Vinton, Iowa

Spring is in the Air!

2011-04-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I can't believe how fast time flies. I cannot believe that winter is already gone and spring is here. We had a relatively mild winter with only a couple of major storms. That is fortunate for our city, since it saved on the snow removal budget.

Now that spring is here, we see construction activity returning. The city is making repairs to the 800-900 block of East 4th Street and on the south apron at the airport. We are also working with Iowa Homeland Security and FEMA in the managing of the properties the city purchased through the buyout program. There will be at least a couple of new parks created through this process, so please get out and enjoy them!

We also see a lot of activity downtown. The other day I heard the comment that if you want a store front downtown, you better hurry! We see businesses filling empty storefronts and buildings being rehab. There is continuous traffic downtown on weekdays and on the weekends. A new restaurant is planned and a bakery will be opening soon.

We have also noticed some increased interest in home building and additions. During my first couple of years here, we were seeing 10-12 new houses being built each year. Last year, we only had a couple largely due to the recession. This year we have 3-4 in the planning stages already.

Our town meeting for the comprehensive plan is on May 3 at 7:00 PM at the Vinton-Shellsburg High School Commons. The high school is located on 21st Street. We want the plan to be representative of the community as a whole. In order to accomplished that, we need you to attend this meeting. We will be talking about the future of the city and what you would like to see happen.

City Starts Comprehensive Plan Process--Seeks Name

2011-01-25T02:12:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel you don’t have a say in the future development of Vinton? Would you like to express an idea or opinion when it comes to looking at the future of your city? Well, here is your chance to express those ideas and opinions.

In November 2010, the City of Vinton was awarded a 50 percent matching Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) to complete a comprehensive plan. The city will be undertaking the process beginning in February 2011 and is currently seeking possible names for the process of developing this plan.

So, what is a Comprehensive Plan, also referred to as a “comp plan”? A comp plan is a plan that serves as an overall guide for the future development of Vinton. It covers many different areas, including, but not limited to, economic development, housing, the future layout of streets, and the location of parks and trails.

According to Chapter 414 of the Code of Iowa, the comp plan serves as a guide for the zoning and development of city. Vinton has zoning, but never had completed an actual comp plan. This was legal since case law has determined that a comp plan is not required. However, it is certainly prudent to have such a guide for future growth and development.

The lead committee will be the planning and zoning committee, as required by state law. However, public input will be sought through a survey and at public meetings and hearings. There will be a core planning committee, established by the City Council, consisting of the Planning and Zoning Committee and several other members from other parts of the community, such as developers, industry leaders, and community officials.

The process of putting a comp plan together takes about 12 months to complete. Some of the work has already been completed since we had a visioning program four years ago called Vinnovation. A master trail system plan has been developed and a Great Places application with ideas for a park by the Cedar River Bridge is also in the works. Instead of having several different plans with ideas spread out all over, this plan will serve as a central depository for all these ideas and visions to assist the city leadership when it plans for future development and prepares its annual budget.

If you have an idea for the name for the city’s comp plan, please send me an email at alent@vintoniowa.net.

Budget Time Again

2010-11-12T14:16:00.001-08:00

Now that it is November, it is time again to start looking at the budget for the next fiscal year that starts July 1, 2011. I am glad that there won't be any major projects dealing with flood recovery from the 2008 flood. We are finishing some things such as the neighborhood historical survey and nomination, obtaining an aluminum barrier system for the flood protection wall around the main sewer lift station and the development of the greenspace from our recent buy-out acquisitions. I wouldn't look at these as flood-recovery projects, but rather development projects that will improve the image of the city and help prepare for any future flooding.
One major project that we expect to undertake is the development of a comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan is just what the name implies. It is a plan that looks at several different components in the city (housing, land use, etc.) to guide future decision making when the city leaders planning and prioritizing future funding. One of the key factors in a successful plan is public input. We hope that many residents and business owners will become involved in the development of the comprehensive plan so the city leaders will have a clearer idea of what is desired by the residents. Please watch for notices of future public meetings and get involved in this effort!

Another Page Turned

2010-11-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today, the last of our buy-out houses from the Flood of 2008 was demolished, in effect, turning another page in the recovery from that devastating event. The picture that is included with this entry is where the house that was located at 101 West 2nd Street once stood. The building once housed a bait shop and antique store. This property, along with other properties to the west of it, will be brought together to form a new riverside park next to the Cedar River bridge. It will be a wonderful location to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It is also within easy walking distance from the downtown area. A great welcoming site for visitors to our city.

Investing in Economic Development

2010-10-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

The picture that is included with this blog is the downtown building where the Vinton Eagle office was located and in previous years was home to other businesses including a pool hall. The building received extensive damage in 2006 when the neighboring American Legion Hall burned down. The previous owner was unable to make repairs to the building due to other personal commitments. A new owner recently took over and, under the title of his development company, has made significant repairs and improvements in just the past few months. Just in time, too. Cedar River Ink was looking for a new home and took up residence in the building. Several other office spaces will be available at this location on the first and second floors. The improvements that have been made to this building are a good indication of the steps forward that the City of Vinton has been experiencing in economic development.

