossing. The closure is expected to last through Friday, June 14. Access to the homes and businesses will be open from 240th Street and Alexander Way during the work.

North Liberty may be a young community in terms of census demographics, but the town does have some cool history to showcase. North Liberty’s Centennial Committee will celebrate 100 years of North Liberty with the city’s History Walk, sponsored by The Home Repair Team, on Friday, June 7, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. The walk will start at Caryl Lyons’ home, 210 N. George Street, where the city’s only carousel was once located.

“As we started poking around, we found so many interesting, hidden bits of history,” said Tracey Mulcahey, chair of the Centennial Committee. “We’re excited to share these finds with the community.”

The kickoff will feature remarks from a selection of community members and the unveiling of the History Walk’s route.   A group walk is scheduled for about 6:15, starting at Lyon’s home. Parking is available on the streets in the neighborhood. After the kickoff, the route will be available online at northliberty100.org/tour and in a paper format at City Hall and the Community Center. Yard signs with additional information will remain up for the summer for the community to share in the rich history North Liberty has to offer.

Coffee with a Cop is an opportunity for the public to meet with officers in a comfortable environment and talk about any subject — from crime trends to neighborhood nuisance issues, public safety management and how to join our team. You bring the questions, talk with an officer. Because there’s nothing a good cup of coffee can’t solve.

Join us at the Corridor Coffee Company, 555 S. Highway 965 in North Liberty, on June 10 at 10 a.m. for a cup of coffee, and informal meet and greet where residents can meet their police officers, ask questions, and tell them about their concerns.

Presented in cooperation with the Corridor Coffee Company, the City of North Liberty, and the North Liberty Police Department.

Due to an equipment failure, the North Liberty pool is closed. It is expected to reopen on Thursday, May 23, 2013. The equipment failure shouldn’t delay the opening of the outdoor pool this Saturday, May 25, 2013.

Because of some maintenance needs, the indoor pool locker and changing rooms will be closed today and are expected to re-open in the middle next week. The pool will remain open.

Following the maintenance, there will be a strong odor for the next two weeks that may be unbearable for some patrons. Patrons can use the locker rooms in the Community Center during this maintenance.

— This spring, the City of North Liberty broke ground on a new 40-acre community park on the west side of town near North Bend Elementary School. The park has an address — 1565 St. Andrews Drive — and will be the home of North Liberty Blues & BBQ in 2014 and other community events for years to come. But it still doesn’t have a name.

We need your help.

The public can submit names at northlibertyiowa.org/namethatpark until June 15, at which point city staff members will sort through the suggestions and present five to 10 to the Parks and Recreation Board during its July meeting. The board will send three finalists to the City Council who will select the park’s new, official name.

Jones Boulevard from Forevergreen Road to St. Andrews Drive will be closed to through traffic starting at 7 a.m. on Monday, May 6, due to reconstruction of the road. This closure is expected to last until the end of the construction season in the late fall of 2013.

The reconstruction of south Jones Boulevard will be similar to reconstruction that took place on north Jones Boulevard. The inconvenience of the closure will ultimately result in North Liberty having a safer north-south connection from Forevergreen Road to Penn Street as development continues on the city’s west side.

Updates on this project and others in North Liberty can be found at northlibertyiowa.org/projects, on the city’s Facebook page, and its Twitter account.

Residents in North Liberty and Johnson County who experienced property damage from last week’s torrential downpour should start by reporting their damage to Johnson County Emergency Management via the organization’s online form.

Reporting your damage allows the city, county and state to work toward a potential federal disaster declaration and potential federal funding. Federal assistance requires that we collect local data to show the size of the disaster. Currently, only the state’s individual assistance program is active (for information on the state’s program and its income and other guidelines, visit DHS’s disaster assistance section).

Additional resources could be available from the United Way of Johnson County, the Salvation Army of Iowa City, and the Eastern Iowa Red Cross. Residents can contact those agencies to find out what programs they might be eligible for.

Residents should also be sure to take photos and document losses, and to submit claims to their insurance companies. Water-damaged property can be disposed of this week by placing it on the curb for city workers to collect.

Beginning at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, Highway 965 at 230th Street in North Liberty will go to a single lane as part of construction to extend Pheasant Lane. The work is expected to last through Thursday, April 25. Contractors will close Highway 965 to two-way traffic at 8 a.m. and hope to reopen it by 5 p.m. both days. North- and south-bound traffic will be able to use Highway 965 during this phase of the project, but may have to wait at a signal.

