The Burlington Fire Department has been looking to build a new fire station for some time now. Currently, the city of Burlington has two fire stations, but an additional one would help protect the citizens of Burlington.

This proposed station would be on the city’s northwest side at 2100 North Roosevelt Avenue. With a fire truck, ambulance, and up to 5 fire fighters, the new station would allow first responders to meet the national standard for response times throughout the city.

Currently, a four-minute response time for an emergency is considered the standard, and it significantly improves outcomes for fire suppression and cardiac resuscitation.  There is an area in the city of Burlington that is outside of the four-minute window, but a new station would be able to accommodate and service that area.

With an additional fire station, other units would be able to stay in their district, which would allow them to better focus and serve the citizens there.

The BFD has operated out of a temporary station at 3400 Mt. Pleasant Street since October 2018. However, this station has it’s problems and is not strategically located.

They did consider other sites for Station 3. Looking at a variety of factors, such as cost, availability, and lot size, as well as the key factor of response time, which ultimately led them to 2100 North Roosevelt Avenue.

The estimated cost is just over $8,000,000, which includes both the new 10,600-square-foot station and a fire training tower. Cost estimates for the new station are around $7,000,000.

The city plans to use general obligation bonds as the primary funding source to pay for the cost of the station. A bond is repaid using property tax levy funds, therefore 60% of voters would need to approve the question on the ballot on November 7 for the city to be able to take on the debt to build the new station.

If you have any questions regarding this project, please head to burlingtoniowa.org.

Governor Reynolds announced a new $6.5 million investment in communities to bolster tourism and quality of life through Destination Iowa. The grant initiative, which launched in 2022 with federal funding, became a state-funded initiative following approval from the Iowa legislature this year.

Governor Reynolds comment, “Destination Iowa has inspired communities statewide to dream big about projects that will give tourists a reason to explore and newcomers a reason to call Iowa home. This initiative has advanced 46 projects across the state so far , activating more than $480 million in total investment. Support from the state will open this opportunity for even more communities to boost tourism and quality of life while raising the profile of our state.”

The IEDA Board approved the Destination Iowa program guidelines and procedures at its monthly board last Friday. Funds will be awarded to projects investing in vertical infrastructure such as land acquisition and construction, recreational trails, and water trails. The goal is for Iowa communities to make strategic investments that create or support lasting opportunities to attract visitors and enhance quality of life amenities for residents, thereby boosting local economies and attracting talent.

Priority will be given to applicants that have not been awarded money from the federally funded Destination Iowa fund or other programs intended to support community attraction and tourism projects after July 1, 2018. Eligible applicants include cities, counties and not-for-profit organizations.

The program will follow a two-step application process. Pre-applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through January 31, 2024 via a form on IEDA’s website.  For those applicants invited to apply for the full application, the final application deadline is March 1, 2024.

IEDA will designate a grant committee to review applications and make funding recommendations to the IEDA Board for consideration at the April 2024 monthly board meeting. For more information, visit www.iowaeda.com/destination-iowa-state.

Roll Call

Consent Agenda

Note:  These are routine items and will be enacted by one motion without separate discussion unless a Council member requests an item be removed for separate consideration.

1. Minutes of October 18, 2023
2. Bills for Payment
3. Report
4. Clerks Budgetary Report
5. Utility Dept. Report
6. Police Dept. Report
7. Firefighter Dept. Report
8. Building Permits

Citizen Forum

The Mayor and City Council welcome comments from the public for items not listed on the agenda.  You are asked to state your name and address for the record and to limit your remarks in order that others may be given the opportunity to speak.  The Order of Business is at the discretion of the Chair.  No action will be taken.

Unfinished Business

1. Final Report on Well Re-Casing
2. Update – North Plains Subdivision 2023

New Business

1. 1. Review Capital Improvement Projects/Goals

 Adjournment

The Mt. Pleasant Police Department Office was recently notified of a phone scam going around.

In this scam, somebody portrays themselves as affiliated with the Mount Pleasant Police Department. They then ask for monetary donations to buy equipment for the department.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department does not call the public to ask for donations. If you receive this call, hang up immediately and consider it a scam.

Never give out any personal information over the phone.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.