A Once in a Lifetime Adventure

2010-09-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Residents of the Vinton Community have always felt a deep connection to the historic Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. There will be some legislation soon to change the focus of the school and move away from its residential program. Recently, some students from the Braille School were given an airplane ride at the Vinton Veterans Memorial Airport. This was a great service by the pilots who offered the rides - giving the kids an experience that few of us would even realize they would enjoy. To see the story about the rides, click here.

Planning for the Future

2010-09-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

This past legislative session, the state legislature passed a bill that was promoted by the Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) and called for local government to use 12 smart planning principals when planning for development. Because of this, the RIO is making a grant available to share in half of the cost for a comprehensive plan using these principals. Comprehensive plans are, by definition, comprehensive and cover a lot of areas in a city when it plans for future growth.

The City of Vinton is looking at several economic development opportunities. The chance to develop a comprehensive plan could not come at a better time for us. We will involve the general public in the plan development, but the planning process will largely be governed by our planning and zoning commission and city council. Look for advertisements about future community meetings about this plan. It will be your opportunity to help guide our city in the direction you feel it should grow.

Moving to Vinton

2010-08-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

Need an excuse to move to Vinton? Check out this great article that recently appeared in the Our Iowa magazine. Click here.

Last of the Buyouts-Now on to Final Demolitions

2010-07-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

The City of Vinton just closed on the last three buy-out properties from the 2008 flood. We are excited about moving forward and the possibilities that will come from making much of this space into park areas - especially the lots down by the river. We already have a pavilion that was converted from a residential garage. That area and the Community Gardens area will have a dedication ceremony Tuesday afternoon. We have 15 house that still need to be demolished. There have been some "bumps in the road" with federal regulations dealing with asbestos disposal, but we are getting those smoothed out. Once the asbestos is removed, we can then move on to demolition. The demolition of the remaining houses should be started in September.

Welcoming New Residents and 10th Street Work Begins

2010-07-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

I am about to go to the Ray House, which is one of our historic homes in Vinton, to meet some new medical professionals here in Vinton: a new dentist, a medical doctor, and a chiropractor intern. It's good to see that a small town like Vinton would have something to attract young professionals. It adds new blood to the community. Vinton has a lot to offer from our parks and aquatic center to our local theater where you can see 3-D movies for only $3 each.

The picture above shows the beginning of work on 10th Street. The construction was supposed to start on July 1, but there was some delay due to rain. Now most of the rain has managed to miss Vinton, so they have begun to remove the old street and replace the two sewer manholes. Next, they will install a subdrain that will take all the water from under the new street and funnel it to the storm sewer on 8th Street.

Accomplishments

2010-07-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

There were a couple of things that happened this week that say a lot about the people in Vinton. When they say they are going to do something, they do it. First, we had a grand opening for a new hotel. In addition to the privately built hotel, the city built a street extension to provide access to the hotel. We knew this type of development was going to be good for the city - we said we were going to do it, and it got done. The hotel has now been open for more than a week and has been about half-full during the week, which is good news.

The second thing that happened was that the Palace Movie Theater installed a new digital movie system. This is a huge step. The group of people who run the theater decided they wanted to do this despite the huge cost. They knew that the people of Vinton would realize the huge benefit it would be and would rally with donations to pay for the system. The citizens of Vinton did. Last night, the Palace Theater showed Shrek 4 for its first digital 3D movie. Better yet, the 3D tickets are being kept at a low $3 per person cost!

Party in the Park Next Week

2010-06-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Next week is Party in the Park, Vinton's annual celebration in June. This year, the theme is Party on the Beach since the theme will be a beach party theme. There is always plenty of entertainment on Saturday, but don't forget the kid's parade downtown Thursday evening and the movie at the park on Friday. A complete schedule can be found by clicking here.

Today, I received a call questioning the amount of money we spend on the parks and recreation. I feel the Council does a good job balancing the needs of the many different residents we have in our community. Many of our residents utilize the programs that are offered by our parks department. My daughter has participated in the tennis, golf, softball and playground programs, just to name a few. I know this has really helped with her development as a person and I am sure it has helped with other kids giving them something to do while building athletic and interpersonal skills that will help them later in life---even if they only go rollerskating at the Activity Center on Friday nights. We have a great parks department for a city with the population of Vinton and many volunteer hours by city employees and the residents go into making the department do the great things it does.

Summer's Here!

2010-06-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

Besides the heat there's a few things that tell me that summer's here. Last night, was the first Farmer's Market at the historic Rock Island railroad depot. Throughout the summer, the Farmer's Market will take place each Thursday at this location starting at 5 PM. Besides the food for sale, there is usually something different planned each night. The swimming pool opened last weekend and Party in the Park is June 24-26.

By the end of the month, we should begin the 10th Street Improvement Project from 1st Avenue through B Avenue. Just like the section of 9th Street that was improved last year, this couple of blocks have seriously deteriorated. This will be a huge improvement to the neighborhood.

The new Vinton Cobblestone Hotel passed its final building inspection this week. The hotel plans to open in mid-June with a grand opening celebration later in the month.

There is a lot going on and summer has just begun.

Remembering and Rebuilding

2010-05-28T15:01:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day is a special day for those of us lucky enough to have served our country in the military. We know the dangers and we know that special feeling deep down of the pride and love we have for our country. It is a special time for remembering those who died serving their country and reflecting on their sacrifice. Do we have the same courage? What would we do in their place? These are questions I ask young people who think about entering the service. It may not be the type of questions that a recruiter may ask, but I feel that anyone thinking of serving needs to honestly think about the answers they would give.

