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.

A woman from Union County was arrested on drug and other charges on May 30th, following a traffic stop. The Creston Police Department today (Thursday) reports 38-year old Sara Exline, of Afton, was taken into custody on charges of Driving While Revoked, Possession of Marijuana and Methamphetamine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was later released from the Union County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Red Oak Police, responding to reported incident of assault early this (Thursday) morning, ended-up taking a local man into custody on assault and drug charges. Officers were called to a residence in the 900 block of East Hammond Street, at around 3:30-a.m.

An investigation resulted in the arrest of 41-year old Eric Michael Huffstutlear, of Red Oak, on an aggravated assault charge, for allegedly threatening someone with a pocket knife. After he was taken into custody, Huffstutlear was allegedly found to be in possession of a controlled substance (marijuana). He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 cash bond.

Police in Council Bluffs investigated a series of car break-ins reported at Oakland Court Apartments early Wednesday. The Daily NonPareil says according to police, a Council Bluffs woman reported seeing a burglary to a vehicle in the 200 block of North Second Street shortly after 1 a.m. The woman told police she saw a man walking near a green 2001 Chevy Blazer after hearing the vehicle’s car alarm sound. The suspect saw the woman and ran to a gray, sporty-looking car and drove away at a high rate of speed.