“Widespread rain fell across Iowa over several days last week and a cold blast brought the first measurable snow to northern Iowa,” said Secretary Naig. “The weather forecast looks drier over the next week with temperatures slowly climbing to near seasonal, offering farmers an excellent window to harvest or complete other field work.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report
Moderate rainfall during the week slowed harvest in some areas as Iowa’s farmers had an average of 4.2 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 29, 2023, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork included harvesting row crops, completing fall tillage, applying fall fertilizer, baling stalks, and hauling manure.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 12 percent very short, 35 percent short, 51 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 25 percent very short, 42 percent short, 31 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus.

Corn harvested for grain reached 77 percent statewide, 1 day ahead of last year and 8 days ahead of the 5-year average. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain remained steady at 17 percent. Soybeans harvested reached 93 percent, on pace with last year but 8 days ahead of the average.

Pasture condition improved slightly to 20 percent good to excellent. Livestock conditions were reported as generally good but getting water to pastured cattle continued to be an issue for some producers.

Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Several weather disturbances brought widespread rains and the first measurable snow across northwest Iowa late in the reporting period; much of Iowa received above-average precipitation. Unseasonable warmth persisted until a Canadian airmass ushered in winter-like temperatures over the weekend; the statewide average was 53.0 degrees, 6.7 degrees above normal.

Sunny skies and southerly winds helped boost Sunday (22nd) afternoon temperatures into the mid-60s west while stations in eastern Iowa remained in the upper 50s. Showers pushed into western Iowa through the evening with additional thundershowers forming across northern Iowa into Monday (23rd) morning. Many north-central stations reported amounts between 0.25-0.75 inch with widespread totals over the state’s northern half in the 0.10-0.25-inch range. Clouds cleared through the late morning as daytime highs rose into the upper 70s with low 80s observed in central Iowa; the statewide average high was 76 degrees, 17 degrees above normal. Isolated strong storms fired in northwestern Iowa just before midnight, leaving behind 1.00-inch hail and 0.34 inch of rain in Spencer (Clay County). Showers streamed into southern and eastern Iowa through Tuesday (24th) ahead of a low-pressure center moving towards the state. Skies were partly to mostly cloudy with afternoon temperatures in the 70s with a strong southerly wind. Pockets of rainfall persisted in eastern Iowa overnight into Wednesday (25th) as lows ranged from the mid-50s north to low 60s south. Widespread totals of around 0.10 inch were reported with several north-central and southeast stations registering totals in the 0.50-1.00-inch range; Burt (Kossuth County) hit 0.60 inch with 1.32 inches near Keokuk (Lee County). Afternoon conditions remained overcast with highs in the low to mid-60s. Showers across northern Missouri pushed into Iowa’s southeast half through the evening hours and continued overnight into Thursday (26th) with lows mirroring daytime highs.

Showers and some thunderstorms held on over eastern Iowa into the late evening with additional cells forming as the low-pressure center and cold front propagated east. Strong northwesterly winds developed behind the front with quite the spread of morning temperatures; mid to upper 60s were registered southeast to low 30s northwest. Rain totals for the previous 48 hours reported at 7:00 am on Friday (27th) highlighted more than 120 stations observing at least 1.00 inch with heavier totals in eastern Iowa; an observer in Cedar Rapids (Linn County) reported 2.02 inches with a 2.45-inch total in Monticello (Jones County) and a statewide average of 0.83 inch. Gusty northwesterly winds held on through the day with clouds clearing western Iowa late in the day. High temperatures were 10-20 degrees below normal with mid-30s west to mid-40s east. Overcast skies continued into Saturday (28th) morning as moderate snow showers pushed into northwestern Iowa before daybreak. Light snow and flurries continued over portions of northern Iowa through much of the day; measurable snow was observed at 34 stations and varied from trace amounts to 4.0 inches at Cherokee (Cherokee County), Sioux City (Woodbury County) and Spencer. Afternoon conditions were cloudy and cold with upper 20s in northern Iowa and several low 40 degree-readings in the southeast; the statewide average high was 37 degrees, 18 degrees below normal. Overnight lows into Sunday (29th) did not drop appreciably as northerly winds remained.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.04 inch at Pacific Junction (Mills County) to 2.64 inches in Monticello. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 1.00 inch, more than double the normal of 0.48 inch. Several stations reported the week’s high temperature of 83 degrees on the 24th, on average 23 degrees above normal. Several northwestern stations reported the week’s low temperature of 22 degrees on the 28th and 29th, on average nine degrees below normal.