The picture above is the beginning of the construction of the new Benton County Law Enforcement Center in downtown Vinton. The county folks went through a lot to get this thing started and I am sure they and we will be proud of the building when it is completed. The construction end date is set for May 2011.

10th Street Project Bids Received

2010-05-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

This week has flown by as usual. The week ended with receiving bids for the street improvement project that we have scheduled for this summer. This year the City is going to make improvements to 10th Street from 1st Avenue through the intersection at B Avenue. I thought this project would be much more expensive that our project last year on 9th Street since we are replacing a couple of manholes and the subdrain from the street runs north two blocks to 8th Street. The engineer's estimate was just over $201,000. Our lowest bid was for about $18,000 less than the estimate. This is excellent news. The Council will act on the bids next Thursday at their regular meeting on May 27.

Progress and Recovery

2010-05-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy week with several progress and recovery milestones. Progress has been made on the new hotel on Highway 218 with the installation of the building sign and the opening of the new West 11th Street. A "soft" opening is scheduled for mid-June now. There are a couple of wedding parties booked at the hotel right after opening and it is sold out for Boomtown in September.

An unsafe building that has been an eyesore on West 4th Street has been demolished by its owner. This is one of several steps to clean up the "entrance" from Highway 218 into the downtown area. Another group of unsafe buildings on the west side Hinkle Creek on 4th Street is now owned by the city. Once some asbestos has been removed, these structures will also be demolished and the area turned into greenspace. This is part of our movement in flood recovery that has taken up a good part of my last two years since the 2008 flood.

Another couple of steps in the flood recovery have been made by our parks and recreation department. They have cleaned out a large residential garage that is next to the Cedar River that was bought out by the city after the flood. The plan is to convert the garage into a ope-air pavilion which is a use that is allowed by the buyout program on this greenspace. The department has also worked with ISU Extension to convert a few other buyout lots on East 2nd Street into community gardens.

Police Service Week

2010-05-07T14:24:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, Mayor John Watson signed a proclamation stating the City of Vinton, Iowa will observe Police Service Week from May 9 through May 15, 2010. The week honors the service of police officers in Vinton, the State of Iowa, the United States and around the world. It specifically honors those that have given their lives in the line of duty.

Pictured from left to right is Vinton Police Chief Jeff Tilson and Mayor of Vinton John Watson.

Construction on New Hotel Begins

2010-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

Construction on the new Vinton Cobblestone Hotel has begun in earnest with new footings and walls being poured this week. The construction crew from Garling Construction is working around forecasts of snowy weather to get a good start on the project. The hotel developers are BriMark from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and the financing for the hotel is being provided through the Vinton Hotel Group.

The new hotel will be located on Highway 218, which is also known as K Avenue, north of the First Christian Church and West 13th Street. Access to the hotel will be provided on West 11th Street, which will be built by the City soon. Neighboring properties include Theisen's further south on the other side of West 13th Street, ALCO Department Store to the north and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School (IBSSS) to the east. The IBSSS is also the home of the Midwest Regional AmeriCorps NCCC campus.

The City of Vinton provided an economic development incentive of $335,000 for the construction of the hotel and is putting another $120,000 towards the construction of West 11th Street. These funds will be paid back through TIF funds generated by the new hotel. The remaining $50,000 for the new road is being provided through the State of Iowa I-Jobs street construction financing.

The Vinton Cobblestone Hotel is planning to open in July 2010. Reservations can now be made at (888)-693-8262.

Apply to Serve on Vinton Board

2010-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

The City of Vinton has various boards and commissions to help carry out the duties and policies of the City of Vinton. These boards oversee various departments or ordinances. The ultimate responsibility of the boards rests with the City Council and Mayor who appoint the members. Every once in a while, we have positions that need to be filled. We are also now required to make a good-faith effort to have a gender balance in appointments. If you live in the City of Vinton and are interested in applying, click here to learn more. To get a list of boards and commissions, click here.

Vote for the Animal Shelter

2010-01-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

The Friends of the Shelter (FOTSI), who currently manage the Vinton/Benton County Animal Shelter need your help. They are in a contest to win up to $10,000. You can help by voting for them as your favorite shelter. Click here to vote. You just need to enter the United States, IA, and Vinton then search for the shelter. You then cast your vote. It is very simple. You can only vote once a day, but you can keep voting each day until the end of the contest. There are several other shelters ahead of the Vinton Shelter, so please vote often!

Vinton in Lions Club Magazine

2009-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

Read about Vinton in the Internaitonal Lions Club Magazine. Click here.

AmeriCorps Training Center Expanding

2009-12-31T09:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, at the Vinton Lions meeting, news was presented that in April 2010 there would be another unit of AmeriCorps volunteers starting at the Vinton campus located at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. So, there will be 240 volunteers stationed in Vinton to work on projects throughout the Midwest region. The overlapping class of 80 members will still be here when the next regular class of 240 members starts in January 2011. Then, until the overlapping class graduates, there will be 320 members stationed at the Vinton campus. Wow, that is great news for Vinton and the Midwest!

