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City of Ely, Iowa Your Information Gateway for Ely, Iowa |
Saturday October 6, 2012 |
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New & Happening |
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Special Election on Local Option Sales Tax. Ely’s voters have the opportunity to vote on May 3, 2011 on whether the current 1% Local Option Sales and Services tax should run another twenty years. If approved, the tax would add 1% to the pre-tax cost of sales and services through July 1, 2034. The special election will be May 3, 2011. Ely residents, and rural residents of Putnam Township, may vote at the Ely Public Library, 1595 Dows Street, in Ely, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Rural residents may vote at their general election polling location. Passage of this measure in Ely requires a “yes” vote by a majority of Ely voters who cast a ballot on the question. If this measure is approved, the Ely City Council stated the sales and services tax proceeds would continue to be used for the purposes approved in 2009, which are:
So far Ely’s local sales and service tax money from the 2009 election has been used to:
You decide the outcome - Vote May 3! |
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Winter Farmers Market. The Ely Farmers Market moved indoors for the winter so Ely area farmers and food producers can continue offering you the best local food and produce; every other Saturday at Ely Public Library February 26, March 12 and 26, and April 9 and 23. |
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Co-Ed Spring Soccer 4 and 5 year olds Practice & Games Games Monday evenings from April 4 to May 9 at Ely Community Center Park Please contact Sarah Netolicky 319-558-6676. More information at Ely Recreation. |
Youth Baseball Leagues League Games Start May 9! 7& 8 year olds Coach/Pitch – 6:00 p.m. Monday & Wednesday 9, 10, & 11 year olds Player/Pitch - 6:00 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday. All games will be played at Ely City Park, 1635 Hillcrest Street More information at Ely Recreation. |
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Can Shed Account for Fireworks Donations – You “CAN” Help Want to help make the Ely Fall Fest fireworks even better this year? There is a way you can help! The Ely Parks & Recreation Commission has opened an account with the Can Shed at 4121 16th Ave SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. When redeeming your cans just ask for your deposit to go towards the Ely Parks & Recreation account. All the proceeds will go towards the fireworks that will be displayed at this year’s Ely Fall Fest on October 1, 2011. |
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Ely’s EDGE The Economic Development Group for Ely (EDGE) is a group of Ely residents working together to help make Ely’s future prosperous. Find out more about EDGE at their recently launched website: www.elyedge.org |
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Community Garden: Do you want to grow your own fresh vegetables but don’t have the space? Ely is working with EDGE to prepare a few garden plots to be available at a small fee this spring. . Plots will be near where the new water tower will be built and awarded on a lottery basis. Gardeners will need to follow Ely’s community garden rules. EDGE and the City will not be responsible for the vagaries of gardening in a public place. Please contact City Hall or Bob Ballantyne at bob_ballantyne@edge.org if you are interested in having a patch in Ely’s community garden |
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Code Red The Linn County E911 Services Board has instituted the Code RED Emergency Notification System - an ultra high-speed telephone communication service for emergency notifications. This system allows us to telephone all or targeted areas of Linn County in case of an emergency situation that requires immediate action. The system is capable of dialing 60,000 phone numbers per hour. It then delivers our recorded message to a live person or an answering machine, making three attempts to connect to any number. Examples of emergencies include evacuation notices, bio-terrorism alerts, boil water notices and Amber Alerts. CodeRED system is a geographical based notification system, which means street addresses are needed to select which phone numbers will receive emergency notification calls. Businesses will need to enter their phone numbers into the emergency notification database, as will households with unlisted phone numbers or households without landlines. Households with published phone numbers will likely already be included in the database. The information will only be used for emergency notification purposes. |
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City Projects & News
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Hillcrest Street is Getting Fixed Up. Work to rebuild Hillcrest Street started April 5; we expect it to take around 7 weeks. Ely is rebuilding Hillcrest street to improve storm water management, work includes replacing sanitary sewer mains, installing new storm sewer, improving the quality of the street surface and installation of sidewalks on both sides of the street. |
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Downtown Dows Streetscape Project. Ely’s City Council awarded bids for a streetscape project to make the downtown Dows Street area more attractive, with work to start mid-summer. The streetscape beautification will include wider sidewalks, storm sewer improvements, relocating the over head electric lines, decorative street lights colored crosswalk markings and rebuilding segments of the street. The Downtown Dows Streetscape project will make Ely’s historic downtown even more attractive while retaining the character of our original commercial area. Work to relocate electric facilities will start no sooner than the middle of July, 2011. Some details of the work that will be done: · Alliant Energy will move overhead electric infrastructure, then Ely will install new decorative street lights · Rebuilding Dows Street from east of Hillcrest to Main Street as a concrete street to support trucks and heavier traffic. · Installing new accessible entrance to “Post Office” building so pedestrians can walk around the ramp without having to walk in the street. · Replacing the sidewalk on the south side of street from Walker to Main. · Installing colored walkways at intersections with Main, Walker and on east side of State Street. · Installing curb and gutter and new street surface from Walker to State Street, including storm sewer and relocating water mains.