The road work that follows over the next month should allow Highway 965 to remain open to traffic in both directions, except for a few days during the project to complete some phases of the construction. 230th Street is expected to be accessible throughout the project.

Updates on this and other projects will be available at northlibertyiowa.org/projects throughout the construction season. Residents can sign up for e-mail news, follow the city on Twitter, or like the city on Facebook.

The North Liberty Community Library will be closed from Monday, May 6, through Sunday, May 12, so library staff and volunteers can move into the new addition. This will allow renovation of the existing space to begin. The library will operate with a limited collection until the entire project is complete, but don’t worry, we’ll still have something for everyone.

The entire expansion and renovation project is expected to be completed by late summer or early fall. Then, we will close for another week to get the library in order before our grand re-opening. Our curbside drop box will also open at the main Library entrance in mid-May.

The library offers a huge thank you to the community and our patrons for their continued patience and support as we grow! If you would like to contribute to the project, we are still accepting donations and pledges.

Regular business hours and weekly programs will resume on Monday, May 13.

The City of North Liberty will be collecting flood-damaged property curbside for its residents following last week’s torrential rains. Originally scheduled for April 25 and 26, the collection will now take place all week. Residents need only place flood-damaged items at their curb.

Other items will not be collected at the curb, but can be brought to the public works facility on South Front Street from 7 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 27. Items that can be discarded at the facility are furniture and other bulky items, appliances, tires and auto batteries, metal and car parts, and electronics.

Additionally, the North Liberty Police Department is partnering with local pharmacies to collect and dispose of expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs, no questions asked. Officers will be available at Liberty Pharmacy, 555 West Cherry St., and Liberty Matters, 1765 Lininger Lane, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 to collect medications.

None of these collections require residents to register or notify the city in advance.

(This post contains updated information.)

North Liberty received more than 8 inches of rain over 28 hours Wednesday and Thursday, which left our sewer system overwhelmed, the ground saturated and some streets flooded. City staff across departments worked to deal with street flooding by closing roads, clearing drains and monitoring flash floods. Our thanks to residents who were able to help by clearing drains near their homes, which allowed city employees to clear others.

Since yesterday, our wastewater plant has been operating at 100 percent capacity, even with the city bypassing its normal sewer collection processes, and has been staffed around the clock. Residents can help by reducing their water and sewer usage as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Johnson County Emergency Management has requested that we provide a list of addresses that have had water damage to their property. If you have had water damage to your property, or know of property that has, please send that information to Tracey Mulcahey at tmulcahey {at} ci.north-liberty.ia(.)us.

With the influx of storm water increasing the flow through North Liberty’s sewer system by nearly 400 percent, the city will temporarily bypass its normal sewer collection process Wednesday evening to protect homes from sewer backup. The move, which has been approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, will allow the storm water to enter Muddy Creek and continue downstream instead of bottlenecking at the city’s treatment plant. When the threat to homes and other property has subsided, North Liberty will resume its normal collection. Residents can help reduce the load on the sewer system by lowering their water usage tonight.

Today, North Liberty received more than 4 inches of rain, a torrential downpour that we haven’t experienced in some time. The rain left the city’s sewer and storm water systems overloaded and the ground saturated. City staff across departments have worked to deal with street flooding by closing roads, clearing drains and monitoring flash floods. Our thanks to residents who were able to help by clearing drains near their homes, allowing city employees to clear others.

As the flooding subsides, we will continue to monitor water levels and checking and clearing storm water intakes. This afternoon, when the local school day ends, we will help buses and students get home.

The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood advisory for Johnson County.

The North Liberty Recreation Department is hosting a trip to see the Cardinals take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, May 8. $75 includes a ticket to the classic rivalry and a bus charter to the game.

The charter is scheduled to leave the North Liberty Community Center, 520 W Cherry, at 6 a.m. First pitch is 1:20 p.m. The bus is scheduled to leave Chicago at 6 p.m. and return to Community Center around 11:15 p.m. This trip is for ages 18 and up unless accompanied by an adult. No alcohol is allowed on the bus.

Sign up by Tuesday, April 30, in person at the North Liberty Recreation Center or online through Activenet (a convenience fee is charged if registering online). For additional information or questions, contact Jason Egly or Matt Fielder at (319) 626-5716.

In early May, reconstruction of Jones Boulevard in North Liberty from St. Andrew Drive to Forevergreen Road will take place in four phases. The completion of the project will take the entire construction season.

More details on the anticipated timing of the phases will be available after the contract has been awarded and the contractor provides its anticipated schedule.