Local Option Benefits

2009-12-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

It is the end of another year and January 2010 is right around the corner. January reminds me of 2008, not because that was before the summer flooding, but because that January the citizens of Vinton approved the Local Option Sales Tax or LOST. The LOST has greatly benefited the City of Vinton in the first year and a half with roads being rebuilt and property taxes held down. The City was also able to finance a badly needed used aerial fire engine and an addition to store it. You can read about the many benefits of the LOST at: Vinton Headlines

Blizzard!

2009-12-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday, a week and a half before the official start of winter, Iowa and much of the Midwest experienced its worst snowstorm in years. Vinton received about 10 inches of snow. The street department and water department employees were out at 2 AM this morning clearing the windrows from the downtown area. Vinton-Shellsburg Schools cancelled classes for three days. Hopefully, this will be the worst storm this winter.

Recovery Continues

2009-10-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

The picture with this entry is of the Benton County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) being demolished. The demolition began about a week ago. The LEC was destroyed during last year's flood despite a valiant effort by many volunteers to save it. A new LEC will be built in its place above the level of last year's flood. This week, the City of Vinton is also closing on the first six properties in its buy-out program. These are good examples of how the community is still moving forward in the flood recovery process.

New Airport Sign

2009-09-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Vinton Veteran's Memorial Airport Commission has been moving right along with making improvements to the airport and, with some help from the city's airport engineer from Clapsaddle-Garber in Marshalltown, has been able to secure grant funding for the improvements. Today a new entrance sign was installed to replace a wooden one that had stood at the entrance for many years. This picture shows the sign shortly after installation. Landscaping and lights will be added later. An open house is scheduled for Friday, October 30 as the Commission hosts the Vinton Unlimited After Hours.

Fire Department Training

2009-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

By state law, a city fire department can have three fire trainings per year where a structure is intentional set on fire and the department personnel train to combat the fire. The City of Vinton Fire Department did this last night. In the words of my daughter--it was awesome. But even better was the chance to see the firefighters in action and the careful but deadly force they use to put out a fire. They also had a chance to try out an aerial ladder truck that may soon become part of the city's fire fighting arsenal. Check out more pictures by clicking here.

9th Street Update

2009-08-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Our project on 9th Street Reconstruction Project has been delayed slightly. The contractor had some delays on other projects due to the recent bad weather so they won't be able to get here until next week. We are very eager to see this project go forward as it will take care of two blocks of street that have deteriorated badly and it is our first project with Local Optional Sales Tax funds which means no new debt obligation for this project.

In Case of an Emergency...

2009-08-08T09:38:00.001-07:00

This past week, I have spent time in two separate meetings dealing with emergency planning. The first meeting was on Wednesday. This meeting dealt with developing a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan for Benton County. The second meeting took place yesterday to discuss how to prepare for the activation of an emergency shelter in Vinton. As we have seen over the past couple of years, emergencies are not just something that might happen, but rather a thing that will likely happen. We have had two situations (ice storm in February 2007 and the 2008 flood) severe enough to have a shelter. I feel good about the processes we have started with these meetings since we will likely have more emergencies in the future. Some might think that it is not good to discuss the likelihood of these types of events because it only scares people. Well, if the event will probably happen, like we have seen so far, then only by discussing the events now, will we be better prepared to handle them in the future.

Water Tower Washing

2009-08-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

The City of Vinton recently had the water towers washed. If you had seen the towers for the past couple of years, you would have noticed a thick layer of mildew growing on them. Now they are cleaned and a protectant was applied to keep the mildew from growing, at least for a few years. Check out the story and pictures at: Vinton News

Airport Makeover

2009-07-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

We have a rather large project underway at the Vinton Veterans Memorial Airport. The airport received a 95 percent federal grant to construct a 4-stall T-Hanger and taxi lane. The total cost is over $500,000, but the city's share will only be five percent of the cost. There are already several people waiting to rent hanger space at the airport. The airport commission also applied and received two grants; one for a new entrance sign and another for a Jet A Fuel system. The entrance sign will really improve the airport's appearance. The jet fuel system will enable those users with turbine engines to be able to refuel their aircraft, thus opening the use of the airport to more aircraft.

Need a Pet?

2009-05-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a bright spot in my day. I helped to "rescue" five kittens from a crowded garage and cart them off to the animal shelter. Their mother was likely a stray and not around. We figured they had a better chance at the shelter than in that garage, and they seem to be doing well in their new surroundings. It was an interesting search for them at first. I kept looking under a table for them, but their mother had them up on a shelf.

If you need a new pet, we have several out at the shelter. The shelter is now being run by the Friends of the Shelter. They would be happy to show you around. If you are interested, please call them at 319-472-4623.

River Gauge Readings Update

2009-04-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

The previous blog entry gave the website for the National Weather Service (NWS), which helps when forecasting when the river will flood, crest, etc. The U.S. Geological Service (USGS) is the agency that installs and maintains the gauge. Until the NWS updates their site to start providing real-time readings from the Vinton gauge, these readings can be obtained on the USGS website that can be reached by clicking here. Remember, flood stage at Vinton is 15 feet.

River Gauge Installed at Vinton

2009-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

We are really excited about the instrument shown in the picture with this blog entry. It is an automatic river gauge installed here at the Cedar River bridge in Vinton. For the past several years, an individual from the Benton County Emergency Management office would manually need to read a metal post and then enter the reading on a computer in order for others, including flood forecasters, to know the level of the river. Now, the readings will automatically be sent to the website. This will provide more accurate information to city officials and flood forecasters to prepare for flood events in the future. Most of the credit for this achievement goes to Benton County Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Hanson who kept Vinton as a National Weather Forecasting point by faithfully read the manual gauge for several years. The funding for this gauge will be provided on the federal level through the United States Geological Service.
Automatic readings from the gauge are not available yet, but will be provided at the website accessed by clicking here.

