Atlantic City Council to pay recognition to a 20-year member of the Police Dept.; Act on Urban Renewal Plan Amendment & other matters
November 5th, 2024 by Ric Hanson
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic will meet in a regularly scheduled session 6-p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6th, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. On their agenda is recognition of Assistant Police Chief Paul Wood, who has served as a member of the Atlantic Police Department for 20-years. Chief Devin Hogue says Wood joined the Department in Nov. 2004, after having previously worked for the Pella P-D. He is a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and has earned a degree in Police Science from Western Iowa Tech Community College. In 2011, Wood was promoted to Sergeant; Lieutenant in 2016, and Assistant Police Chief in 2022. Paul Wood is also a member of the Atlantic Volunteer Fire Department and was named Firefighter of the Year in February of this year.
In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on a Resolution setting Dec. 4, 2024, as the date for a Public Hearing on an Urban Renewal Plan Amendment, with regard to the Southeast Urban Renewal District. If approved the Council would adopt a development agreement for the use of TIF (Tax Increment Financing) for the Vision Atlantic housing development project, which City Administrator John Lund says is the largest such project in Atlantic since the Nishna Hills Final Plat was adopted in 1978.
The Council will also act on a Resolution authorizing City Administrator Lund to sign and execute a Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) SWAP Program and other Iowa DOT documents, as required by the Iowa Department Of Transportation, which will allow the City to use over $1.056-million in the City’s accrued and borrowing from, future TIP (Transportation Improvement Plan) funds to fund the estimated $1.320-million in costs, for the reconstruction of West 22nd Street. That work is expected to begin next Spring and Summer (2025).
Another Resolution the Atlantic City Council will act on, Wednesday, is with regard to the City’s responsibility for Community Sidewalks, and the Development of a Comprehensive Sidewalk Improvement Plan to maintain sidewalks in a safe, and hazard-free condition. John Lund says the Resolution leaves the City as the owner of sidewalks, and liable for damages resulting from failure to maintain them. Lund says the City can transfer liability, but each time it does so, a property owner must receive notice by certified mail requiring the owner to “repair, replace or reconstruct sidewalks within a reasonable time.”
The final item of business for the Council, is to act on passing the third and final reading of an Ordinance pertaining to “Prohibited Trees.”