The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, set in motion the process to accept bids for the Troublesome Creek Connector Trail pedestrian bridge project.

This is what the pedestrian bridge over Troublesome Creek will look like when it is installed.

The Council set June 30th as the bid letting date, with a public hearing on July 1st. Their action followed an update on the plans and details for the project, by Snyder and Associates’ Engineer Dave Sturm, who also provided a timeline for the start and finish of bridge installation.

Sturm said the Late Start Date is Sept. 15th, with 40 working days allowed, meaning it should be completed by sometime in November. The contractor, he said, has the option to start sooner in September, if they wish. The schedule allows them some flexibility. Sturm said the cost estimate for the project two-years ago, was $570,000, but while the price tag has gone up, it’s still under $600,000.

The Atlantic City Council will also set July 1st at 5:30-p.m. as the date and time for a Public Hearing on an Urban Renewal Plan Amendment. In other business, City Administrator John Lund provided the Council with City’s first Annual Tax Report, which helped to explain the general nature of property taxes, and how Atlantic compares to other communities our size in the State, along with how the tax burden has changed, over time.

The report also compares how Atlantic fares against other cities in southwest Iowa, with regard to the tax burden and other factors. He said “In southwest Iowa, we’re doing pretty good. Across the State, not as strong, but there are good reasons our tax levy is where it’s at. One reason is Tax Valuation. If you have a lot of expensive property, you can levy at a much lower rate and collect the same amount of money.” He cited for example, Clear Lake and Carroll, which are about the same size of Atlantic, but who have over $400-million worth of property. Atlantic he says, has about half that valuation. He said also, Atlantic has a high debt service levy, but that was necessary for the streets.”

Councilman Chris Jimerson pointed out Atlantic also acquired a lower interest rate for the street projects at just the right time, which saved the City some money. Mayor Dave Jones agreed. Jones said the City’s philosophy when the interest rates were low, was “Borrow now, get your stuff fixed, and somewhere down the road the interest rates will go up.” He admitted that’s taken longer than he thought it would, but “We’re still in good shape, and at least we’ll be ahead in the ball game when things start happening.”

Atlantic’s tax asking is $8.10 per thousand-dollars taxable valuation, which is fourth lowest for city’s in Iowa of comparable size. Harlan, Denison, Clarinda, Council Bluffs, Audubon, and Missouri Valley all have higher tax rates.