Lessons from the Flood

2009-03-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Now that we have started a new year and spring has sprung, I have reminisced about the past year and all the events that have happened during it. I keep hearing people say that they want to just forget about the past year and move on. Well, that's fine, but there's a lot one needs to recall from last year.

Certainly, the pain is still there. Memories of the water coming up fast and nothing to stop it. I continually recall my darkest moment when I heard the street superintendent over the radio saying that they were abandoning the electric generation building because the water was coming in too fast. That was certainly a very low moment. I could hear the hush and the despair that momentarily came over the emergency operations center.

But then, the electric general manager and the chairperson of the electric trustees board came rushing in to call for the electric generator trucks to restore power to the city. It seemed to breathe new life into us. I went up from the basement of the courthouse and saw the many people who came from all over the area to help fill sandbags while several others prepared food to feed them. It was almost like our community was getting a rebirth or renewal to start fresh with a brighter outlook on things. Even the sky, which was cloudy that morning cleared up and the sun shone brightly on the scene. It is these moments that I want to remember.

Also. the lessons we learned. To always be vigilant and prepared. I remembered when the water was getting near floodstage and a couple people told me not to worry until it got a few more feet higher. Now. everyone is concerned with the river now rising slightly even though the river is still a few feet below floodstage and we didn't have the snow or rain like last year. How long will we remember to carefully watch the river to prepare for the worst?

I don't think we want to completely shove last year to the distant past. We can't change what took place, but we need to remember what we learned from this event and apply that to the future.

Done....Midway

2009-02-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

As part of its overall flood recovery effort, the City of Vinton submitted an application for the FEMA 404 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which is often referred to as the "buy-out" program. If the application is approved by FEMA, Vinton will receive funding to buy-out and demolish up to 29 properties that were damaged by last year's flood. As a requirement of the program, the City must not allow any enclosed building to be erected on the property. The picture included with this post shows the application completely filling a 4-inch binder. We had to submit the original application along with a paper and electronic copy. Despite all the hard work that was involved with the application, we are only half-way through the process.

New Animal Shelter Operations

2009-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Well, 2008 is in the books. I can't say it was the best year we ever had, but it will be the most memorable. I know several people have remarked that the flood brought out the best in the community and helped to strenthen it. If so, I am glad some good will come from that devastating event.

This past month, the City entered into an agreement with a non-profit group called the Friends of the Shelter, Inc. which also goes by its acronym, FOTSI. This group had volunteered at the city-owned pound previously, but wanted to do more for the animals. The agreement allows the city to concentrate on flood recovery and other public services, while FOTSI can concentrate more on caring for the animals. The shelter is currently closed to the general public, but will reopen in March.

FOTSI hopes to build a new shelter in the future. If you wish to donate time, material or money to their cause, you can call (319) 472-4623 or send a note to FOTSI, PO Box 82, Vinton, IA 52349.

All Aboard!

2008-12-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, the Iowa Northern Railway donated the Hawkeye Express train to make four trips between the City of Palo and the City of Vinton. The event was originated by a couple of residents in Palo and organized with the Benton County Disaster Recovery Coalition to raise money for flood victims in Palo and Benton County. Despite the cold temperatures, many people participated in the rides. This helps to add to the discussion about restarting passenger rail service in Iowa besides the Amtrak line that runs through the southern half of the state. I worked at the Vinton Lions trailer that was parked next to the Vinton Rail Depot--it was great to see the old, restored depot being heavily used again for its original purpose!

Flood Recovery Update

2008-11-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

I realized recently that I have not posted to my blog for several months. Things have been a little crazy trying to catch up with FEMA items from the flood recovery and other regular things such as the beginning of the budget cycle. Th city has largely recovered from the flood. We have a sewer lift station to repair yet and several houses to demolish and send in for a possible FEMA buyout. The electric generation plant should be on-line by February. That's about it for the flood recovery update. May everyone have a great Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Increasing Financial Assistance

2008-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

The President signed an executive order today increasing the federal share to 90 percent of costs for public assistance received on projects from the flood recovery. Normally, the federal share would be 75-percent, state share would be 10-percent and the local share would be 15-percent. What this means is that the state share will now be 10-percent and local share will be 0.

This is great news for the city, especially for our electric utility which was facing repairs into the millions to put our generation plant into business. Benton County also benefits when it goes to either repair or replace the county law enforcement center and jail. This would have been costly for the county--at least into the millions of dollars.

Flood recovery is a slow pace thing, but together our community is sticking with it!

You can read the announcement of the Presidential announcement by clicking here.

Remembering Sacrifice

2008-08-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

For the past four days, Vinton has hosted the traveling Vietnam Wall Memorial. This is a one-half replica of the Vietnam Memorial. There was an opening ceremony on Thursday and a closing ceremony today. The picture above shows the memorial and some of the attendees at the closing ceremony.

