101 Main St. & 606 E. Lincolnway Discussed at Morrison City Council

By Andrew Williamson, Prairie Advocate News

MORRISON ­ After the council approved the meeting minutes from the October 26, 2009 meeting and the bills payable, the council opened the floor for public comments.

Ron Weimer asked, "Are we within budget on the building uptown, or is it gonna be kind of like the ball diamond, we just keep adding to it?"

The City Administrator Tim Long responded by saying, "We are on budget."

The winterization of 101 W. Main St., which started on October 2, is about $12,500 under the original $244,454.50 project budget, with a completion date of December 9 (weather permitting). Work completed on the city-owned building includes asbestos abatement, relocation of scaffolding to accommodate exterior construction, all necessary demolition and the new foundation footings and basement walls. Moving forward, contractors plan to install a steel storefront,complete masonry work and install new floor joists on the north and south ends of the building.

The Planning and Zoning Commission, which had met on October 28, 2009 presented their report regarding 606 East Lincolnway. McDonald's anticipates breaking ground on a $400,000 restaurant on the east side of town next spring east of Casey's General Store, with the General Store opposing the zoning request. The commission felt that Casey's did not show merit in their objection, which was submitted in writing from the Casey's corporate office. Some residents at the commission meeting were also opposed to the development because of issues that included traffic flow, water detention basin, available downtown retail space, taxes, shared entrance/exit and accumulation of trash.

A resident that spoke earlier during the public comments said he was opposed, "For one, I couldn't get an answer on what it's gonna do with the water drainage. Right now, I have water that backs up into my property that I haven't gotten taken care of, and if we put this in, what's that going to do with the drainage?" He also commented on improved traffic flow and remarked, "Until Casey's came inI didn't see as much traffic problem until that came in."

The Mayor commented that the area was zoned for business and, "we can't prevent a business from going in there regardless of what kind of issues may develop because of traffic and such."

Tom Kelzer, of S & W Morrison LLC, the developer and part-owner of the property, spoke about the project before the council, wanting to build a 3,000-square-foot restaurant with 1,700-square-feet retail space on the vacant lot at 606 E. Lincolnway. He presented an elevation of another McDonald's in Eldridge that would be similar to the proposed development in town. He indicated that McDonald's would not own the property, but would be a tenant.

Kelzer said, "This will be a great development for the community."

Kelzer organized two similar projects resulting in approximately 15-20 full and part-time employees, while the actual number of jobs estimated to be created in Morrison remains uncertain. City officials also have yet to estimate property and sales tax revenue the new businesses would raise for the city. The council unanimously approved the zoning variance requested. The next scheduled Planning and Zoning Commission meeting will be on November 25.

In other business, the council approved $46,700 in construction bills for the sports complex. The project's running total is now at approximately $3.7 million. Community Development Director Robert Wood is working with Sports Complex Director Jim Dubois on upcoming talent and prospects to the High School, Little League and JR Tackle. The council projects thousands of dollars worth of equipment for maintenance and irrigation, and other misc. equipment, but will prioritize the budget accordingly.

The city had issued a water boil order on November 9. The notice was a precautionary measure only. Residents were advised to boil all water used for drinking and cooking for at least five minutes before consumption. There was no evidence that the water was unsafe, but the order was declared due to a water main brake on West Wall Street near the intersection of South Heaton Street. The boil order was lifted on November 12 at 10:00 AM.

The next council meeting will be held on Monday, November 23, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

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