Project work will be done in three stages 1. From west of Krob’s Elevator through intersection with Main Street; street will be entirely rebuilt – traffic will detour via former railroad right of way and Traer Street. 2. From Main to Walker Street; new sidewalk will be installed on the south side, and a new ramp and access will be installed for the building housing the Post Office and Lacey’s Barbershop. The street will be open during this stage with parking available on the north side of the street, and not allowed on the south side. 3. Walker to State Street; the street will be entirely rebuilt; traffic will be detoured via Rowley and Traer Streets. |
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Animals at Large. Pets and people will be outside more and more as spring arrives with welcome warmer weather. If you have a dog or even a cat, keep them contained to your own yard or otherwise under your direct control. To have an animal getting into garbage is frustrating, unpleasant and a safety concern. Please be courteous to your neighbors and all Ely residents, be vigilant with the proper care and ownership of your animals. It is illegal for dogs to run at large and owners of animals caught running at large may be penalized. |
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FIRE HYDRANT FLUSHING APRIL 18th – 29th The Ely Public Works Department will be flushing fire hydrants April 18th - 29th. This is routine maintenance that needs to be done on a regular basis. While this is being done you may notice some discoloring of your water from time to time. Although the water may look a little different, it will be safe to drink and creates no health risk. When doing laundry, be sure to check for water discoloration before adding clothing, the discoloration will affect the brightness of your laundry. If you notice discoloration, please run the water until it runs completely clear before doing laundry. |
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Voluntary Annual Garbage Tag. Are you tired of having to track down those City of Ely garbage collection tags and have $52 in your pocket? Then head on down to Ely City Hall to pickup a voluntary annual Ely refuse collection tag that is good for an entire year. The annual tag would allow you to place one container (up to 40 pounds) of waste at the curb for pickup every week. Just slap the tag on the container and you’re set through December 31. You can purchase your annual voluntary garbage tag at Ely City Hall during regular office hours (8:00 a.m. To 5:00 p.m.). The annual tag can only be purchased at City Hall; the regular $1.00 tags can be purchased at City Hall, Casey’s General Store and Cleppe’s 66 Service.
Don’t worry if you’ve already invested a bunch of cash in the regular $1.00 garbage tags, they’re still good and will be for a long time. The voluntary tag is an additional option available to Ely residents; we will also continue with the $1.00 tags. It’s your decision; you can get the annual tag or continue using the regular $1.00 tags. |
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Sidewalk Improvement Ordinance Property owners who request a building permit for work $10,000 or more in value will be required to install a sidewalk, if no already sidewalk serves the property. Sidewalks will be required if the conditions on the following slide are met.
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Rent the Community Center. Consider renting the Ely Community Center for your family get together, reunion or other function. Call us at (319)848-4103 for details. |
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Hoover Nature Bike/Recreational Trails. Work to extend the Hoover Nature Bike/Recreational Trail to Ely City Park is nearly complete. The trail is paved, grading and re-seeding around the trail still need to be finished, as does some striping and installing signs and similar work. All work will be finished in early spring, 2011. |
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Recently Enacted Ordinances: Ordinance #200: Requires property owners who request a building permit for work $10,000 or more in value to install a sidewalk, if no sidewalk already serves the property under the following conditions: · The value of the work to be done under the building permit is $10,000 or more; · The lot is adjacent to a public street and curb and gutter are available; · Sidewalks have not been installed abutting the public street for the property prior to the request for building permit. This ordinance was enacted November 12, 2007. Ordinance No. 201: Re-zones roughly 20-acres adjacent to Ely’s north city limits and roughly 500 feet west of State Street to “R-2 Multi Family Residential”. Enacted January 14, 2008. Ordinance No. 202: Increases the amount allowed of petty cash allowed at Ely City Hall and the Ely Public Library to $150.00. Enacted February 11, 2008. Ordinance No. 203: Creates a “Voluntary Annual Refuse Collection Tag” that allows one refuse container to be placed for curbside collection through December 31 of each year. The voluntary annual tag would cost $52.00 per year and would be affixed to the container. Ordinance No. 204: Creates a City of Ely permit that would allow a golf cart or ATV to be operated on streets in Ely (except State Street) if the operator is at least 18 years old, has a valid driver’s license and a City of Ely permit. The ordinance further requires that ATV’s may only be operated on Ely streets if the driver is actively involved in snow removal, lawn/gardening work or special city events at the time. Approved June 9, 2008. Ordinance 205: Zones the eastern portion of the “Splendid Villa” Subdivision as R-2 Multi-Family Residential. Approved August 11, 2008. Ordinance 206: Creates the “R-3” and “R-4” Multi-family residential zoning districts, and development standards including minimum lot size, setbacks and other standards. The “R-3” district allows structures to have up to four residential units, the “R-4” district allows structures to have as many as eight residential structures within it. Approved August 11, 2008. Ordinance 207: Designates specific lots and parcels along Northgate Drive, Wrigley Street and Comisky Court as R-3 or R-4 zoning districts. Approved October 13, 2008. Ordinance 208: The City Council did not enact this proposed ordinance. Ordinance 209: The City Council did not enact this proposed ordinance. Ordinance 210: Designates the Serbousek 2nd Addition as an “R-1 Single Family Residential” zoning district. The Serbousek 2nd Addition is a recently annexed parcel on the north side of Vista Road. Approved October 13, 2008 Ordinance 211: (Approved March 9, 2009) Increases the sanitary sewer fee for some users. This ordinance enacts the following sanitary sewer fees: a. Resident Customers. Minimum Charge for 0 to 1,000 gallons $25.72
In addition to the above minimum 1,001 gallons to 3,000 gallons $1.92/1,000 gallons 3,001 gallons to 8,000 gallons $3.53/1,000 gallons 8,001 gallons or more $4.55/1,000 gallons
Non-resident Customers. Non-resident customers of city sanitary sewer service shall be charged a sum equal to one and one-half (1 ˝) times the monthly rate charged to resident customers. This charge shall apply to each separate use if the customer is a temporary user. |
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