Having served in the military, I am familiar with serving our country and the sacrifice that comes with that service, sometimes the highest sacrifice. It is numbing to walk up to this memorial and look over the many names of those who made that sacrifice. I highly urge you to visit the Washington D.C. memorial. It is breathtaking as you look at the names and see reflections of the Capitol building, the Washington Monument and yourself in the black granite. It makes you proud of your country and the service of our men and women in the military.

AmeriCorps Induction

2008-08-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, the first group of AmeriCorps volunteers were inducted into the Corps. This means they passed the initial training and are heading out to do some great things in Iowa. They have helped Vinton out so much over the past month and a half, it is hard to comprehend it all. Team leaders helped to run the emergency shelter during the floods and other volunteers helped with cleaning up the river, repairing the railroad depot roof and clearing brush along the riverbank near the recreation area. I am heading over soon to the Braille School to talk with a coordinator about some other opportunities.

When they were inducted, the volunteers cited a pledge that read:

I will get things done for America to make our people safer, smarter and healthier.

I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.

Faced with apathy, I will take action.

Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.

Faced with adversity, I will persevere.

I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.

I am an AmeriCorps member and I WILL GET THINGS DONE!

Cedar River Clean Up

2008-08-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I posted my last entry. I do not know where July went. All I know is that it flew by. We have been extremely busy with flood recovery along with the normal things and projects that were in the works for this year.

One of those projects that was organized by the city's chamber of commerce, Vinton Unlimited (VU) was a Cedar River clean up. Those of you who are familiar with Vinton's location know that the city is located right next to the Cedar River. Many residents use the river for boating, fishing and other recreational activites.

VU organized a clean up effort to help get rid of a lot of the junk that has collected through senseless dumping and items that floated down the river from the recent floods. The group of volunteers worked through heat indexes reaching above 100 degrees to pull things out of the river basin like tires, barrels and even a kitchen sink. The picture above shows Vinton Mayor John Watson and a Vinton resident, John Moody rolling a barrel out of the river.

Much of the work to organize the event was done by VU executive director, Tami Stark.

Revealing History

2008-06-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

I thought the picture that is included with this post was interesting. The Mossman Law Firm has decided to undergo a large remodeling of their facade. It will be all brick with a clock tower on the corner. First, they have to remove all the old brick. Under the old brick was the sign for the old Cromer Distributing Co. store. As I understand, this was a department store in downtown Vinton.

Vinton Flood

2008-06-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since my last blog post. The city of Vinton, Iowa was flooded this past week. Despite heroic efforts by city crews, Iowa National Guard soldiers, and hundreds of volunteers, we lost our fire station, electric generation and distribution buildings, the old main sewer lift station, the Benton County Sheriff and Jail building and several homes. Despite all this, we feel fortunate as other cities, such as Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are experiencing much worst. We had electric back on in a couple of days with the help of some generator trucks and never lost our water supply. For pictures of the flooding, please visit the City's website, www.vintoniowa.net.

Minor Flooding

2008-06-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday and Friday, we received 2-3 inches of rain in a short amount of time. This caused Henkle and Mud Creeks, both of which flow into the Cedar River to overflow their banks and cause some flooding. Henkle Creek flows almost through the center of the city and caused some damage to a few houses and some businesses. There wasn't more damaged caused than this, other than water in basements from seepage through the ground, because the city has done a pretty good job of keeping buildings from being built in the floodplain. The creeks subsided about as fast as they came up, so by evening most things were back to normal.

Storms Ravage NE Iowa

2008-05-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

The picture with this blog is from the KCRG-TV website showing a very small portion of the damage that took place in Parkersburg this past weekend from an extremely large tornado. My sister taught at the high school that received very extensive damage from the storm.

While I reflect on everything that has happened there, two thoughts come to mind. First, this is the very reason that we are building the storm shelter on the west side of town. If Vinton gets hit like Parkersburg, the shelter will be there to help protect lives. Looking at the photos, it is amazing the damage that a tornado can do. There was a storm cell that was bearing down on Vinton Sunday evening, but fortunately, it did not start any tornadoes.

The second thought is that we will be very fortunate to have AmeriCorps here in about a month. The AmeriCorps volunteers are trained for exactly these types of situations. There may be some that come from other parts of the country right now, but it will be nice to have them nearby to respond more quickly.

Maple Lane Storm Shelter Progress

2008-05-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

After raining nearly two inches Tuesday night, the skies have cleared and the sun is shining. Despite delays from two weeks of rainy Thursdays and Fridays, work is progressing on the Maple Lane Storm Shelter. This building will serve as a shelter for nearby residents in case of a tornado or windstorm, and also as an enclosed picnic shelter for residents to rent from the city for picnics and other gatherings.

The picture above shows the crew from Prairie Construction tying rebar and forming the walls for the shelter. The concrete for the walls will be pured in about a week. The picture also shows the clear sky we enjoyed today!

Vinton Spared Major Flood

2008-04-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

The flood that was predicted for Vinton, thankfully, never came. The National Weather Service had predicted a record level of over 20 feet, but the river crested on Sunday at 17.3 feet. Even now the river has receded to around 14 feet.

We had several people come out to fill and place sandbags. We went through 260 tons of sand and about 10,000 sandbags. We also had many people and businesses comtribute food and drink for the volunteers.

