Iola is extending an area in which residents may qualify for grant funding to rehabilitate aging homes.
City Council members approved expanding a target area in the southeast part of town eligible for $400,000 in Kansas Department of Commerce rehabilitation funds.
The city originally set its target area between First and Second streets, from Madison Avenue to Spruce Street in February 2010, Mayor Bill Shirley explained. The thought then was the area was large enough to attract as many as 16 eligible homeowners to participate.
But those numbers have come up short, City Administrator Judy Brigham said.
In response, the city is extending its target area as far east as Fourth Street, from Madison to Spruce?????
Homeowners who meet income guidelines can qualify for up to $22,000 in grant funds to have their homes upgraded, with the only requirement that the homeowner stay in that structure for at least three years after the work is complete.
Council members also approved new income guidelines to qualify, conforming with state thresholds that changed in May 2010.
Now a single-person household with an income of less than $30,100 can qualify, as compared to the former threshold of $29,600.
Two-person households can earn up to $34,400; three-member families, $38,700; four, $42,950; five, $46,400; six, $49,850; seven, $53,300; and eight, $56,700.
Other restrictions apply for rental properties.
THE CITY may not demolish a Douglas Street bridge spanning Coon Creek after all.
Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock told council members that repairing the bridge to get it back up to the state’s minimum standards could come in as low as $20,000, one contractor’s estimate.
It would cost about $8,000 to have the span removed.
The city closed the bridge after a Kansas Department of Transportation report cited a deteriorating pier and abutment. The bridge deck, however, was still in relatively good shape.
Iolans Ken McGuffin, who lives north of the bridge, and Ron Jr. and Heather Helman, who live west of the span, both asked the city to keep it open.
McGuffin noted that the old North Street Bridge a few blocks away had been demolished years ago. Closing the Dogulas bridge would further isolate that neighborhood, he said.
“I understand the pressures on your budget, but I’d like to not be on land forgotten by the city,” McGuffin said.
The Helmans told council members they purchased a vacant lot across Coon Creek, a half block away from their house, a few years ago. If the bridge is removed, they would have to travel six blocks — “I counted,” Heather Helman said — to reach the same parcel of land.
McGuffin noted that a city looking to grow depends in part on curb appeal, and seeing barricaded roads and demolished bridges hardly symbolizes a healthy community.
Removing a bridge “sure doesn’t help land values,” Ron Helman said.
Council members were encouraged that repair estimates were relatively low. They directed Schinstock to seek other repair bids before they decide how to proceed.
IN A RELATED matter, council members asked Brigham and Schinstock to look at the city’s tree trimming policy, in particular of how it notifies homeowners when trees are going to be trimmed.
Council member Kendall Callahan said he was shocked to see an article in the June 30 Register detailing the plight of Iolans Terry and Lisa Lower, who had several branches of two large maple trees cut in their front yard because the branches were considered a potential threat to nearby power lines.
“Then I drove by their house and I was even more shocked,” Callahan said.
The city is between a rock and a hard place regarding tree trimming, Brigham said, because the policy is to protect power lines.
“You can’t just cut off a foot of the branches because you’ll be right back there again the next year having to trim again,” Brigham said.
The city formerly handled tree trimming until a former Electric Department employee retired three years ago. Since then, Iola has hired private contractors to handle the trimming.
Brigham said the city discourages homeowners from planting trees below power lines, but in many cases, those trees have already been in place for years.
Schinstock said the city would better publicize future tree trimming dates through newspaper and radio announcements, as well as notices on Iola’s cable access television channel.
