Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones said there is some potentially good news as far as housing development in the community is concerned. During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Jones said a small group of investors is looking at building a 24-unit apartment complex in town, and is looking to the City to grant a $300,000 Developer’s Loan with interest, which would be paid back within 2-years. The group doesn’t want any tax abatement or other incentives. The City’s Personnel, Finance and Development Committee will meet later this month with the groups’ representatives and discuss the matter further.

In other business, the Council awarded a contract to Snyder and Associates that allows them to conduct a Nutrient Reduction Study for the Waste Water Treatment Plant, in accordance with Iowa DNR requirements. New Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Tim Snyder recommended the local company because they have the staff and expertise to deal handle the job, and their bid was very reasonable. Snyder said the study will help to determine what Atlantic needs to do within 10-years to reduce nitrates and, potentially phosphorous, from its wastewater discharges.

City Administrator Doug Harris said the City is required under its NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit to conduct the study, because it couldn’t meet all the discharge limits by the time the permit came due for renewal, even with the new plant in action.

The Atlantic City Council met the City’s newest Police Officer, Wednesday evening. Police Chief Steve Green introduced the latest addition to the police force. He appeared at the podium with Tim Olsen, who began working with his fellow officers on Monday.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green (Left) introduces Tim Olsen as the newest Police Officer in Atlantic. (Ric Hanson/photo)

Olsen and his wife Megan are coming to the community from Hampton, Iowa, where’s served for the past year. The couple, who are both originally from Atlantic, is expecting their first child in January.

Tim graduated from AHS in 2010. He went on to get a degree in Criminal Justice from Simpson College. He attained the 4-year degree in just three-years. He’s also a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Johnston.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) – Offutt Air Force Base will host an air show this weekend after federal budget problems forced the cancellation of last year’s event. The free event on Saturday and Sunday will feature both the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and the F-22 Raptor aerial demonstration teams along with several other flying teams. The public will have a chance to visit Offutt Air Force Base and learn more about the base on the southeast side of the Omaha area. Gates open at 9 a.m. and flying begins around noon.

A free shuttle bus will be offered from various locations around Bellevue, including the former Southroads mall and Bellevue East and West high schools. More details of the air show and all the aircraft that will be on display are available online at www.offuttairshow.com .

The National Taxpayers Union and a D-C based think-tank are touting a new survey which finds a majority of Iowans are opposed to paying sales taxes on internet purchases. Andrew Moyland of the R Street Institute was at the Iowa capitol Wednesday, to discuss the survey with legislative staff and representatives from Iowa business groups. Moyland suggests candidates for all offices should be wary of allowing states to collect internet sales taxes, including prospective presidential candidates like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Marco Rubio who’ve been campaigning in Iowa. There may soon be a vote in the U.S. Senate on a bill that would give states greater authority to collect sales taxes on internet sales.

“This is definitely coming to a head now and I think that folks who are supporters of this would like to get this done as soon as possible because even supporters don’t want to be on record supporting an internet sales tax bill so close to an election,” Moyland says. Moyland praised Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s Republican senator, for opposing what’s called The Marketplace Fairness Act that would give states broader authority to collect sales taxes on internet purchases. Others who support the legislation say Main Street businesses see more and more people who come in, look over the merchandise, then go online to make the purchase — escaping the sales taxes they’d pay if they bought the product in the store. Moyland rejects that argument.

“There are 46 different states with sales taxes and 9,998 different taxing jurisdictions across the country,” Moyland says, “and so if you’re asking online retailers to have to jump through all those hoops when brick-and-mortar retailers are just jumping through one where they’re physically located, I think that’s the opposite of a level playing field.” According to a University of Tennessee estimate, 88 million dollars in sales taxes that were legally due to the State of Iowa were NOT collected on internet purchases made in 2012. Moyland argues that “pales in comparison” to the sales taxes the State of Iowa fails to collect because the state sales tax is not charged on all services.

(Radio Iowa)