To see a KCRG-TV newstory on preparing for the possible flood, copy and paste this link into your borwser: www.kcrg.com/news/local/18313374.html

Flood Warnings

2008-04-27T05:16:00.001-07:00

Friday morning, we were alerted that the Cedar River could reach record flood levels. This put our flood reaction plan into action. We started hauling sand from a nearby quarry, obtained a couple of mechanical stitchers from nearbv seed companies and put the call out for volunteers. We spent about 5-6 hours on Friday and 7 hours on Saturday filling and placing sandbags around the fire station, riverfront homes and a sewer lift station.

The National Weather Service has lowered the crest level to below 19 feet. This is good news since they did have the crest over 20 feet. That would have been a record and nobody knew for certain what would happen then. Now it is to a level just lower than where the crest was during the floods of 1993.

We had many residents come out to fill sandbags. Not the least of all were 50 high school kids on Friday. The picture above is of some of the volunteers working yesterday. It is great to know that we live in a city where these volunteers who came to help despite the fact that the water wasn't going to affect them.

House Fire, Heroic Actions

2008-04-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this blog earlier than now, but this past week has been extremely busy. Still its no excuse considering the heoric actions taken by one of our police officers early this past Monday morning. Officer Roger Roseberry was responding to a fire about 4:30 AM. A resident was trapped on the second floor of the house. After a couple attempts at coaxing the man to jump to safety, Officer Roseberry found a ladder to help the man down. Officer Roseberry also assisted two other residents in fleeing from the first floor.

A dramatic video of what the fire looked liked from the police car video can be seeing by visiting: Vinton Headlines.

Trails Committee Update

2008-04-16T06:42:00.001-07:00

Last evening, members of the Vinton Trails Committee met with representatives of two engineering firms to discuss the development of an overall master trails plan for the city. The master plan is necessary to apply for various grants to fund the construction of the trails.

This is an exciting step because the development of the trails system in the city is something that has been in the works for the past two years. Also, cities are looking to add more amenities such as trails, to attract more residents and promote a healthy lifestyle. We also expect that the AmeriCorps students will want to use the trails since they will not have their own vehicles to drive around the city.

If you want to have some input on the development of the trails system in the city, let us know. We want to develop a system that is truly accepted by the residents and will be used a lot.

Second Avenue Repairs

2008-04-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

The streets of Vinton have been hard hit by winter storms. The street department is out working hard to repair them. One of the hardest hit was the city's main brick street which is 2nd Avenue. A section of 2nd Avenue was renovated last year. That section between 7th and 9th Street is doing well.

On the other hand, the block between 9th and 10th Streets have seen areas where the brick sections have heaved up and down. The heaving is caused by something known as a frost boil. I am no expert, but our street superintendent explains that it is where water from frost collects and does not drain properly. Because there is a pocket of water in a location, the street gives way at that spot.

This morning the street sweeper sunk a section about a foot down. The street department is currently removing bricks, they will then place some rock back down and replace the bricks on the street. Until this is done, 2nd Avenue between 9th and 10th Street will be closed indefinately.

For more information, please call Vinton City Hall at 472-4707.

Digital TV Transition

2008-03-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

Tonight, we had a meeting at city hall to present information on the digital TV transition that will take place on February 18, 2009. If you receive TV through cable or satellite, you do not have to do anything. However, if you receive TV through an antenna and you bought your TV before July 2007, chances are that you will need a digital converter box. More information can be obtained by going to www.DTV.gov or calling 1-888-dtv2009. You can apply to get up to two $40 discount certificates to purchase the converter boxes.

Winter Is Almost Gone!

2008-03-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

According to 7-day forecasts on the TV news, we should be getting temperatures in the low-40s next week with lows in high-20s. We have to endure a couple of days of cold weather and then hopefully things will start turning around. I realized last week how tired I was of seeing white everywhere. I never thought I would get tired of seeing so much of a certain color! I don't know how our street department keeps hanging in there with this mess. Each time a piece of equipment goes down or breaks the street department is able to get it back together and keep right at pushing and removing the snow.

Last Friday, the steering mechanism went out on one of the dump trucks and the bearings went out on the snowblower. We thought we would be stuck with the snow windrows downtown, but the street, water and water pollution control departments worked together to bring a smaller snowblower from the wastewater plant to clear 1st Avenue and 4th Street so that the downtown shopperscould enjoy their time downtown on Saturday instead of having to navigate around the long rows of snow. This city is really fortunate to have such great resourceful employees working for it!

P.S. The pictures above are of the snowblower taken apart to fix the bearings. You can see the damage the blower has taken over the years--most of it has been this year alone!

Please Comment!

2008-02-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

The other day I mentioned to someone that no one was commenting on my blog posts. I am not sure if the information is relevant for the people who visit the site, or that anything I have written is really that interesting. The person asked if people who visited the blog knew there was a way to comment. I looked at the site and realized that the only way to know is that there is a link at the bottom of the posting that registers how many comments have been submitted. If you click on that link, you can submit a comment. Please feel free to comment on this blog by clicking on the link. Make sure the comments are germane and not offensive. Thanks.

Early Planning

2008-02-22T09:43:00.001-08:00

This past week I attended our Lions Club meeting and sat across from the person from the Iowa Braille School who is liaison with the AmeriCorps program. He quickly rattled over a list of items that will need to be completed before July when the contingent of volunteers arrive at the school. It seems like a daunting list of tasks that need to be completed, but he is very optimistic about completing everything. For our part, the city has almost continuously been digging out of the snow. I have included with this post a picture of the snow that the street department has been taking out of the downtown area and piling at the old brush dump. While we hope that spring comes soon, we hope the snow doesn't all melt at once. It that happens we can expect the Cedar River to rise and present some flooding problems. Fortunately, we have several sandbags on hand, a nearby quarry to get sand, and some available labor to fill the bags. With any luck, it will not come to this, but we need to be prepared!

Sheltering From The Storm

2008-02-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

It may be a little early to be thinking of tornadoes, but if anything has taught me lately it's that tornadoes can strike at anytime of the year. A couple of years ago, tornadoes occurred in November in central Iowa and just last month in Arkansas and Tennessee where my sisters and parents live.
The city's former city coordinator, Don Martin, started planning for a community center and storm shelter in the city's Maple Lane subdivision. The structure would be used by those living on Q Avenue (Maple Lane subdivision), residents of the new Windsor Manor assisted living center, a 12-unit senior apartment complex and a 40-unit mobile home park. All of these homes are built on slabs or lack sufficient protection in case of a tornado or windstorm.
The city applied for and received a $189,000 grant from FEMA towards the cost of the storm shelter portion. I think this is only fitting since Don worked for FEMA prior to coming to Vinton.
Last night, the city council approved the bid for the storm shelter and we expect construction to start in March or April. We hope the community center will be used more than the storm shelter, but it will be there if it is needed!

Passing

2008-02-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

I remember the day I first stepped into Vinton, Iowa. It was Friday, May 5, 2006. I had been selected to interview for the position of city coordinator. I decided to stop by on that day so the current city coordinator, Don Martin could give me a quick intro tour of the city. Don was retiring due to health concerns. He dropped everything he was doing at the time, hopped into his truck with me and showed me around town. The passion and emotion he felt for the city where he worked for the past 16 years really came through to me. After I was hired, Don and his wife Donna opened their home to me and offered a place to stay until my family and I found a house.

Don passed away this morning. Although I did not know him as long as everyone else here, I will really miss him. There is a strong bond that develops between members of a similar profession, and I know it existed between Don and me. He managed this city very well and helped bring about many of the improvements that exist here today. I will always be grateful for what he did for me and this city.

AmeriCorps Is Coming! AmeriCorps is Coming!

2008-01-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

What do you do if one of the largest state institutions in your community faces a shut-down by the state? Well, if you are a group of dedicated community-minded individuals, you look for a way to keep it opened.

This is what happened when the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School was facing a shutdown by the state. A group of individuals successfully recruited the National Civilian Community Corps program of AmeriCorps to use the Braille School as one of two Midwest training sites. We are expecting an influx of 160 volunteers, aged 18-24, and a staff of 12 to arrive by July 1, 2008.

This is great for the Braille School which has a rich history including famous students such as Mary Ingalls, sister of author Laura Ingalls Wilder; and for the City of Vinton. These young people will give the local economy a good boost as they actively live and participate in our community.

State Legislative Session Starts

2008-01-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today, the State of Iowa General Assembly begins to meet for their 2009 legislative session. We are hoping the legislature takes a good look at street funding this year. Last year, they received a report that indicated the state would have a shortfall of $29 billion in street construction over the next twenty years. While putting aside the gas tax, which hasn't been raised since 1989, the legislature is looking at other sources for revenue.

This is important for Vinton since prices for personnel and fuel (the city spent $6000 on fuel last month for snow removal) keep increasing, while the city's revenue from the state for streets only increases at about $1000-$2000 each year. This is another reason why the Council decided to look at possible revenue from the Local Option Sales Tax for street improvements, should the referendum pass on Janaury 29.

Budget Time

2008-01-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

It is currently that time of the year when cities, including Vinton, put together their budget for the next fiscal year which runs from July1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. We do not have too many capital project planned right now. The only thing we are looking at is the Maple Lane Storm Shelter which will be financed through a FEMA grant and funds set aside from TIF projects.

We are also waiting for the results of our Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) referendum on January 29. The LOST allows a local jurisdiction to add one cent to taxable sales and that money is returned to the city or county for use in the local jurisdiction.

The city hopes to put half of the money received, about $250,000 toward street improvements. We have no other way to receive money for these improvements other than borrowing money which will increase the tax levy for debt service. There are several streets that need to be repaired, so the city will probably need to get the funding either by borrowing or through the LOST. Since another 25 percent of the LOST revenue goes toward property tax relief, the city plans to lower the tax levy by one dollar per $1000.

We'll see how things go and budget accordingly!

Another Winter Freeze

2007-12-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

The City of Vinton got hit again with another round of ice and snow today. The crews are hard at work removing the snow and salting/sanding the ice. The streets are full of slush which makes for a real mess, but the city, county and DOT work together to get all the roads cleaned up rather quick. You can see from the picture of the tree that the street crews will probably be out picking up limbs tomorrow. Thankfully, they and the electric line crews have done a lot of tree trimming to keep branches from the power lines. Otherwise several businesses and homes may have been without power today.

Winter Freeze Hits Early

2007-12-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, the City of Vinton, along with the rest of eastern Iowa was hit hard by an ice storm. This is reminiscent of last February when a similar, but larger, storm hit the area. Fortunately, we have a great street department that tackled the job of removing the snow and sanding/salting the ice to make it possible for the city businesses and schools to function as close to normal as possible today.